Tea Time with Talent Acquisition

From the rise of LinkedIn to the arrival of AI, Charles reflects on the major shifts that have transformed recruitment over the past 25 years and explains why the next 3–5 years could change the profession more than the last decade combined.

In the final episode for this season of Tea Time with Talent Acquisition, Zvjezdana Topalović, Head of Talent, unpacks the reality of hiring in high-growth, chaotic environments where there’s no structure, no employer brand, and no clear roadmap. Just ambition, pressure, and the need to get it right.

In this episode of Tea Time with Talent Acquisition, we unpack what it means to “hit the gas pedal” but with the right checks and balances in place.

Jim was Google’s first Tech Recruiter in London when the company was around 8,000 people and we rewind to that pivotal moment to unpack how Google thought about expansion, why London mattered, and what smart location strategy really looks like later in his career.

Andreea brings such a grounded, human perspective to talent acquisition and in this episode, she takes a step back from day-to-day hiring to reflect on the bigger picture: purpose, community, and what our role really is.

Elman shares a 'feet on the ground' perspective to tech hiring, offering us in talent and recruitment a clearer insight into how hiring managers are thinking...  

• Missed clarity on what is actually needed before searching begins 

• Long hiring processes that optimise for the wrong signals 

• A sharp stance on AI usage and how this might be impacting hiring

Hari doesn't claim to be an AI Engineer or expert in developing agents, he is simply someone in our field with enthusiasm about what is happening to tech in general and as a result has taken it upon himself to explore AI past articles and videos with his own AI Agent that he gracefully talks us through during this packed episode.

This is a very honest and raw discussion covering...

• The importance of reconnecting your WORK to your WHY

• Setting clear boundaries and routines to prevent burnout

• Using reflection and renewal as part of performance

and a lot lot more!

AI is woven in so much of our lives but are we really thinking of the ethics behind it's usage, especially in the context of talent acquisition.  This episode is more focused on getting you thinking that driving any certain action, it's about posing and pondering. It's one of those talks that I firmly believe should be front and centre of all our minds, especially in leadership roles.

After 12 years helping teams build hiring systems that actually work, I’ve seen what happens when process becomes the bottleneck and how a few small changes can completely transform candidate experience and speed to hire. Recruitment is a people business but somewhere along the way, process took the driver’s seat.  This episode is your reminder to take it back.