TALKING TALENT - How to Fix Hiring with Transparency, Feedback & Human Touch with Gita Selli

Welcome back to Talking Talent, a RecTalk podcast, hosted by Nitin Sharma and Sean Kennedy.In this episode, we’re joined by Gita Selli, an experienced in-house talent leader who brings real-world, no-BS insight into what’s going wrong with candidate experience — and what talent teams should be doing instead.With candidate frustration at an all-time high, ghosting now “normalised”, and AI being used for convenience rather than value, this conversation digs deep into how recruitment has lost its human touch — and how to get it back.What we cover in this episode:Why candidate experience is at an all-time low and who’s really responsibleThe damage caused by ghosting, overcomplicated hiring processes, and poor stakeholder managementHow many interview stages is too many (and why 6-stage processes kill good candidates)Why feedback matters, even when the answer is “no” — and how it impacts employer reputationThe right (and wrong) ways to use AI in recruitmentWhy “auto-reject” and transactional tech is harming talent teamsThe importance of transparent, honest rejection messagingHow smaller TA teams can outperform big brands by being humanEmployer branding that actually works — no stock photos, no fake messagingUsing real employees and simple video to boost applications (at zero cost)Why if your people won’t advocate for your company, the problem isn’t branding — it’s cultureHiring for reality, not hype: “the holiday has to match the brochure”Lessons from in-house vs agency recruitmentPersonal career reflections, leadership honesty, and staying human in high-pressure TA rolesThis episode is candid, funny, occasionally brutal, and packed with practical advice for anyone involved in hiring — whether you’re in TA, recruitment leadership, or building employer brand from scratch.Who this episode is for:Talent Acquisition professionalsInternal recruiters and in-house TA leadersRecruitment leaders frustrated with broken hiring processesEmployer branding and EVP specialistsHiring managers involved in interview designAnyone who cares about treating candidates like humans🔗 Connect with the guestGita Selli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gita-selli/Loadsmart: https://loadsmart.com/🔗 Connect with the hostsSean Kennedy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanthetaguy/Nitin Sharma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitin-rectools/New episodes of RecTalk, plus Founder Diaries and Talking Talent, drop every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.Look out for new episodes of The Mixed Grill — the official podcast of the Recruitment Curry Club — dropping on Thursday.https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-recruitment-curry-club/Listen on another platform: https://rectalk.co.uk/🔗 Get in touch with these recommended suppliersRoss Thompson — Infinity Staff Global: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rossnthompson/Matt Fox — Exitus Advisory: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-fox-50b10311/SourceFlow: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sourceflow/Robert Woodford — The Marketing Junction: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marketing4recs/Carl Jones — Konquest: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carl-jones-66093722/#TalkingTalent #RecTalk #CandidateExperience #TalentAcquisition #Recruitment #EmployerBranding #Hiring #PeopleFirst #RecruitmentLeadership #TA #HumanRecruitment