In this week’s episode of The Chad & Cheese Podcast, hosts Joel Cheesman, Chad Sowash, and career expert J.T. O’Donnell unpack a whirlwind of industry news with their signature Wisdom and wit. Kicking things off, they celebrate all-things Chicken Cock whiskey, Keith Sonderling’s confirmation at the DOL, cry a little over layoff stories on TikTok and then dive into Remote’s launch of Recruit, a new hiring tool billed as a breakthrough for sourcing global talent, though some question its lack of features despite the glossy promo video, sparking a debate on its real impact.
Next, they tackle Deel’s latest move—acquiring Safeguard Global’s payroll division, its 11th buyout, bolstering its $12 billion valuation with a focus on global payroll expertise alongside prior grabs like PayGroup, PaySpace, and Atlantic Money; the gang muses if it’s strategic stacking or overkill, hinting at a potential Workday mega-deal given their deepened partnership. The crew then shifts to iCIMS’ winter release, featuring a GenAI chatbot, enhanced Indeed and LinkedIn integrations, and SMS upgrades, though layoff rumors cloud the vibe—Joel notes the company’s fresh leadership under Eric Connors and Jason Edelboim might finally be finding its footing after a long period of competition from players like Paradox.
Amazon’s AI push grabs the headlines, with a new AWS group driving agentic AI to boost consumer apps and enterprise automation, prompting some to spotlight Alexa+’s evolution and wonder if “McHire” is making a comeback in this tech arms race against Microsoft and Salesforce.
They also dissect the hype around Manus, Butterfly Effect’s “agentic” AI with 138,000+ Discord fans, questioning if it’s the future of job search or just noise—especially as Google’s search relevance dips among Gen Z per a Vox Media survey. Wrapping up, J.T. takes on “career catfishing,” a Gen Z trend of accepting jobs then ghosting due to confrontation fears, with CV Genius’ 2025 Future of Work Survey showing one in three Gen Zers admitting to it; she urges employers to adapt rather than stereotype, suggesting a simple email could replace awkward calls.
Chapters
00:00 – Celebrating Eight Years of Podcasting
02:56 – Reflections on the Podcast Journey
05:50 – Insights from Congressional Hearings
09:12 – The Impact of Social Media on Job Loss
12:01 – Sponsorships and Promotions
14:57 – Industry News and Acquisitions
18:14 – Competitors and Market Dynamics
22:51 – The Evolution of Remote Work
27:53 – Challenges Facing Legacy Platforms
30:45 – Amazon’s AI Investment and Future Prospects
35:10 – The Rise of Agentic AI
43:27 – Career Catfishing Among Gen Z
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