Talent Talk & Trends

“Go to people that have been successful in the business and just do what they do.”

Jen Meyer has spent nearly 30 years in executive search, despite once being certain she would never enter the profession. Growing up with a father who owned a recruiting firm gave her an early view of the highs and lows of the business, but an internship after college changed her perspective. What was supposed to be temporary became a career she fell in love with.
A defining feature of Meyer’s career has been her willingness to learn deliberately from others. From experienced leaders to peers with complementary strengths, she built relationships with people who could teach her the craft—and many of those relationships continue decades later.

Learn From People Who Have Done It

Early in her career, Meyer made a conscious decision to seek out successful recruiters and study what they did differently. Rather than trying to figure everything out alone, she treated proven practitioners as a shortcut to understanding the business.
One mentor helped her navigate the emotional volatility of her first years in executive search, providing perspective when placements succeeded or deals collapsed. Another began as a peer relationship, with the two holding weekly calls to discuss what worked, what failed, and what they should try next.
That second relationship became particularly important for developing Meyer’s business development skills. By learning how to approach companies, articulate a value proposition, and structure conversations more effectively, she strengthened an area that had not initially come naturally to her.

Make Every Conversation Count

Another influential mentor—a former military interrogator who later entered executive search—changed the way Meyer thought about language.
He introduced her to the idea of a “pattern interrupt”: using language that breaks through the familiar scripts candidates and clients hear constantly. When a recruiter communicates differently, the other person is more likely to stop and genuinely engage rather than respond automatically.
Meyer adapted the concept to fit her own relationship-driven approach. For her, the objective is not manipulation. It is understanding how words land and framing conversations around what actually serves candidates and clients.
That attention to language remains an important part of how she builds trust and creates productive conversations.

Paying the Lessons Forward

Nearly three decades later, Meyer has moved from actively searching for mentors to leading and developing people herself.
The lessons she collected throughout her career now influence how she leads: the steadiness of her first mentor, the accountability and continuous improvement she developed with a peer, and the intentional communication she learned from an unconventional teacher.
Her career also demonstrates the value of maintaining relationships over the long term. People who helped her navigate her earliest years remain trusted contacts decades later.
For Meyer, mentorship is not something reserved for the beginning of a career. The principle remains useful at every stage: find people who are excellent at what they do, learn from them deliberately, maintain those relationships, and eventually pass what you have learned to the people coming behind you.

About the Talent 100

The Talent 100 is an annual recognition spotlighting leaders who are advancing HR and talent acquisition. Honorees are selected through peer nominations and independent selection committees, with selection based entirely on merit and no pay-to-play requirements. The program is created by Noon AI.