Honeit Podcast with Kristin Jiles & Sherise Varga
In this episode of the Honeit Recruiting Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Kristin Jiles, CEO of The Jiles Group, and Sherise Varga, COO of eSearchPro. These industry leaders share their journeys into recruiting, insights on what separates top firms from the rest, and how they’ve adapted their business to stay competitive.
From the impact of authentic, human conversations and interview intelligence to the role of AI in recruiting, Kristin and Sherise offer a candid look into the future of hiring. They also highlight why building trust, maintaining integrity, and delivering value beyond traditional recruiting is essential for long-term success.
What Sets The Jiles Group & eSearchPro Apart?
Rather than simply conducting screening calls, Kristin and Sherise focus on fully comprehensive interviews, giving hiring managers the data and insights they need to make faster, more confident hiring decisions. Kristin and Sherise emphasize that not all recruiting firms are created equal. Their approach is rooted in:
✅ Quality Over Quantity: Instead of pushing resumes, they focus on thorough vetting, deep conversations, and understanding each candidate’s unique “X Factor.”
✅ Candidate Experience: They view candidates as clients, ensuring integrity, honesty, and a genuine commitment to making the right matches.
✅ Building Long-Term Partnerships: They became trusted talent consultants by prioritizing relationships over quick wins.
✅ Interview Intelligence as a Differentiator: Honeit has played a key role in transforming their recruiting process, allowing them to showcase candidate soundbites, insights, and authentic interview responses to hiring managers.
The Role of AI in Recruiting: Enhancing, Not Replacing Humans
AI is a hot topic in recruiting, but Kristin and Sherise believe that human relationships will always be at the core of hiring. While AI can enhance efficiency, streamline processes, and analyze data, it can’t replace human intuition, relationship-building, and soft skill evaluation. They argue that many companies are overestimating AI’s ability to make hiring decisions—especially considering that people don’t even rely on AI to make small decisions, like buying a car or choosing a vacation. So why would candidates or hiring managers trust AI to make career-changing hiring decisions?
Recruiting will continue to evolve, and AI may replace some tasks, but it won’t replace recruiters who excel at relationship-building, consulting, and identifying culture fits.
How Honeit Transformed Their Recruiting Approach
Sherise notes that hiring managers love having actual interview soundbites—it allows them to hear authentic candidate responses, helping them make faster, more confident hiring decisions.
Kristin and Sherise credit Honeit as a game-changer in their recruiting business. With Honeit’s interactive interview technology, they’ve been able to:
🎙️ Showcase candidates’ voices, insights, and personality in a way that a resume never could.
⏳ Save hiring managers time by delivering candidates who are already pre-vetted through comprehensive interviews.
📈 Elevate their role from recruiters to strategic hiring consultants by providing interview intelligence, not just resumes.
💡 Expand their client relationships by introducing other departments (marketing, sales ops, etc.) to Honeit’s structured interview insights.
Final Thoughts: The Future of Recruiting & What Matters Most
Kristin and Sherise leave us with a powerful message: recruiting is a people business, and integrity matters. They share stories of times when they’ve pulled candidates from roles—even when it cost them a commission—because they knew the match wasn’t right. Their philosophy is simple: trust is everything. Candidates trust them with their careers, and companies trust them with their hiring decisions.
The recruiters who embrace authenticity, provide value, and adapt to market changes will continue to thrive in an evolving industry. Whether you’re a recruiter, hiring manager, or talent leader, this episode is packed with insights on building trust, elevating candidate experience, and using interview intelligence to stay ahead.
Want to elevate your candidate screening with interview intelligence? Schedule a Honeit Demo
