Shally's Alley

About Shally's Alley

What if your Friday morning could transform how you source talent all week? Shally's Alley isn't just another recruiting show full of hot air. This is where curiosity meets execution. Join industry architect Shally Steckerl as he challenges the minds shaping talent acquisition, reveals their secrets, dissects the sourcing challenges keeping you up at night, and proves that the best recruiting strategies are born from asking better questions. Come for the expert insights. Stay for the live problem-solving that makes you dangerous by Monday. Unfiltered. Unscripted. Unmissable. About Shally: ⁠srcn.co⁠ The Sourcing Method Book: ⁠srcn.co/tsm⁠ Follow Shally on LinkedIn: srcn.co/follow⁠ Learn with Shally at TSIUniversity.com

Publisher

WRKdefined Podcast Network

Category

business · technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

10 Jun 2022

Latest episode

31 Oct 2025

Latest episodes

42 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   31 Oct 2025

   The $70k Recruiter Lie: Why Your Best Talent Is Leaving with Adam Kovacs Live on Shally's Alley

   This episode rips apart the myth that high recruiter turnover is a talent problem. Adam Kovacs, founder of Hire With Near, delivers hard truths about why your recruiting function is hemorrhaging people and money. The real issue? Organizations treat recruiting like an administrative function while demanding strategic results, then wonder why nobody stays. Adam breaks down the structural failures that create 96% burnout rates and shows exactly how treating recruiting as a revenue function changes everything. In this episode we talk about the systemic dysfunction plaguing recruiting teams across industries. You'll hear why most organizations are structured to burn out their best recruiters, how a single bad hire costs 300% of annual salary, and why the traditional recruiter compensation model is fundamentally broken. Adam shares battle-tested frameworks for rebuilding recruiting as a strategic function, including how to properly resource teams, when automation actually helps, and why your ATS might be making everything worse. This is the conversation every talent leader needs to hear. Key Takeaways: ➡ 96% of recruiters experience burnout with only 49% planning to stay in the profession, yet organizations keep hiring more recruiters instead of fixing the system. ➡ A single bad hire costs organizations 300% of that person's annual salary when you factor in separation costs, recruitment expenses, onboarding, and lost productivity. ➡ Most recruiters are drowning in 40-50 open requisitions when research shows the optimal load is 15-20 max for quality outcomes. ➡ The $70k base salary trap: Organizations underpay recruiters while expecting them to fill roles that generate millions in revenue, creating a compensation structure that guarantees failure. ➡ Automation works for high-volume, low-complexity roles but becomes a liability for senior or specialized positions where relationship-building drives success. ➡ Traditional ATS platforms force recruiters to work inside systems designed for compliance, not efficiency, adding hours of administrative burden to every placement. ➡ Organizations measure recruiting success by time-to-fill instead of quality-of-hire, incentivizing speed over sustainable talent acquisition. ➡ The broken loop: Bad hires create more turnover, which creates more requisitions, which overloads recruiters, which leads to more bad hires and recruiter burnout. Chapters: 00:00 – Intro 03:15 – The 96% Burnout Crisis in Recruiting 08:42 – Why Recruiter Turnover Is a System Problem 14:20 – The True Cost of a Bad Hire: 300% ROI Loss 19:35 – Requisition Load Reality: 40 Roles Is Setting Up Failure 25:10 – The $70k Compensation Trap 31:45 – When Automation Helps and When It Destroys Quality 38:20 – Why Your ATS Is Making Recruiters Less Effective 44:55 – Measuring What Matters: Quality Over Speed 52:30 – Building a Strategic Recruiting Function Sound Bites: "We keep hiring more recruiters to solve a problem that more recruiters won't solve. It's like adding more people to a burning building instead of putting out the fire." "The system is designed to burn people out. When 96% of your workforce is experiencing burnout and only half plan to stay, that's not a people problem, that's a design flaw." Guest Info: Name: Adam Kovacs Website: HireWithNear.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/adamkovacs Expertise: Founder of Hire With Near, specializing in fixing broken recruiting systems and building sustainable talent acquisition functions for scaling organizations. Subscribe on: ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ |  ⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠iHeart Radio⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Pandora⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Amazon Music⁠⁠ About Shally: ⁠srcn.co⁠ AskShally GPT: ⁠srcn.co/sgpt⁠ The Sourcing Method Book: ⁠srcn.co/tsm⁠ The AI Browser Toolkit: ⁠srcn.co/aib1⁠ Follow Shally on LinkedIn ⁠https://srcn.co/follow⁠ LinkedIn Feed: ⁠https://srcn.co/feed⁠ Facebook Group: ⁠https://srcn.co/fb⁠ YouTube Channel: ⁠https://srcn.co/yt⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://srcn.co/ig⁠

2. 

