Winning the AI Talent Race: Grant Jessup on Specialized Hiring, Passive Talent Strategy, and the Future of RPO

Hiring volume may be cooling, but competition for specialized skills is intensifying. As AI adoption accelerates across industries, organizations face a widening gap between evolving role requirements and available talent. According to LinkedIn’s Workforce Report, 73% of professionals are passive candidates, making precision engagement more critical than ever (LinkedIn Talent Solutions). The strategic implication is clear: companies must rethink sourcing models, redefine job criteria around skills, and build sustainable pipelines that extend beyond traditional industry boundaries.So how can organizations win scarce AI-adjacent and hybrid talent without overwhelming lean internal TA teams? In this episode, Lamees Abourahma speaks with Grant Jessup, Global Head of Sales and Solutions at LevelUP HCS, a Silver member of the RPOA. They explore passive talent strategy, embedded RPO models, skills-first hiring, and how flexible recruitment partnerships enable access to specialized and underrepresented talent pools in a rapidly evolving market.Follow Grant Jessup on LinkedIn. Follow LevelUP on LinkedIn. About the PodcastTime to Hire is produced by the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association (RPOA), the leading authority on recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) foresight and innovation, and the trusted convener for the global RPO community. Through conversations with industry leaders, the podcast explores the trends, insights, and innovations shaping the future of talent acquisition.Learn more about RPOA and join the community at: https://www.rpoassociation.org.Follow the host, Lamees Abourahma, on LinkedIn.