Inside the Black Hole: What Really Happens After You Apply with Julia Levy

Recruiting is No Joke

Did you know that recruiting has drastically evolved since the mid-1990s? In this episode of Recruiting Is No Joke, Joel sits down with talent acquisition leader Julia Levy to explore how recruiting has evolved and what still matters most. With more than two decades inside Fortune 500 companies, leading global TA operations and navigating major ATS implementations, Julia has seen every phase of the industry up close.

She walks through her journey from career-counseling grad student to agency recruiter, to TA operations, and eventually to leading enterprise hiring teams responsible for more than 120,000 employees. Julia explains how recruiting shifted from relationship-driven phone sourcing to a landscape shaped by LinkedIn, automation, and AI, while reminding listeners that genuine human connection remains essential.

She and Joel unpack why job descriptions often feel outdated, why resumes have become AI-optimized guesses, and how auto-apply tools are overwhelming recruiters and damaging the candidate experience. They also discuss fast-apply culture, what early-career job seekers are struggling with, and how Gen Z can navigate today’s competitive market.

Julia highlights why understanding your ATS matters, how process decisions impact every part of the hiring cycle, and why data now drives modern TA. She also shares the motivation behind her new book From Hi to Hired, written for interns and new grads entering a challenging job market.

Julia’s message is simple: great recruiting still depends on real connection, smart systems, and people who understand the work.

In this episode:

• [00:57] Julia’s background

• [03:05] Current projects and consulting work

• [04:03] AutoZone role and scope of hiring

• [04:53] Origin story: entering recruiting

• [06:09] What recruiting looked like in the 90s

• [07:12] Evolution of digital recruiting

• [10:44] Transition to internal roles and TA operations

• [13:12] Career progression across major companies

• [16:01] Importance of TA operations knowledge

• [18:11] What hasn’t changed in recruiting

• [19:29] Job descriptions vs actual job needs

• [22:17] Candidate experience and the application black hole

• [26:41] Strategic job search and candidate education

• [28:12] Defining qualifications and application strategy

• [29:49] What recruiters look for in resumes

• [33:21] Industry experience and risk in hiring

• [35:49] Julia’s book: From Hi to Hired

• [39:06] Advice quality and social media misinformation

• [40:45] Challenges for new grads in today’s job market

• [43:16] Where to find Julia + Coach Julia AI

About Julia Levy

Julia Levy is a veteran Talent Acquisition executive with a background in career counseling. She has led global TA teams at Fortune 500 companies like AutoZone and MetLife, specializing in transforming clunky recruitment processes into efficient, candidate-friendly experiences. Now recovering from corporate life, she is an author, advisor to HR tech companies, and a passionate advocate for job seekers. Her new book, "From High to Hired" provides a strategic roadmap for college students to land their first job.

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

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Julia Levy Social Media

• Website

• LinkedIn

• The Coach Julia AI

• Book: From Hi to Hired

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