Talent Spotlight — Jeff Lovejoy (No. 4 — 2026)

Welcome back to Talent Spotlight — where every month, we shine a light on standout talent professionals and the real stories shaping our industry.

Hey Jeff, tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you, where are you, and what keeps you busy these days?

I'm Jeff Lovejoy, a Talent Acquisition leader and hands-on recruiter based in Berlin, Germany. Over the last 15+ years, I've had the opportunity to build and scale talent strategies across Europe, North America, and APAC — working across commercial, technical, and early-career hiring.

Throughout my career, I've always been passionate about the intersection of people, business, and innovation. Outside of work, my newest passion is my newest family member — my 4-month-old French Bulldog, Yuki. She has brought a lot of fun, energy, and balance into my life and has been a great reminder that sometimes the best moments come from slowing down.

Your Story

A big-lesson moment:

One of the biggest lessons I learned came while building the Women in Tech Reskilling Programme at Zalando. It was an incredibly meaningful project designed to create new pathways into technology careers for women — but it also involved many different teams, stakeholders, and moving parts across the business.

When working on large, complex projects, it's easy to focus only on the big milestones — but often the small pieces of information, conversations, and alignment points are what keep everything moving in the right direction.

Successful talent initiatives are not built by one team alone. They are built through trust, transparency, and strong collaboration across the entire organization.

Something from a completely different field that helped your talent work:

Moving from Europe to Thailand to lead Tech Talent Acquisition at Agoda was one of the most impactful experiences of my career. Tech hiring in Southeast Asia presented unique challenges — we had to think differently about how we attracted talent, where we sourced from, and which markets had the right talent pools. It taught me that great recruiting is never about applying the same approach everywhere.

Talent Talk

The most unconventional thing you've done in recruiting that worked really well:

At FDM Group, I focused on how we could stand out in a competitive graduate recruitment market. One initiative I introduced was using augmented reality job offers — instead of candidates simply receiving a standard email or offer letter, we created a more memorable and engaging experience. The project was later featured in the book The Robot-Proof Recruiter.

Another initiative was introducing gamification into our assessment centre process to create a more engaging and inclusive evaluation experience while helping improve gender balance. The biggest takeaway was that candidates remember how you make them feel.

A trick or productivity hack that makes life easier:

Using data and automation to remove unnecessary manual work so recruiters can spend more time where they add the most value — building relationships. At GotPhoto, I implemented AI-enabled recruitment workflows through Ashby: AI-assisted CV screening, recruiter and hiring-manager scorecards, AI note-taking, and improved reporting. The goal was never to replace the human side — it was to give recruiters better tools to make faster, smarter decisions.

One thing about TA you've completely changed your mind about:

Earlier in my career, I believed that being a great recruiter was mostly about delivering roles quickly and efficiently. Over time, I've realized the best recruiters are not just recruiters — they are business advisors, market experts, and representatives of the company brand.

The role of TA is to balance speed, quality, and experience while challenging the business when needed. The best partnerships happen when Talent Acquisition has a voice at the table and is seen as an expert, not just a service function.

Community Connection

The people who stand out most are those who combine expertise with generosity — people willing to share knowledge, support others, and help create a stronger talent community. Those I lean on still today are Katya Fearnley-Whittingstal, Graeme Butler and Tomas Christodoulou.

One question you've always wanted to ask:

Are we truly doing the best we can?

Are we truly acting as experts and strategic partners, or are we sometimes becoming "yes people" because we are worried about challenging decisions or creating friction? The best Talent teams are not just filling roles — they are shaping how people experience the company.