Episode Summary
Rachel Zeller, Managing Director at Kitces.com, discusses how her company maintains human-centered hiring practices in an AI-saturated world. She shares strategies for identifying authentic candidates, including requiring AI transcripts with work samples, conducting process-focused interviews, and deliberately slowing down applications by turning off easy-apply features. The conversation explores balancing AI as a productivity tool while preserving genuine human connection in recruitment.
Key Quotes
"We require candidates to submit their AI transcript with work samples and discuss their process in interviews—we want to see how they leverage AI while demonstrating original thinking."
"There's no right answer to our work samples anymore. AI can't help when we're evaluating how you think rather than what you produce."
"Multiple people on our team applied more than once and were rejected the first time. The fact that they still felt good enough about the process to try again—I feel really good about that."
"We provide education and resources for financial advisors, making them more successful"
"I make all the backend things happen while all of our nerds make all the great things happen for the advisor community"
Transcript
Todd Merrill:
Welcome, today's guest. We're doing something a little bit different. It's real-time. It's evolving. Our guest today is Rachel Zeller:. Hi, Rachel. How are you?
Rachel Zeller:
Hi Todd. I'm great. Thanks for having me on.
Todd Merrill:
Want to go deeper?
Work With MeRelated Episodes
Ep29 Teja Yenamandra—Beyond Resumes-The Case for Talent-First, Human-Centered Hiring
Teja Yenamandra, founder of Gun.io, discusses building a venture-backed labor marketplace that connects senior freelance engineers with companies based on merit rather than price. He shares insights on remote-first company building, the impact of AI on software development, maintaining work-life balance as an entrepreneur, and navigating venture capital relationships while staying focused on sustainable growth and human impact.
Ep22 Bryan Dennstedt—2025 Trends: AI, Venture Capital, and the Future of Work!
Bryan Dennstedt, fractional CTO at Tech CXO and sustainable investing advocate, discusses 2025 technology and business trends with host Todd. They explore venture capital's post-SVB recovery, AI's practical applications and limitations, the evolution of marketing through influencer content and podcasts, and emerging shifts in crypto regulation, intellectual property, and remote work culture.
Ep20 Adam Lehde — Family Values, Ukrainian Excellence: Creating the Ideal Workplace
Adam Lehde, co-founder of Happen Technologies, discusses building a hybrid software development company that partners US-based strategy with Ukrainian technical talent. He shares his journey from mobile developer to entrepreneur, the cultural strengths of Ukrainian developers, and his philosophy of building a family-first company culture while maintaining high performance through direct communication and ownership mentality.