Secured by Galah Cyber

Episode SummaryHiring is still a human process, no matter how much AI gets injected into it. In this episode of Secured, Cole Cornford sits down with Kim Acosta, Managing Director at UCentric and former Amazon talent acquisition leader, to unpack how AI is actually changing recruitment and where it is quietly breaking trust. They explore how candidates are using AI in applications and technical assessments, why misuse often damages long term employability more than failing an interview, and why recruiters and hiring managers are responding with stricter controls, in person assessments, and AI detection. Kim shares what she is seeing across data, analytics, and AI roles, where demand is growing, and why human judgment, rapport, and credibility still matter far more than perfect answers. The conversation also covers embedded recruitment and RPO models, why soft skills matter more as teams get smaller, and what the next hiring cycle is likely to look like as big tech contracts while smaller companies continue to grow. For candidates, hiring managers, and founders alike, this episode is a grounded look at why shortcuts rarely pay off and why trust is still the real signal. Timestamps00:00 – Intro 01:24 – Meet Kim Acosta and UCentric 02:06 – From Amazon to starting a recruitment consultancy 04:19 – Data engineering demand vs AI hype 05:31 – What data engineering roles actually look like 07:27 – Adapting business models to real market needs 10:04 – Where AI genuinely helps recruiters 11:09 – Custom GPTs and interview preparation 13:43 – One way interviews and candidate slop 15:09 – Technical assessments and AI misuse 17:19 – Trust, failure, and reapplying the right way 18:29 – Spotting AI generated answers in interviews 20:19 – Rapport, eye contact, and human signals 22:19 – Hiring for values and team fit 23:52 – Agency vs internal vs embedded recruiters 27:59 – RPO models and cost tradeoffs 28:47 – Layoffs, market shifts, and salary reality 30:57 – Where hiring is still strong 33:10 – Why hiring and podcasts still need humans 🐙 Secured is grateful to be sponsored and supported by Chainguard. Chainguard is the trusted source for open source. Get hardened, secure, production-ready builds so your team can ship faster, stay compliant, and reduce risk. Download your free CVE Reduction Report at https://dayone.fm/chainguard This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp Spotify Ad Analytics - https://www.spotify.com/us/legal/ad-analytics-privacy-policy/