Everyone is talking about AI. Fewer people know what to do with it. Most are stuck in trial mode, asking for demos, trying out tools, and hoping something clicks. But the real progress is happening in places you might not expect, companies that stopped chasing features and started asking better questions.
In this episode, Joel and Marcus break down what that shift looks like. They share examples from teams who’ve taken the time to map their workflows and define the actual problems they want to solve. These are the ones seeing clear outcomes not because their tech is better, but because their thinking is.
They talk through the shift from prompt engineering to what they call “context engineering.” If you don’t know how your business runs, no prompt will help you. If you do, the gains are quick and measurable.
They also cover how AI is being hired and budgeted for across teams, what kinds of skills are in demand, and why most AI spending still goes to people, not platforms. You’ll hear numbers from recent surveys, trends in AI hiring, and examples of how companies are already building AI into recruiting workflows.
If you’re wondering where to start or why your tools aren’t doing what you hoped, this one’s worth your time.
In this episode:
(00:05) Introduction
(00:36) Organizational restructuring for AI
(01:29) AI hype cycle and context engineering
(03:32) Identifying real problems vs. point solutions
(05:57) Examples of AI adoption in companies
(08:20) Integrating AI into workflows
(09:36) Proactive vs. reactive AI adoption
(10:06) Time audits and productivity gains
(11:03) Scaling AI productivity in large organizations
(12:02) AI model accuracy and cost considerations
(13:17) Subject matter expertise and AI hallucinations
(14:41) Critical thinking and first principles
(16:24) AI for personal and family use cases
(18:43) Echo chambers and positive reinforcement in AI
(21:43) Advice on using AI for practical tasks
(24:08) Context engineering for better AI results
(27:12) Rushed prompts vs. thoughtful context
(28:08) Real-time contextual AI in recruiting
(29:32) AI development spend and talent trends
(31:49) Upskilling and transferable skills in AI
(32:54) AI job market and hiring challenges
(34:22) Transferable skills and internal mobility
(36:01) Enterprise AI adoption and job security
(39:24) Value-based economy and outcome-driven roles
(40:39) Focusing on high-value tasks
(42:40) AI agent proliferation and use cases
(45:48) High-profile AI talent poaching
(48:30) Mega investments in AI startups
About Marcus Sawyerr
Marcus Sawyerr is the Founder & CEO of EQ.app, a company reshaping recruitment by eliminating administrative overhead through AI. With 19 years of experience in staffing and recruiting technology, including serving as Global President of Innovation at Adecco, Marcus brings a rare blend of grassroots sales expertise, executive leadership, and product vision.EQ.app is built around a clear mission: Zero-Admin™. Marcus’s goal is to empower forward-thinking recruiting organizations with intelligent infrastructure that unlocks access to opportunity and drives real outcomes.
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.
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