The Talent Economy Podcast

This week’s episode welcomes a new host to The Talent Economy Podcast, Toptal’s Chief Economist, Erik Stettler. Many of you may remember Erik from his interview with Paul earlier this year ( Putting a Dent in the Universe: Introducing Toptal Chief Economist Erik Stettler ). Paul and Erik, along with other key members of the Toptal team, will host different episodes of the podcast, each offering th...

The conversation continues…. As mentioned in Part 1, this week’s episode welcomes a new host to The Talent Economy Podcast, Toptal’s Chief Economist, Erik Stettler. Many of you may remember Erik from his interview with Paul earlier this year ( Putting a Dent in the Universe: Introducing Toptal Chief Economist Erik Stettler ). Paul and Erik, along with other key members of the Toptal team, will hos...

I’m joined this week by Brad Johnson, a consultant who works for a large professional services company and its advisory practice. He’s in the people and org competency and works primarily with large tech companies. Prior to current events, Brad’s office presence mirrored that of his clients, and he usually found himself on site. That’s where the magic happened: relationships were built, meetings h...

This week, we are launching Toptal’s “Rise of Remote” series, a special edition of The Talent Economy Podcast, featuring advice and perspectives from experts in remote work. Prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic that has accelerated the gradual advance of remote work into a stampede, we thought it was extraordinarily relevant to create a special series dedicated to hearing from experts on how to succe...

This week, we are launching Toptal’s “Rise of Remote” series, a special edition of the Talent Economy Podcast , featuring advice and perspectives from experts in remote work. Prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic that has accelerated the gradual advance of remote work into a stampede, we thought it was extraordinarily relevant to create a special series dedicated to hearing from experts on how to succ...

This week, we are launching Toptal’s “Rise of Remote” series, a special edition of The Talent Economy Podcast, featuring advice and perspectives from experts in remote work. Prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic that has accelerated the gradual advance of remote work into a stampede, we thought it was extraordinarily relevant to create a special series dedicated to hearing from experts on how to succe...

This week, we are launching Toptal’s “Rise of Remote” series, a special edition of The Talent Economy Podcast, featuring advice and perspectives from experts in remote work. Prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic that has accelerated the gradual advance of remote work into a stampede, we thought it was extraordinarily relevant to create a special series dedicated to hearing from experts on how to succe...

This week, we are launching Toptal’s “Rise of Remote” series, a special edition of The Talent Economy Podcast, featuring advice and perspectives from experts in remote work. Prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic that has accelerated the gradual advance of remote work into a stampede, we thought it was extraordinarily relevant to create a special series dedicated to hearing from experts on how to succe...

This week, we are launching Toptal’s “Rise of Remote” series, a special edition of The Talent Economy Podcast, featuring advice and perspectives from experts in remote work. Prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic that has accelerated the gradual advance of remote work into a stampede, we thought it was extraordinarily relevant to create a special series dedicated to hearing from experts on how to succe...

This week, I’m joined by Ed Pederson, the VP of Product Development at Kelly Services, and my Toptal colleague, Rory Spanier. Ed is a subject matter expert in product development, design thinking, operational execution, strategic sourcing, operational procurement, and Lean Six Sigma processes. He leads a team of product developers who produce net new products across the Kelly enterprise. Rory is t...

In this episode, we’re joined by Lori, who works at a Fortune 50 aerospace company. Due to the nature of the business, manufacturing, the majority of the team’s communication was done in person. Current events forced a complete shift and required more virtual engagement. The challenge is, while many companies were already equipped with the basic technology needed to support a remote work transitio...

In this episode, I’m joined by Kyle Hutchinson, his wife Jen, and their family. During the first part of the conversation, Kyle and I do a bit of a temperature check on his remote work experience. When we spoke, Kyle, who works at an eCommerce company in Seattle, was six days into his remote work experience. We discuss some of the initial pain points, what he’s doing to settle into his new normal,...

Welcome to Toptal’s Rise of Remote podcast series. In just a few short weeks, the shift to remote work catapulted forward 10 years. The pandemic forced companies around the world to suddenly go remote, not out of a desire to experiment with a new way of working, but out of a necessity to keep their businesses afloat. Prior to the pandemic, we sat down for a conversation with Toptal’s VP of People,...

