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Talent Acquisition Leaders Podcast - Recruiting, Staffing, Human ResourcesAuthor: Ryan Dull
On the Talent Acquisition Leaders Podcast, your host Ryan Dull of SageMark HR interviews todays industry leaders in talent acquisition to discuss challenges, best practices, and what the future holds. If you are working in talent acquisition and have always wanted to sit down with your peers at other companies and pick their brain, this show is the next best thing. Topics for the show will include: recruiting, talent acquisition, recruiting technology, HR tech, and recruiting innovation.. Join us each week as we bring you a new talent acquisition interview and extract their expertise. Language: en Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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Building a Skills-First Workforce at Enterprise Scale with Astad Dhunjisha of AT&T
Friday, 6 February, 2026
Building talent at enterprise scale requires more than efficient hiring — it demands a long-term commitment to capability, culture and growth. On this episode, host Ryan Dull is joined by Astad Dhunjisha, Vice President Human Resources - Talent Acquisition and Learning & Development at AT&T. They dive into Astad’s career journey, how AT&T hires and develops tens of thousands of employees each year, and why shifting from process-driven recruiting to talent-driven TA is essential for building a future-ready workforce. The episode also explores how skills-based hiring, internal mobility and emerging AI capabilities are reshaping how large organizations think about talent.Key Takeaways:00:00 Introduction.02:35 Astad shares how his broad HR background shapes his long-term focus on talent acquisition.05:47 AT&T’s brand recognition streamlines candidate engagement across roles.10:07 A leadership vision balances internal expertise with external perspectives.12:19 A shift in TA to proactive talent hunting and future-facing employer-brand positioning.15:10 Middle managers often grow internally through mobility and upskilling.18:39 Skills-based hiring emerges as a key priority.21:13 A university class dedicated to TA reflects its growing importance.24:43 A strong eye for talent remains critical, despite AI-driven résumés.Resources Mentioned:Astad Dhunjishahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/astad-dhunjishaAT&T | LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/att/AT&T | Websitehttps://www.att.com/University of Texas at Dallashttps://www.utdallas.eduThis episode is brought to you by Sagemark HR.Sagemark HR can help you:✔ Improve your talent practices and make better, more informed people decisions.After 20+ years of experience leading Recruiting and Talent Acquisition across a wide variety of industries, I've seen enough hires (over 100,000 to date) to know that hiring decisions truly can make or break an organization.✔ Identify opportunities to not only improve your talent practices, but also delivering tangible business results.We understand every organization is different, and there’s no one-size-fits-all magic solution. So we listen first and identify the gaps and sticking points in your current process before ever recommending a solution.✔ Bridge the gap from “traditional” to modern recruiting, without the painful learning curve.We believe recruiting, talent, and HR technology is a deep well of untapped business potential, and our mission is to help you identify and implement those hiring tools in a way that works for you.If you’re interested in learning more, you can reach me at:www.sagemarkhr.com✉ ryan.dull@sagemarkhr.com#Talent #Recruiters #HRTech
