In this episode of the VideoMy Pod's US Series, recorded live in Chicago, host David Macciocca and co-host Brian Cheney, founder of People Nerd and PBC, sit down with Max Darby, Talent Attraction Manager at Hilti North America, to explore one of the most common, and most underexplored, career transitions in the industry: moving from talent acquisition into employer brand.
Drawing on over a decade of experience that started with agency recruitment in aerospace and defence in the UK before evolving into a global and then North American employer brand role at Hilti, Max shares what recruiters naturally bring to employer brand (and what they need to unlearn), how curiosity about the “why” behind applications sparked his shift, and what it really takes to build an employer brand strategy that connects to business outcomes. He also gets into programmatic advertising, talent pipelines, authentic storytelling, and why the role of employer brand is increasingly about advising the business — not just advertising it.
For recruiters considering the move into employer brand, or practitioners who want a grounded, honest take on what the role actually demands, this episode is full of hard-won insight from someone who has lived the transition.
Key Topics:
02:00 – Max’s journey: agency recruitment to global EB to Hilti North America
06:00 – The moment he realised social media and storytelling were his real superpower
10:00 – What recruiters bring to employer brand — and what they need to unlearn
15:00 – Moving from transactional mindset to strategic, persona-based thinking
19:00 – Why you can’t fix a bad employer brand with great storytelling
23:00 – Connecting employer brand to business outcomes: empty seats, lost revenue, and sales quotas
27:00 – Programmatic advertising and the split between brand and recruitment marketing
31:00 – What Max thought EB was vs. what it actually turned out to be
34:00 – The skills recruiters must develop: marketing, analytics, and strategic thinking
36:30 – Advice for anyone making the transition: take risks, stay curious, and it’ll be okay
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