About the podcast
Welcome to Pretty Fly AI Guys – the podcast where three recruitment nerds try to figure out if AI will save us all or just steal our jobs. Spoiler: it's complicated.
Every week, Marcel van der Meer, Bryan Peereboom and Michiel Wiersema – plus some dangerously smart guests who actually know what they're talking about – dive into the chaotic, exciting, slightly terrifying world of AI in talent acquisition. We're talking resume-scanning robots, predictive hiring algorithms that think they're psychic, chatbots with personality disorders, and enough bias in the code to make your diversity officer weep.
What to expect?
Hot takes, cold hard truths, and the occasional existential crisis. We're here to ask the questions everyone's thinking but nobody's saying out loud: Is this AI tool actually good, or just expensive? Are we making hiring better, or just faster at being wrong? And seriously, who thought it was a good idea to let an algorithm decide who gets hired?
Whether you're a recruiter who just discovered ChatGPT last week or a tech-savvy TA leader with more AI tools than friends – we've got you covered. Expect practical insights, industry gossip we probably shouldn't share, and zero tolerance for vendor BS.
Episode 9 - Six-figure efficiency, "Return on Effort," and the real business case for AI with Terry Aduh
Are you under pressure to "do something with AI" but don't know where to start? In this episode, the hosts are joined by Terry Aduh, founder of AXL Consulting, to stop the aimless hunt for tools and start solving actual business problems.
Terry breaks down why searching for "AI use cases" is a trap. Instead, he reveals how to build a business case based on "Return on Effort," sharing a real-world example where he unlocked a six-figure efficiency gain for a client—not by firing staff, but by tweaking the operating model to support expansion.
19 Dec 2025
Episode 8 - 60% Response rates, "Stalker" AI Agents, and the Michelin Star standard with Leandro Da Silva Gomes
Are you settling for a 20% response rate on your outreach? In this episode, the Pretty Fly AI Guys are joined by Leandro Da Silva Gomes, the Head of AI Operations at Nobel Recruitment and founder of The AI Laundry, to discuss how to break the mold,. Leandro reveals how he achieved a staggering 60% response rate in the Benelux market by ditching standard templates in favor of hyper-personalized AI outreach.
11 Dec 2025
Episode 7 - Mastering emotional prompting and the era of automated sourcing with Alla Pavlova
In this episode, the hosts are joined by special guest Alla Pavlova, a veteran in the sourcing and recruitment field since 2008,. The discussion centers on advanced interaction with AI, specifically the concept of "emotional prompting" (also known as evolving prompting), where using rich adjectives and emotional context can make prompts significantly more effective. Alla shares her strategies for "talking" to AI, including the benefits of using speech-to-text to create more natural and diverse prompts compared to typing.
21 Nov 2025
Episode 6 - The AI war on talent: Who wins when everyone's cheating?
7 Nov 2025
Episode 5 - Hiring’s dark secret: Does AI make discrimination easier?
In this explosive episode of Pretty Fly AI Guys, Marcel and Brian tackle the challenging truth about AI in Talent Acquisition: AI bias is real. Since AI is created by mankind, its use in CV ranking tools does not guarantee fairness; in fact, it often makes discrimination "more easy". The hosts cite research indicating that AI ranking tools produce inconsistent results even when analyzing identical resumes, underscoring issues with accuracy and LLM "hallucination".
The episode serves as a warning about the "legal landmine of AI hiring". Under the AI Act, both vendors and companies share liability for biased algorithms. To comply, firms must ensure transparency and implement a human review ("the loop factor") for all rejections, necessitating higher AI literacy.
The discussion also dives into the competitive ATS market, comparing acquisition strategies (like Workday acquiring Paradox and Sana) with newer, more agile platforms like Ashby, which are built with integrated AI features like interview note-takers. Finally, the hosts weigh the trade-off between maximizing AI accuracy and meeting regulatory demands for transparency. Tune in to understand why the path to fair AI hiring requires a "decent level of both"
10 Oct 2025
Episode 4 - Budgets cuts are the worst, but AI is here to help
With budgets tightening, the pressure is on to replace people with AI. But is it the right move? In this episode, we challenge the knee-jerk reaction to ask, "Can AI do it?" and explore where human expertise is simply irreplaceable.
10 Oct 2025
Episode 3 - 50skills in the mix
What is agentic workflow automation — and why are recruiters and HR pros suddenly talking about it? In this episode we explore how AI agents are reshaping hiring, onboarding and everyday work, what “agentic” really means and how humans stay in the loop. Our guest Kristján Kristjánsson (co-founder & CEO of 50skills) helps us figure out whether recruiters should be worried… or excited.
10 Oct 2025
Episode 2 - How candidates and employers are using AI
The hiring game has changed — and AI is the new referee, coach, and sometimes even player. In this episode, we explore how candidates are using AI to craft smarter applications, prepare for interviews, and showcase their potential. On the other side of the table, employers are leveraging AI to find, assess, and engage talent faster than ever before.
10 Oct 2025
Episode 1 - All beginnings are hard
Every revolution starts with curiosity — and a bit of confusion. In this first episode, we dive into the world of Large Language Models (LLMs): what they are, how they think (sort of), and why they’re reshaping the way we work. From writing emails to reimagining workflows, we explore how these AI co-pilots can turn everyday tasks into moments of creative acceleration.
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