AI’s rapid ascent has changed recruiting in two directions at once: how candidates find and apply to jobs, and what shows up in their interview answers. This conversation covers both and what they mean for how your screening process needs to be built today.
Join Spark Hire's Josh Tolan and Eva Rothwell, along with Tracy Ward (Senior HR Director, Sonder Research X) and Tori Madsen (Talent Acquisition and People Operations, Avid4 Adventure), two people leaders dealing with this firsthand on lean teams right now, to unpack what this means for how you screen and interview today. In the session, the panel will dig into:
- Why more applicants isn't the same as more signal. Application volume is rising again. Candidates are tailoring their resumes with AI in seconds, and it's producing applicant pools that look more alike, not more qualified.
- How applicants are finding jobs today. Job seekers are now finding roles through AI tools, not just job boards. Hear what HR teams are testing this year to make sure their openings still show up, and what's actually working.
- The debate on AI-generated interview answers. Detection and proctoring tools don't always hold up, triggering their own challenges.
- How to use structured screening to see the real person, with question design that rewards genuine experience over polished responses.
Meet the Presenters
-
Tracy Ward
Tracy Ward is Senior HR Director at Sonder Research X, an early-stage biotechnology company where she built the HR function from the ground up after joining in 2020. She leads talent strategy, employee relations, and organizational development, with a particular focus on recruiting and talent acquisition. Her work includes developing recruiting strategies that combine technology with thoughtful human evaluation to identify and assess talent in an evolving hiring landscape.
-
Tori Madsen
Tori Madsen leads Talent Acquisition & People Operations at Avid4 Adventure, where she's led system implementation, sourcing strategy, and AI workflow adoption since January 2023. With 9+ years in talent acquisition, she's built recruitment processes and team KPIs from the ground up, driven major reductions in sourcing costs and time-to-hire for seasonal roles, and advised leadership on performance metrics, compliance, and workforce planning. Her work has been featured in industry case studies and Best Place to Work awards, and she's a frequent speaker on efficient, DEI-focused hiring systems.
-
Josh Tolan
Josh Tolan is the CEO and Founder of Spark Hire. Continuously growing the HR software from a video interviewing platform in 2012 to a full hiring solution complete with ATS and assessments, Josh is passionate about helping people-powered organizations find the right tools to hire the best candidates as efficiently as possible. You can find Josh hosting the Let’s Talk Hiring podcast, where he speaks with industry leaders about contemporary hiring topics and challenges.
-
Eva Rothwell
Eva Rothwell is Head of Marketing at Spark Hire, where she leads brand and demand strategy. She previously ran marketing at WorkBright and served as Global Head of Marketing at intelliHR, with earlier roles spanning corporate communications, PR, and brand management across Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. Eva specializes in building brands that scale with fast-growing SaaS companies, pairing sharp positioning with hands-on team leadership.
SHRM certification has approved this webinar for 1 PDC toward SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP recertification. A program code will be provided at the end of the webinar.