Fintech’s Talent Gap: How AI Is Changing Jobs, Hiring and Career Growth

How Recruitment, AI and Inclusive Leadership Are Shaping the Future of FinTech

The financial technology industry has always evolved at pace. New technologies, changing market conditions and shifting customer expectations have continually reshaped the skills businesses need and the careers professionals pursue. Yet while innovation often dominates the conversation, people remain at the centre of every successful FinTech business.

In an episode of Women Leading the Way, hosted by Maria Tunikova, Nadia Edwards-Dashti, Co-Founder and Chief Customer Officer at Harrington Starr and host of FinTech's DEI Discussions, discusses the realities of FinTech recruitment, career development, AI, leadership and diversity within financial services. Drawing on more than two decades of experience in financial technology recruitment, Nadia shares why recruitment should be about far more than matching CVs to vacancies and why the organisations that invest in people will be the ones that thrive in the years ahead.

Rather than focusing solely on career milestones, the conversation explores the experiences that shape professionals throughout their careers. From entering recruitment unexpectedly to building one of the best-known FinTech recruitment businesses in the market, Nadia reflects on the lessons that continue to influence Harrington Starr's approach to hiring, talent acquisition and long-term client relationships.

Finding a Career Without Having a Plan

One of the most relatable parts of the discussion is Nadia's honesty about how little she originally knew about recruitment.

After completing degrees in History and International Relations at University College London, her ambition was not to work in financial services. She had imagined a future within politics or the Foreign Office, but unpaid entry routes meant those opportunities simply were not realistic. Instead, she broadened her search and was introduced to recruitment by another recruiter who explained the basics of the industry only minutes before her first interview.

Although that interview did not go well, it introduced her to a profession that would ultimately define her career. More importantly, it revealed something that would become central to her philosophy: recruitment is fundamentally about helping people.

Looking back, Nadia explains that recruitment in the mid-2000s was highly transactional. Success was measured by numbers, speed and placements rather than by the long-term impact on candidates or clients. Even early in her career, she recognised that many talented professionals were not receiving fair representation or genuine advocacy.

Those early observations became the foundation of the values that continue to underpin Harrington Starr today. Rather than viewing recruitment purely as a sales process, Nadia saw an opportunity to become an advocate for people navigating important moments in their careers. That mindset continues to distinguish specialist financial services recruitment from transactional hiring, particularly within highly competitive sectors such as FinTech and capital markets.

Why Recruitment Should Be Built on Trust

As the conversation develops, Maria asks what inspired the creation of Harrington Starr and why the business chose a different path from many recruitment firms operating at the time.

For Nadia, the answer comes back to trust.

She explains that recruitment has historically suffered from a lack of confidence among candidates and employers alike. Too many professionals remember poor experiences, limited communication or processes that prioritised filling vacancies over understanding people.

When Harrington Starr launched in 2010, the aim was to change that experience completely.

Rather than focusing only on vacancies, the business wanted to build genuine relationships before hiring needs even existed. It wanted to create a reputation for adding value through insight, community engagement and long-term support instead of simply contacting people when there was a role to fill.

Today these ideas are widely discussed across the recruitment industry. Organisations talk about building communities, engaging audiences and creating value. Nadia notes that these were not common phrases when Harrington Starr was established, yet those principles formed the company's foundation from the very beginning.

That emphasis on relationships has become increasingly important as the FinTech recruitment market has experienced periods of significant change. During slower hiring markets, organisations naturally return to partners they already trust. Candidates also seek recruiters who understand not only their technical expertise but their long-term ambitions, career motivations and personal goals.

For specialist financial technology recruitment, building relationships over many years creates a stronger outcome than focusing on individual placements alone. As Nadia explains, many clients still return after more than a decade because those relationships were built on trust rather than transactions.

The Evolution of FinTech Recruitment

The discussion then shifts towards how the FinTech industry itself has changed over the last fifteen years.

Nadia describes the early growth of FinTech as one of the most exciting periods in financial services. Alongside established financial institutions emerged a wave of mission-led businesses determined to challenge traditional approaches to banking, payments and financial technology.

For recruiters, this changed everything.

Recruitment was no longer simply about technical skills or previous experience. Understanding a company's mission became equally important because professionals increasingly wanted to work for organisations whose purpose aligned with their own motivations.

Matching candidates with businesses that reflected their personal drivers became a far more meaningful process than simply reviewing experience on a CV.

However, the market has changed significantly over recent years.

Following the post-pandemic hiring boom, many FinTech organisations experienced increased investor scrutiny, tighter funding conditions and pressure to demonstrate profitability rather than growth alone.

This has resulted in leaner organisational structures, reduced hiring activity and increased competition for senior opportunities.

Nadia explains that many businesses have combined multiple positions into single roles, expecting fewer employees to deliver significantly more responsibility. While understandable from a commercial perspective, she believes there is a danger that organisations become too lean, losing some of the mission-led culture that originally made FinTech such an attractive sector.

