How many times have you opened that dreaded email—“We’ve decided to move forward with someone else”? Was it even written by a real person? An AI bot, maybe? Rejection stings, but silence stings more. So here’s the real question: do candidates deserve better? And are hiring teams truly prepared to give it?

In this episode of Recruiting is No Joke, Joel Lalgee is joined by Trisha Degg, Head of Talent Acquisition at Rush Street Interactive, to pull back the curtain on the real state of recruiting today. With a global team and rapid growth (100 hires this year alone across 26 countries), Trisha’s seen what works—and what definitely doesn’t.

From implementing hands-on interview training for hiring managers at every physical location, to building systems that actually respect candidates, Trisha shares how she’s helping scale a people-first hiring culture in a high-growth tech environment.

But it’s not just about systems. This episode goes deeper—into what it means to build relationships in recruiting. Trisha talks about the power of ongoing networking (hint: job seekers aren’t the only ones who should be doing it), the value of meeting someone new at every event, and the surprisingly overlooked etiquette of LinkedIn. (Ditch the generic connection request.)

No fluff, just real talk. Whether you're hiring, job hunting, or rethinking your recruitment strategy, this conversation is packed with the kind of insights that’ll change how you show up—for your team and your candidates. Ready to rethink recruiting? Let’s dive in.

In this episode:

• [00:00:49] Trisha's background and journey into recruitment
• [00:02:09] Hypergrowth at Rush Street Interactive and industry insights
• [00:04:11] Parallels between the Great Recession and post-COVID hiring
• [00:06:19] Dealing with bots and high-volume applicants
• [00:08:02] Tech, AI adoption, and building safe implementation practices
• [00:10:48] Addressing misconceptions about AI in the recruiting process
• [00:11:42] Candidate experience: balancing empathy with tech
• [00:12:18] Training hiring managers and building interview capability
• [00:14:46] Why so many managers have never been trained to interview
• [00:16:13] Behavioral interviewing, legal compliance, and live training
• [00:18:53] Elevating the recruiter role: from order taker to consultant
• [00:20:31] Internal mobility and training early-career employees to interview
• [00:23:21] Why investing in employees pays dividends
• [00:26:31] Corporate culture, transparency, and candidate trust
• [00:29:45] How Trisha's network helped shape her career
• [00:32:24] Networking advice: build connections before you need them
• [00:34:36] Trisha’s approach to in-person events and effective networking
• [00:36:46] Burned bridges, missed connections, and managing expectations
• [00:40:43] Give > take: why generosity in business wins long-term

About Trisha Degg

Trisha Degg is the Head of Talent Acquisition at Rush Street Interactive, a global online gaming and casino technology company. With two decades of experience spanning agency recruiting, HR...

What’s really happening behind the scenes when you hit “apply” on a job posting? Does candidate experience actually impact business results, or is it just a feel-good metric? Today’s episode will make you rethink how hiring really works, whether you’re a recruiter or a job seeker. Joel Lalgee sits down with Cailean Bailey, Head of Global Talent Acquisition at Design Pickle, a creative tech platform with over 550 employees in 15 countries. Cailean drops actionable insights on building candidate experiences that actually matter — and why most companies are getting it wrong.

You’ll hear Cailean break down the realities of startup life, including why hiring isn’t about ping-pong tables or equity dreams, but about handling chaos, bringing structure, and delivering business outcomes. She shares how her team uses behavioral competencies like curiosity and adaptability to make smarter hires, and reveals their secret weapon: tracking candidate Net Promoter Scores (NPS). If you’ve ever wondered how to measure real hiring success or get leadership buy-in for better processes, this episode is a goldmine.

Stick around as they explore what it really takes to stand out in today’s noisy job market — whether you’re building a team or trying to get hired. Cailean explains why providing feedback, setting expectations, and treating candidates like customers can make you an outlier in the best way possible. Plus, she shares how Design Pickle keeps candidates engaged from application to onboarding, and why companies of any size can implement “surprise and delight” moments without breaking the budget.

