In the age of AI and rapid technological evolution, skills planning has become a greater challenge than ever before. But how else can businesses ensure clear succession paths across their organizations? As we dive down this rabbit hole, we are joined today by Lupe Colangelo, the Director of Alumni Engagement and Employer Partnerships at General Assembly – a company focused on closing the global tech skills gap and connecting tech talent with top companies across the globe. We begin with the work being done at General Assembly and what Lupe’s role entails before examining the current state of the hiring market from the candidate’s perspective. Next, we discover how organizations are staying on top of candidate expectations, the guidelines to follow for employer branding in current market conditions, the reasons behind candidate frustrations, and how AI literacy fits into the recruiting conversation. To end, we unpack General Assembly’s State of Tech Talent 2025 to help define a ‘sustainable talent pipeline’, the challenges of developing one, how AI and technology affect skills and succession planning, and why it’s a good idea to brush up on your AI skills even if AI is not at the forefront of your work responsibilities. Lupe Colangelo also shares invaluable advice for leveling up your candidate experience as a recruiter. 

 

Key Points From This Episode:

 

• Assessing the current state of the hiring market from the candidate’s perspective. 

• Why some recruiters won’t discuss salary expectations in the early interview stages.

• Unpacking the general sentiments of frustrated candidates. 

• Automation, online talent portals, and other ways to improve the candidate experience.  

• How recruiters select candidates, and how you can stand out in any talent pool. 

• The role of AI in the hiring market and where AI literacy fits in. 

• Defining a ‘sustainable talent pipeline’ and exploring the possible risks of developing one. 

• How skills and succession planning become more difficult as technology evolves. 

• What it means to have AI skills even in non-AI-specific roles. 

• Final takeaways from General Assembly’s State of Tech Talent Report 2025. 

• Lupe’s advice to recruiters hoping to improve their candidate experience. 

 

Quotes:

 

“From an HR perspective, you never want to make a promise that you can’t keep.” — Lupe Colangelo [11:29]

 

“Anything that you can include from an HR perspective that tells people where they are; when they can expect to hear back; if they’re still a candidate in the running, that makes such a difference to how a candidate perceives you and if they’re willing to reapply in the future.” — Lupe Colangelo [13:57]

 

“We kind of assume everyone is using [AI], but now it’s [about] how you’re using it. So, you probably shouldn’t pull it up in an interview.” — Lupe Colangelo [21:35]

 

“If your leaders aren’t scared of [AI], your employees are not going to be scared of it.” — Lupe Colangelo [31:20]

 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

 

Lupe Colangelo on LinkedIn

General Assembly  

General Assembly on Instagram

General Assembly on YouTube  

How We Work

The State of Tech Talent 2025

LHH Recruitment Solutions