These market conditions have also created challenges for experienced professionals. Many individuals with fifteen or twenty years of expertise now find themselves searching for opportunities in a market offering fewer vacancies than in previous years.

This changing landscape reinforces the value of working with specialist FinTech recruiters who understand both the commercial realities facing employers and the career aspirations of candidates navigating an increasingly competitive market.

AI in Recruitment and the Future of Hiring

Artificial intelligence has become one of the defining topics across financial services, and naturally the conversation turns towards its growing influence on recruitment.

Nadia offers a balanced perspective that moves beyond the headlines.

While AI has undoubtedly become more visible within recruitment technology, she explains that many organisations still choose not to automate significant parts of their hiring process. Businesses remain cautious about missing exceptional candidates through overly automated screening and continue to value the judgement that experienced recruiters and hiring managers provide.

Equally, Nadia believes much of the public conversation focuses on AI replacing people when the more valuable discussion should be about enabling people to become more effective.

She points to examples where AI can dramatically reduce the time needed for technical work but stresses that experienced professionals remain essential for validating outputs, testing quality and applying industry expertise.

Rather than replacing skilled employees, AI creates opportunities for professionals to focus on higher-value work while using technology to improve productivity.

For financial technology recruitment, this shift means employers are increasingly looking for individuals who can combine technical capability with critical thinking, commercial awareness and adaptability. As automation becomes more widespread, human judgement becomes even more valuable.

Nadia also raises a challenge that many organisations are only beginning to consider: succession planning.

If AI reduces entry-level opportunities today, what happens in several years when businesses require experienced mid-level professionals who never had the opportunity to gain those foundational years of experience?

Drawing on previous market cycles, she recalls how organisations once struggled to find professionals with three or four years of experience because graduate hiring had previously been reduced. She warns that businesses should avoid repeating the same mistake as AI adoption accelerates.

For employers across financial services, technology and capital markets, successful hiring strategies will need to balance innovation with long-term talent development if they are to build sustainable workforces for the future.

Why Diversity and Inclusion Continue to Matter in FinTech

While AI and hiring trends dominate many industry conversations, Maria steers the discussion towards another area that has become synonymous with Nadia's work: diversity, equity and inclusion.

In 2019, Nadia launched FinTech's DEI Discussions, a podcast series dedicated to exploring how organisations can create more inclusive workplaces and better opportunities for underrepresented talent. Since then, the series has grown to more than 600 episodes, becoming one of the most recognised platforms for conversations around diversity within financial services and financial technology.

When asked what inspired the series, Nadia explains that she saw both a gap and an opportunity.

She believed too many organisations were thinking only about hiring rather than how they developed, retained and supported their people over the long term. Although she works in FinTech recruitment, she explains that great recruiters should want candidates to thrive after they join an organisation, not simply make placements.

For Nadia, success means introducing professionals to businesses where they will be supported, challenged and given opportunities to grow throughout their careers.

She also reflects on the recruitment process itself, suggesting that many aspects remain outdated. CVs, application processes and interview styles often fail to showcase people's full potential, while interviews can sometimes become exercises in trying to catch candidates out instead of creating environments where they can perform at their best.

Another issue she highlights is the misconception that diverse talent simply is not available. Too often, organisations conclude that because women or other underrepresented groups did not apply for a particular role, the talent does not exist.

Nadia challenges that assumption directly.

Rather than debating whether diverse talent exists, she prefers to demonstrate it by giving talented professionals a platform to share their experiences, expertise and leadership journeys. Through hundreds of podcast conversations, she has created visible evidence of the remarkable people already shaping the FinTech industry.

For businesses committed to improving FinTech hiring, this visibility is critical. Expanding networks, challenging assumptions and widening talent pools ultimately leads to stronger recruitment decisions and better-performing teams.

Learning from Hundreds of Industry Conversations

One of the most fascinating sections of the discussion explores what Nadia has learned after interviewing hundreds of leaders across financial services and FinTech.

Maria asks whether recurring themes began to emerge throughout those conversations and whether those insights ultimately inspired Nadia's book, FinTech Women Walk the Talk.

Nadia explains that after recording her first one hundred podcast episodes, she realised she had gained an extraordinary education from listening to the experiences of successful women across the industry.

Those conversations became the foundation of her book.

Rather than presenting her own opinions alone, the book highlights the perspectives of more than one hundred women, demonstrating both the scale of female leadership within FinTech and the diversity of experiences that exist across the sector.

She wanted readers to see page after page filled with accomplished women working across financial technology and financial services because visibility matters.

The recurring themes she identifies are not limited to women alone. They speak more broadly about representation, opportunity and ensuring that organisations benefit from a wider range of perspectives.

Instead of repeatedly arguing that talented people from different backgrounds exist, Nadia believes evidence is far more powerful than debate.

This philosophy also aligns closely with effective talent acquisition. The strongest hiring decisions are made when organisations actively seek different viewpoints, broaden their talent networks and remain open to candidates whose experiences may differ from traditional expectations.