Much of the news these past few weeks has been centered around businesses and their transition to remote work environments. Education is another field that, within a matter of days, was also forced into a remote structure. In this episode, I’m joined by Mark Kalal. Mark teaches first grade at an independent school and shares his experience with how he, and his school, prepared to transform their c...

In this episode, we’re joined by Jen Kalal, senior program manager at Amazon. Jen works in recruiting and manages the team’s capacity, figuring out how many new hires are needed, where they’re going to be hired, and how many recruiters are required to help achieve the goal. One of the most challenging areas right now is human capital, and Jen provides insight into some of the adjustments that had...

This week, we’re joined by Kerry Brown, VP of workforce adoption at SAP, who is also a speaker, thought leader, and strategist. At SAP, Kerry focuses on the Future of Work: how jobs will change, where we work, how we work, and who we work with. Kerry has a passion for making employees successful at their jobs and helps companies achieve organizational excellence with SAP. A self-proclaimed SAP eva...

In this week’s episode, we’re joined by Corinne Ripoche, president of Pontoon Solutions. A division of The Adecco Group, Pontoon is a global HR outsourcing company that drives the acquisition of permanent talent and manages contingent and project workforce on behalf of organizations in more than 100 countries. Corinne joined Pontoon in 2017, after almost 15 years at The Adecco Group. A staffing in...

This week’s episode welcomes Marcus Sawyerr, CEO of YOSS - a cloud-based talent platform connecting high-demand skills with flexible global opportunities. YOSS originated from an R&D lab within The Adecco Group. Marcus, a staffing industry veteran, is responsible for creating and leading the digital agenda for one of the largest HR solutions providers in the world. Driven by his passion for ma...

In this week’s episode, we’re exploring the other side of the talent economy - the talent. I sit down with Melissa Morgan, who is a designer, freelancer, and marketing strategist. Melissa is a key contributor in the Toptal network, and we discuss her journey into freelancing. Three years ago, she found herself unhappy at her full-time job. Wanting to be anywhere else, she made the choice to bet on...

With 10 resumes submitted, what determines if there are five prospective candidates instead of two? That’s right - it’s the recruiter. In this episode, I’m joined by Ken Lazarus, the CEO of Scout Exchange. We discuss the talent economy, AI-powered recruiting - i.e., the role that data and AI play in the process, and how - for every job (and I mean every job) - there is someone out there poised wit...

This week, we welcome Erik Stettler to both the show and the Toptal team. Erik recently joined Toptal as chief economist. A longtime member of the network and advocate of the talent economy, he discusses his work with Toptal and what he’s most looking forward to in his new role. Erik began his career as an economist and data scientist, tasked with helping the global financial market manage large-s...

Why are we selling our bodies to the companies we work for? We only have one life – there’s a better way to spend it than sitting in an office for 10 hours a day. Remote work provides more flexibility as well as opportunities to earn more money and spend more time with loved ones. That’s exactly what Thomas Jajeh evangelizes every day. In this episode, I talk with Thomas Jajeh, the CEO of twago, a...

Technology is moving faster than it ever has before—and as slow as it ever will again. Technology makes productivity essentially limitless. The ability to access global talent and hire skilled freelancers means that there are no restrictions around what work can get done, and when. In this episode, I talk with Cara Bedford, director of marketing at CompuVision, who is also the managing editor of D...

There’s a new wave of innovation coming along, with all sorts of new companies entering the staffing industry. The economy is on the rise with more open job opportunities than people looking to fill them. For the first time, the talent is in the driver’s seat. In this episode, I talk with Barry Asin, the president at Staffing Industry Analysts. As a leader in the staffing industry, Barry knows ful...

That’s what Mathilde Fouque’s digital nomad life looks like. In her life, Mathilde visited 33 countries around the world. In the past 18 months, as a digital nomad, she has visited 29 American states, and 15 US national parks—all while steadily holding down her position at GE. In this episode, I talk with Mathilde about her transition into the world of remote work and what her first year of travel...