We met for coffee at Catalyst, a space buzzing with energy from the dozens of tech startups and entrepreneurs working on the next big idea. Dillon de Rozairo sat across from me, animated, leaning in when he got excited. He’s young, sure, but he runs his own startup, Innovation Labs, and he’s unapologetic about running it differently. “HR needs an overhaul,” he said flatly. “The system is broken.”
Most people think the HR system works just fine for the business world, but Dillon de Rozairo knows better. Dillon has three gripes with how most HR departments are failing, especially recent college grads. His complaints? HR departments posting ghost positions, the lack of communication from HR during the application process, and the way HR recruitment teams behave at career fairs.
Ghost Positions
Most people think that when a company posts a job, they’re hiring. Dillon knows it’s not that simple.
“A lot of the time, companies show up at career fairs or post positions online, but it’s mostly for show,” he said. He called them ghost positions—jobs that exist on paper, but no one’s actually planning to hire right now. I reminded him
that career fairs aren’t malicious; they’re meant to expose students to opportunities. He nodded, but shrugged. “Yeah, I get that now,” he said, “but for a student who’s excited, it feels like you’re dangling a carrot. That’s frustrating. If you’re not hiring, just say so.”
Dillon admitted he hadn’t considered how confusing these situations can be for students. “It never occurred to me to think from their perspective,” he said. At his own company, he runs things differently: if they’re hiring, candidates know exactly which roles are open. If they’re not, they know that too. “People appreciate honesty,” he said. “Even if it’s a no.”
Communication During Hiring
Most people think an automatic rejection — or worse, silence — is just part of job hunting. Dillon knows that lack of communication is one of the most broken parts of the system.
“I applied to Apple back in 2021,” he told me. “Two or three years later, I got a denial. By then, I’d already moved on, but I still wanted to know why. Everyone deserves a denial that tells you something. Not just a ‘no.’”
When I asked if he’d ever requested feedback, he paused and smiled. “It never occurred to me,” he said. “That was actually something I learned talking to you — that you can ask. I just assumed silence was normal.”
I told him I often ask, especially if I am a finalist for the role. I want to know if it was a “me thing” or a “them thing.” Was I wrong for the role because I lacked a skill, or did they choose someone else because they hired internally or had more experience? I can learn more skills for next time. But I cannot address an issue about an internal hire or make time fly faster to gain more years of experience.
That realization shaped how he leads now. “If I were on the other side, I’d want clarity,” he said. “That’s what we do at Innovation Labs. Candidates walk away knowing why they weren’t chosen — and where they excelled. It’s a simple fix, but it makes a huge difference.”
de Rozario accepting Tech Startup of the Year award at the AIM Tech Awards, 2024.
Career Fairs
Most people think career fairs are a great way to get in front of employers. Dillon knows they can be smoke and mirrors.
“You go to a career fair, see a table with a big company name, they’ve got iPads, forms, someone says, ‘Leave your info, we’ll get back to you.’ And then… nothing. No call, no email, nothing.”
I’ve seen it too — from both sides of the table. I worked in Career Development for years, and often attended career fairs when my college was not hiring. I was there to talk about my college and the type of roles we hired for when we were hiring. I told him career fairs are often more about awareness and pipelines than immediate hiring. He didn’t disagree, but he pushed back. “I get that,” he said, “but the way it happens now, it’s like you’re pretending there’s a job just to collect résumés. That’s not right. People deserve clarity.”
That tension — between what HR intends and what candidates experience — is exactly where Dillon sees the biggest gap.
“HR could fix this with a simple change in mindset,” he said. “Stop pretending. Be transparent. Tell people what’s real and what’s not.”
de Rozario speaking during Silicon Prairie Startup Week, With SPN editor, Stefanie Monge.
Photo by Silicon Prairie News
Building Something Better
Dillon’s critique isn’t cynicism. It’s innovation.
He’s building a startup that challenges traditional HR systems — one that values drive and learning over rigid qualifications. “I want people who show up and get things done,” he said. “If you’re motivated, you can learn on the job. That drive beats experience almost every time. But the HR system — résumé screenings, automated no’s, opaque interviews — gets in the way of finding that person.”
He’s proof that the next generation of founders isn’t just rethinking products and tech — they’re rethinking people, too.
By the end of our chat, it was clear: Dillon is not accepting the HR status quo. We laughed about how much the HR world could learn from this philosophy. Most people assume a structured hiring process—automated rejections, generic interviews, career fairs—is sufficient. Dillon knows it’s not. He’s a young CEO running his startup on his own terms, and his takeaway is simple: if hiring is done transparently and thoughtfully, everyone wins.
Most people think HR is fine as it is. Dillon knows it’s broken—but also fixable. And at Innovation Labs, he’s already fixing it.
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This is part of a series where I interview Omaha’s startup and entrepreneurial leaders to find out what they really think about what’s happening here. If you’ve got a hot take — and you’re brave enough to share it — my inbox is open.
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