From Amazon to Custom Ink: Real Talk on Recruiting, AI & Career Pivots- LIVE from RecFest 2025
Recorded LIVE @ RecFest US 2025 in Nashville, TN.
From Amazon to Custom Ink: Real Talk on Recruiting, AI & Career Pivots Four powerhouse voices. One festival.
Endless recruiting wisdom. Recorded live at RecFest 2025 Nashville, host Adam Posner sits down with four dynamic guests who open up about career pivots, recruiting tech, AI adoption, burnout, and authenticity in the talent world. Featuring:
Tejal Rives (Amazon) – on curiosity, trolls, AI, and motherhood
Aubrey Cirillo (Director of TA @ Custom Ink) – on role clarity, scaling hiring, and time protection
Heather Colvin (Sr. Technical Recruiter @ Smart Data) – on recruiter ↔ hiring-manager trust and algorithm bias
Mike Peditto (Author & Creator) – on reinvention, resilience, and staying relevant
What You’ll Learn: - How recruiters can move into product and tech roles - The truth about AI in recruiting (what works and what’s hype) - How Custom Ink keeps hiring human while scaling - Building trust between recruiters and hiring managers - Mental health, burnout plans & creative careers in TA
Thanks to our friends at Juicebox for sponsoring these episodes. Juicebox helps teams win the talent war—the leading AI recruiting platform that understands who you're looking for. Today, Juicebox powers hiring for 3,000+ customers, including Ramp, Perplexity, and Quora. Level up your team with Search, CRM, and Agents.
→ Try for free today — www.juicebox.ai
Chapters / Timestamps
00:00 – Intro / RecFest Kick-off
00:30 – Guest #1 – Tijal Rives (Amazon)
00:40 The power of speaking your truth & dealing with trolls
01:45 Career path – from recruiting → product at Amazon
02:45 Curiosity as a superpower (“the red-button” story)
03:40 Inside Amazon’s hiring process & the Bar Raiser
05:50 Making the move from recruiting to product
07:10 Curiosity & motivation in candidate conversations
08:55 “How AI Can Change Recruiters’ Lives” – conference preview
10:30 Good / Bad / Ugly of AI tools for recruiters
12:45 Candidates using AI – benefits vs pitfalls
14:30 High-touch recruiting & AI limits
15:30 Hot takes: AI in recruiting | Hot dog = not a sandwich
17:10 Advice for job seekers – burnout plans & mindset
18:20 Open-to-Work banner debate (Helpful!)
19:25 Motherhood & work-life harmony
20:05 – Head of TA @ Aubrey Cirillo (Custom Ink)
20:10 From banking → sales → TA leadership
21:40 Sales skills = recruiting superpower
22:25 Mentorship & self-storytelling
23:00 Aligning hiring with business goals (role clarity)
24:05 Small team challenges & cross-functional recruiting
25:10 Shadowing employees to improve storytelling
26:10 Sourcing stack – LinkedIn, Gem & AI tips
27:30 Balancing open jobs vs intentional hiring
28:40 Using AI without losing the human touch
29:30 Scaling hiring through ambassador programs
30:50 Building trust with hiring managers (proactive 1:1s)
31:45 Equity & accountability in hiring
33:00 Protecting time & energy as a recruiter
34:20 Hot takes: Open-to-Work, Sourcing vs Closing, AI Interviews, and Hot Dogs
35:10 – Guest #3 –Sr. Technical Recruiter @ Heather Colvin (Smart Data)
35:15 Full-circle moment & intro
36:05 Recruiting as a career of creativity (no ceiling )
37:20 Bridging the trust gap with hiring managers
38:10 Using ChatGPT to close knowledge gaps (trust then verify)
39:00 Lean tech stack & HireEZ vs LinkedIn bias
39:40 Algorithm bias and why you need multiple tools
40:10 The 72-hour pipeline rule
41:00 Transparency with multi-firm searches
41:45 Favorite tools & learning from candidates
42:10 AI interviews = “No” without feedback loop
42:30 Hot takes lightning round & passion project “The Other 99 Athletes”
43:20 – Guest #4 – Mike Piditto (Author, Content Creator)
43:25 Career pivot from TA leader → creator & author
44:10 Balancing authenticity vs relevance
45:20 Handling trolls & mental health boundaries
46:30 “Yes, You’re Being Judged” – book story & purpose
47:15 Behind the book: real emails, rejections & reflection
48:10 Why candidate experience starts at the top
49:15 Favorite tech & why “built-by-recruiters” matters
50:00 Advice for creators – authenticity over algorithm
50:40 Find Mike online & wrap-up