In this episode:

00:01:12 – Meet Cailean Bailey and Her Journey to Design Pickle

00:04:53 – Growing Design Pickle During COVID-19

00:10:41 – From Soccer Coach to Recruiter: Cailean's Career Pivot

00:24:07 – Agency vs. In-House Recruiting Realities

00:34:15 – The Hidden Truths About Working in Startups

00:39:47 – Measuring Curiosity and Drive in Interviews

00:50:25 – Startup Chaos and Proving Yourself on Day One

01:03:13 – Candidate NPS: A Game-Changer in Candidate Experience

01:15:32 – Why Great Candidate Experience Doesn’t Need Fancy Tools

01:25:58 – Connecting Hiring to Business Outcomes and ROI

01:39:12 – Why Candidate Experience Is a Marketing Play

01:51:47 – Setting Honest Expectations About High-Performance Cultures

02:02:17 – Final Thoughts and Where to Connect with Cailean Bailey

About Cailean Bailey

Cailean (pronounced Kay-lynn) is the Head of Global Talent Acquisition at Design Pickle, an AI-powered creative platform with a global design workforce. He leads a distributed team that manages 30,000+ applications annually across 14 countries, hiring for roles in Engineering, Product, Marketing, Sales, and Creative.

Before recruiting, Cailean was a Division I soccer coach, where he learned to build high-performing teams and guide people through pressure and growth. That mindset now fuels his approach to talent.

Outside of work, he’s into F45 workouts, strong coffee, globe-trotting (40+ countries), and waiting—sometimes patiently—for Manchester United’s return to glory.

Resource Links

• Design Pickle Linkedin
• Design Pickle Official Website

About Joel Lalgee

Joel Lalgee is an internationally known recruitment leader and coach who has helped thousands of recruiters build their brands online. In 2015, Joel started recruiting for a small start-up agency in Milwaukee. He quickly found his passion for recruitment. In 2019, he discovered content marketing, publishing his first posts on Linkedin....

Ever wondered how recruiters actually land interviews in today’s brutal market? Or what truly makes someone stand out when applying? This episode with Glenn Lindley is packed with raw, honest advice for recruiters and job seekers navigating a hiring world full of ghosted applications, AI-driven fraud, and overwhelming competition. Glenn shares why your network is your real résumé, why authenticity crushes AI-generated messages, and the best moves you can make at in-person events to turn conversations into opportunities.

Glenn Lindley, former Director of Talent Acquisition at HighLevel and Pubmatic veteran, dives deep into how he successfully transitioned careers, built strong recruiter communities, and survived the rollercoaster of hypergrowth startups. You’ll hear inside tactics from his global hiring experience, including fighting fraud in remote recruiting and why real human relationships always beat spray-and-pray applications.

Plus, we explore how recruiters and job seekers can use AI the right way — not to replace human connection, but to amplify it. Whether you’re job hunting, recruiting, or just trying to stay ahead of the curve, this episode is loaded with actionable insights you can use immediately.

In this episode:

00:00 — Welcome

01:00 — Meet Glenn Lindley: Career Highlights

02:00 — Why Glenn Left Pubmatic After a Decade

05:30 — Landing Interviews in Today’s Job Market

08:00 — Importance of Networking and Recruiter Communities

16:00 — How to Approach Networking Events Without Being Awkward

24:00 — Starting His Own Recruiter Community

34:00 — Fighting AI Fraud in Global Hiring

40:00 — How Recruiters Should Be Using AI

43:00 — Upcoming Events and Where to Find Glenn

About Glenn Lindley

Glenn Lindley is a seasoned talent acquisition leader with over a decade of experience, including scaling Pubmatic through an IPO and leading recruiting at HighLevel. Based in California, Glenn has built a reputation for fostering strong recruiter communities, pioneering effective hiring practices, and staying ahead of tech trends impacting recruiting. He’s a vocal advocate for balancing technology and human connection in the hiring process and actively supports out-of-work recruiters through grassroots community events.

Resource Links

• Glenn Lindley | LinkedIn
• PeopleTech Partners | Website
• PubMatic | Website
• HighLevel | Website

About Joel Lalgee

Joel Lalgee is an internationally known recruitment leader and coach who has helped thousands of recruiters build their brands online. In 2015, Joel started recruiting for a small start-up agency in Milwaukee. He quickly found his passion for recruitment. In 2019, he discovered content marketing, publishing his first posts on Linkedin. Since then, he has grown to over 400k followers, and his content has been seen over 1 billion times. In 2023, he started a business specializing in coaching recruiters, marketing consulting, and influencer partnerships.

Recruiting is No Joke Social Media

• LinkedIn
• Website