   24 Oct 2025

   The Unicorn Hunter’s Playbook with Ashley Surratt Live on Shally's Alley

   Ashley Surratt, Head of Talent Acquisition at Black & Veatch, went from recruiting at AWS to sourcing engineers who build power grids, water systems, and data centers. The shift completely redefined what "difficult sourcing" actually means. Think tech recruiting is hard? Try finding a project manager who needs 10 years designing wastewater treatment plants before they're even qualified to manage one. In this episode we talk about the gap between tech and blue collar sourcing, why "project manager" means something totally different in infrastructure, and how Ashley's team gets creative when LinkedIn doesn't work. You'll hear the unicorn hunter playbook for industries where traditional channels fail, why trade schools beat college degrees, and how certifications and field experience force you to think 10 moves ahead. Plus, Ashley's 1% daily improvement philosophy and why it compounds faster than any Boolean string. KEY TAKEAWAYS ➡ Infrastructure recruiting is exploding due to massive government spending, but the talent pipeline hasn't caught up. ➡ When LinkedIn fails, source from trade association directories, certification boards, competitor postings, and job fairs at project sites. ➡ Skilled trades run on apprenticeships, not degrees. Understand how electricians, welders, and HVAC techs enter and progress. ➡ Boolean hits a wall in blue collar roles. Work backward from certifications, union memberships, or project lists. ➡ 1% daily improvement triples your effectiveness yearly. Continuous improvement beats big swings. ➡ Infrastructure talent sees their work in the real world. Tangible impact attracts different candidates. ➡ Ashley won SourceCon's Sourcing Anonymous, proving creativity beats a massive LinkedIn Recruiter license. CHAPTERS 00:00 – Intro & Technical Difficulties00:17 – Meet Ashley Surratt from Black & Veatch01:38 – What is EPC and Why Infrastructure Recruiting Matters03:08 – The Biggest Myth About Switching Industries05:08 – Why "Project Manager" Means Something Totally Different in Construction08:42 – Creative Sourcing When LinkedIn Fails12:15 – Trade Schools, Apprenticeships, and the Skilled Trades Pipeline18:30 – Boolean's Limits in Blue Collar Recruiting24:50 – Working Backward from Certifications and Licenses31:20 – How to Source for Roles That Require Hands-On Field Experience38:10 – Why Infrastructure Talent Sees Their Work in the Real World43:45 – Ashley's Sourcing Anonymous Win and Lessons Learned48:20 – The Power of 1% Daily Improvement52:31 – Next Guest Recommendations54:00 – Closing Question: How Can You Improve 1% Today? SOUND BITES "I'm like, well, project managers are everywhere. What do you talk to? And then I got here and it was really estimation and having to have this giant, very niche engineering background, like, 10 years of designing the wastewater treatment before you even start managing the project." "I'm a really big believer in continuous improvement even if it's just 1%. What could I have done differently to be better tomorrow?" GUEST INFO Name: Ashley SurrattCompany: Black & Veatch (EPC firm focused on water, power, and infrastructure)LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleysurratt/Expertise: Head of Talent Acquisition specializing in engineering, skilled trades, and infrastructure recruiting. Former AWS sourcing leader. SourceCon Sourcing Anonymous winner. Subscribe on: ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ |  ⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠iHeart Radio⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Pandora⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Amazon Music ⁠⁠About Shally: ⁠srcn.co⁠ AskShally GPT: ⁠srcn.co/sgpt⁠ The Sourcing Method Book: ⁠srcn.co/tsm⁠ The AI Browser Toolkit: ⁠srcn.co/aib1⁠ Follow Shally on LinkedIn ⁠https://srcn.co/follow⁠ LinkedIn Feed: ⁠https://srcn.co/feed⁠ Facebook Group: ⁠https://srcn.co/fb⁠ YouTube Channel: ⁠https://srcn.co/yt⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://srcn.co/ig⁠

3. 

