About Lars Schmidt
Lars Schmidt is a talent strategist, writer, (former) podcast host, educator, recovering entrepreneur, and builder of people-first recruiting systems.
For two decades, Lars has helped companies figure out how to find, attract, and keep great people. He's worked with everyone from scrappy startups to Fortune 500 giants. Over his career, he's designed recruiting strategies for the Beijing Olympics ticketing operations and created SpaceX's first employer brand campaign. He won the inaugural NPR Innovation Award and has delivered keynotes in 10 countries.
But his real passion? Making recruiting more human (yes, even in the age of AI. In fact, especially in the age of AI).
After eleven years running his own show at Amplify Talent as a consultant, speaker, and author, Lars recently made a bet on himself: he shifted back into an operator role as Vice President of Talent Acquisition & Innovation at Fruitist. Why? Because the best way to stay sharp in this rapidly evolving world is by doing the work, not just talking about it.
Lars for Fast Company on the future of work and has taught at places like IESE's School of Founders and LinkedIn Learning. He wrote the bestselling "Redefining HR: Transforming People Teams to Drive Business Performance" and hosted the award-winning "LinkedIn Presents: Redefining Work" podcast, where he interviewed Chief People Officers from Fortune 50 companies to venture-backed startups.
His interviewing skills have led to some fascinating conversations, including Jeff Cohen (most would remember him as Chunk from The Goonies, and yes, the Truffle Shuffle came up) and Andy Cohen (fewer shuffles, more sparkle).
His approach is simple: skip the hype, focus on what actually works, take creative risks, and remember that recruiting is ultimately about people connecting with people. Even when AI enters the chat.
Based outside Washington DC, Lars works with companies around the world to rethink how they approach talent. When he's not obsessing over GPTs and design, he's learning guitar and keeping up with his wife and two daughters.