By showcasing successful professionals across the industry, the podcast demonstrates that exceptional talent already exists. The challenge is ensuring recruitment processes consistently recognise it.

Building Better Leaders Through Inclusive Thinking

The conversation then moves beyond recruitment towards leadership itself.

Maria asks where the biggest barriers remain for women progressing within financial technology and why so much talent still struggles to reach senior leadership positions.

Nadia explains that challenges occur throughout the employee journey.

Drawing on research she references during the discussion, she describes how interview questions are often framed differently depending on who is being interviewed. Some candidates are encouraged to discuss future opportunities and growth potential, while others are asked primarily about risk and potential weaknesses.

Although subtle, these differences influence how candidates are perceived.

She also discusses recurring themes that have emerged from years of conversations with leaders across financial services. Confidence, opportunity, promotion and sponsorship continue to appear repeatedly.

Another important point concerns how behaviours are interpreted.

Characteristics that may be viewed positively in one person can sometimes be judged differently in another, despite identical behaviours. These perceptions inevitably influence recruitment, promotions and leadership opportunities across organisations.

Nadia also highlights research showing that many women leave technology careers after several years in the industry. While assumptions are often made about the reasons, she explains that the conversations she has had suggest the reality is frequently much more complex.

For leaders, this reinforces the importance of creating environments where different perspectives are genuinely welcomed rather than simply discussed.

Perhaps the most striking trend Nadia identifies is the growing emphasis on empathetic leadership.

Across hundreds of podcast interviews, empathetic leadership has emerged consistently as one of the qualities professionals value most.

As financial services continues to evolve through digital transformation, AI adoption and changing workforce expectations, organisations that combine commercial excellence with strong leadership are likely to be best positioned to attract and retain exceptional talent.

Walking the Talk on Inclusion

Towards the end of the conversation, Maria asks what "walking the talk" truly means.

The phrase has become closely associated with Nadia's work, reflecting her belief that inclusion is demonstrated through everyday actions rather than corporate statements.

She encourages leaders to think about the small decisions made every day.

Who is invited into conversations?

Who feels comfortable challenging ideas?

How do leaders respond when someone offers a different perspective?

Rather than viewing diversity purely through demographic data, Nadia also reminds listeners that diversity of thought matters enormously.

Even teams that appear similar externally consist of individuals with different experiences, personalities and ways of thinking. Great leadership involves creating environments where those differences are welcomed because they ultimately lead to stronger decisions.

She also reflects on her own communication style, openly acknowledging that different audiences respond differently to her approach. Rather than seeing this as a weakness, she continuously adapts, learns from feedback and develops new ways of communicating so that more people can engage with her message.

This willingness to learn mirrors one of the central themes running throughout the episode.

Whether discussing FinTech recruitment, leadership or AI, Nadia consistently returns to the importance of remaining curious, adaptable and open to improvement.

Those qualities are becoming increasingly valuable across every area of financial technology.

Advice for Building a Successful Career in FinTech

To close the episode, Maria asks Nadia what advice she would give to someone hoping to build a career within FinTech but lacking confidence to take the first step.

Rather than focusing immediately on job applications, Nadia encourages professionals to begin by building their network.

Networking, she explains, does not necessarily mean attending events or introducing yourself to strangers.

Online engagement can be equally valuable.

Following industry leaders, connecting with organisations, reading company updates, engaging with discussions and reaching out to people working in interesting roles all help professionals develop knowledge, confidence and meaningful relationships.

This advice perfectly reflects the wider themes discussed throughout the episode.

Careers are built through continuous learning.

Businesses grow through trusted relationships.

Innovation succeeds when organisations invest in people.

Recruitment delivers its greatest value when it connects individuals with opportunities that genuinely align with their ambitions.

For professionals exploring careers in financial technology, and for organisations seeking to strengthen their teams, these principles remain just as relevant today as they were when Nadia first entered recruitment more than two decades ago.

Final Thoughts

Maria Tunikova's conversation with Nadia Edwards-Dashti offers far more than a discussion about recruitment. It explores the future of work across financial technology, the role of AI in hiring, the importance of inclusive leadership and the responsibility organisations have to develop people throughout their careers.

For Harrington Starr, these themes sit at the heart of everything the business does. As a specialist FinTech recruitment and financial technology recruitment consultancy, the focus extends beyond filling vacancies. It is about understanding businesses, supporting professionals and building long-term relationships that create lasting value for both clients and candidates.

The episode also serves as a reminder that technology alone will never define the future of financial services. AI will continue to transform workflows, new technologies will reshape markets and hiring requirements will evolve, but organisations will always depend on talented people who can think critically, collaborate effectively and lead with empathy.

For employers, the challenge is to create workplaces where diverse talent can thrive.

For professionals, the opportunity is to remain curious, build meaningful networks and continue developing skills that complement technological change.

And for the wider FinTech community, the message is clear: innovation and inclusion are not competing priorities. They are two sides of the same conversation, and together they will shape the future of financial technology.