Want to attract candidates to your company? Set up your HQ in a TV-famous office, like iCIMS.
The HR software company is based at Bell Works in Holmdel, NJ—aka, Lumon Industries, the mysterious biotech company at the center of sci-fi thriller Severance. Its second season sparked a spike in visits, and interest, in the complex and its businesses.
“It’s been interesting to see sort of the uptick in interest in Bell Works, knowing now that this is a hot spot due to the tie back to the show,” Stephanie Sansone, director of talent acquisition at iCIMS, tells HR Brew. (No, iCIMS’ employees aren’t severed. Yes, Sansone is asked that often.)
The exposure has helped attract NYC-area talent to iCIMS, which, prepandemic, touted itself as a tech employer for workers looking to ditch the commute into the Big Apple. But that’s shifted as iCIMS has expanded globally.
“Our footprint internationally has expanded, so we’ve had to work differently, when you think about the structure of your team and what makes sense, so that we’re all marching in the same direction,” she said.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
What’s the best change you’ve made at a place you’ve worked?
Making sure we’re best in class, and using our internal tools right, and leveraging AI, so we can maximize the usage of our internal ATS and all of the products in the iCIMS product suite, and enabling managers to go in and use the system. We’re relying on the system a little bit more heavily to give these status updates, so leaders have visibility to the recruitment funnel, and that will free up time for recruiters to focus on more strategic responsibilities. I’d rather them have conversations with candidates, and source, and try to find the right people for our positions, than filling out Excel spreadsheets and working on mundane tasks.
What’s the biggest misconception people might have about your job?
Folks think recruitment is easy, and it’s not. It’s very challenging. It’s important for us to…balance what the business needs versus what candidates need. Recruitment is truly an art and a science, and the really good recruiter has to have strength in both. When I think about the science, it’s the process, compensation discussions, navigating some more of the tactical responsibilities. The art and the flare for being a good recruiter is being able to make that human connection.
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What’s the most fulfilling aspect of your job?
Seeing my recruiters flourish and being able to have open conversations around what they’re doing, or what they’re not doing, to be more strategic advisors.
What trend in HR are you most optimistic about? Why?
The role AI can play in transforming our industry. When we look at some of the data that comes out of our 2024 talent experience report…64% of TA professionals want more automation [AI] in the TA process, because it's saving them time. If we can save an average of two-ish hours per week, that gives the recruiter time to switch into that strategic leader. Last year, 90% of HR leaders saw their role morphing into the strategic advisor position. We’re seeing now, if we compare the results to last year and today, leaders are agreeing that this year, they are driving more strategic change within their organization, even though it’s early on in 2025. AI’s true value for TA pros goes beyond that, and I think that's what gets me excited about how AI can amplify that human experience in recruitment.
What trend in HR are you least optimistic about? Why?
Seeing that the labor market is a little bit more on ice. In our iCIMS March talent Insights report, we’re seeing application activity is up 12% since last year, but we’re seeing hiring slow down. We need to stay focused on talent acquisition and not let some of the noise happening in the labor market deter us from focusing on finding the right candidates and [understanding]: Are we hiring people with the right critical skills?
And we have to keep the human in talent acquisition, particularly when more…candidates are looking because they were impacted by a layoff. We have to be empathetic to that. Treat candidates with respect, and give them timely updates and feedback. Whether someone is not selected for an opportunity, that’s going to stick with them, and how we treat those candidates will tell us if they are likely to apply to a job at iCIMS.