   17 Oct 2025

   Stop Being Boring: The Recruiting Rebel's Guide to Standing Out with Brandon Jeffs Live on Shally's Alley

   Brandon Jeffs isn't your average recruiter. He's the founder of Building the Talent Machine, a content studio serving the recruiting tech industry, and he's built his brand on storytelling, authenticity, and refusing to blend into the beige corporate landscape. This conversation cuts through the usual conference BS and gets real about what it takes to stand out in recruiting today: humor, intentionality, and understanding your why. In this episode we talk about RecFest experiences, the power of personality in recruiting, and why authenticity beats polish every time. You'll hear Brandon's journey from working in homeless shelters to building a recruiting career that blends content creation, executive search, and storytelling. We dig into how humor functions as strategy, brand amplification, and rebellion against the boring status quo. Brandon shares hard-won lessons about building community, leveraging content for business development, and why asking "why do you recruit?" might be the most important question you answer today. KEY TAKEAWAYS: ➡ Brandon runs Building the Talent Machine as both a podcast and a content studio that services the recruiting technology industry while doing executive search work. ➡ Shally's show has reached 312 episodes with 173 unique guests and over 24,000 total views without any intentional self-promotion strategy. ➡ RecFest brings together 3,000+ recruiters in Austin for networking, learning, and building community in ways traditional conferences can't match. ➡ Humor in recruiting serves triple duty: it's a recruiting strategy, a brand amplifier, and an act of rebellion against corporate blandness. ➡ Brandon built his entire recruiting career thanks to one recruiter who gave him an opportunity when he was living paycheck to paycheck working at a homeless shelter. ➡ Authenticity beats perfection: showing up in tie-dye and cowboy boots at HR Tech is memorable brand building, not career suicide. ➡ Content creation for recruiters isn't about going viral. It's about building genuine relationships and creating value for your specific community. ➡ The most important question recruiters should ask themselves daily: "Why do I do this?" Knowing your why changes everything about how you recruit. CHAPTERS: 00:00 – Intro and RecFest Recap 02:50 – Who Is Brandon Jeffs and What Is Building the Talent Machine?05:14 – 312 Episodes and 24,000 Views: The Accidental Show Growth08:30 – RecFest Deep Dive: Why 3,000 Recruiters Descended on Austin15:42 – The Economics of Recruiting Conferences and Content Creation22:15 – Authenticity vs. Polish: Building Your Personal Brand30:18 – Storytelling as a Recruiting Superpower37:45 – Content Strategy for Recruiters: What Actually Works42:30 – The Business Model Behind Building the Talent Machine48:08 – Humor as Strategy: Brand Amplifier or Rebellion?50:26 – Ask Yourself Why You Recruit51:22 – Next Guest Recommendation and Wrap SOUND BITES: "No one orders milk toast at brunch." "I'm the only influencer you'll ever meet that doesn't have social media." "Ask why you do it. Before you log on and sleuth the Internet, before you book your calendar with six to eight screens a day, ask yourself why you're doing it." GUEST INFO: Name: Brandon JeffsWebsite: buildingthetalentmachine.comLinkedIn: Brandon JeffsExpertise: Content creator, recruiter, and founder who helps recruiting tech companies tell their stories while filling executive search roles in go-to-market functions. Subscribe on: ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠iHeart Radio⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Pandora⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Amazon Music⁠⁠ About Shally: ⁠srcn.co⁠ AskShally GPT: ⁠srcn.co/sgpt⁠ The Sourcing Method Book: ⁠srcn.co/tsm⁠ The AI Browser Toolkit: ⁠srcn.co/aib1⁠ Follow Shally on LinkedIn ⁠https://srcn.co/follow⁠ LinkedIn Feed: ⁠https://srcn.co/feed⁠ Facebook Group: ⁠https://srcn.co/fb⁠ YouTube Channel: ⁠https://srcn.co/yt⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://srcn.co/ig⁠

Who has been a guest on Shally's Alley

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Bill Malcolm
• Rob Beck
• Nicole Roberts
• CoSandra Dent

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

49,599

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Spotify

4.8 / 5

6 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 65 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

88

Social presence

0

YouTube

76

Engagement

31

Contact Shally's Alley

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.