Jeff Pearce.me
Talent Acquisition • Photographer • Comedian • Automotive Enthusiast
Native New Yorker. Talent Acquisition Professional. Concours Mustang Owner. Beagle Dad × 2.
Explore
Introduction
A Little About Me
My career has been in Talent Acquisition, but that’s never been the only thing that’s defined me.
I’m a photographer, former stand-up comedian, classic Mustang enthusiast and lifelong New Yorker. I enjoy traveling, exploring new places through a camera lens, and taking my 1968 Mustang to shows. At home, I have two beagles named Brody and Baxter who will sit on me at every chance they get.
This site is a collection of those different parts of my life.
01 — How I Work
Talent
Acquisition
Throughout my career, I’ve specialized in recruiting within digital media and technology, particularly across advertising sales, marketing, product, UX/design and creative.
One of the occupational hazards of being a New Yorker is that, sooner or later, you find yourself working across media, advertising, pharma, banking or tech—and over the course of my career, I’ve touched all of them in one form or another. Depending on the organization, the work I do may be called Business, GTM or Non-Technical Recruiting.
My experience isn’t limited to those areas, either. Former colleagues have brought me into searches outside my traditional domain expertise when they’ve needed recruiting support, including industrial design and manufacturing-related roles. I’ve found that good recruiting fundamentals travel remarkably well: understand the business, learn the talent market and figure out where the right people are.
Core strength
Talent Acquisition Strategy
I consider my core strength to be Talent Acquisition Strategy, supported by strong business acumen. My background in Executive Search taught me to use market analysis and competitive intelligence to identify target companies and map the talent landscape. AI has helped me accelerate and expand that process.
That foundation still shapes how I recruit today—allowing me to take a consultative approach with hiring managers, understand the market and develop a sourcing strategy rather than simply work from a job description.
Beyond filling roles, I enjoy building programs that strengthen the recruiting organization itself. I’ve designed and led initiatives such as a Sourcing Mentorship Program, helping sourcers and coordinators develop their skills and advance in their careers.
How I think about it
A Word About Process
Spend enough time around Talent Acquisition professionals and you’ll notice that we talk a great deal about process.
And process matters. It creates structure, consistency, accountability and a better experience for candidates and hiring managers.
But I’ve always believed that process should support the outcome, not become the outcome.
A well-organized recruiting process doesn’t necessarily mean you’re recruiting effectively. You can conduct every intake meeting, complete every scorecard, track every metric and still struggle to identify the right talent.
That’s where business acumen comes in.
Understanding the business, the competitive landscape and what makes someone successful in a particular role should inform the recruiting strategy. Process is how we execute that strategy, measure progress and make adjustments along the way.
Good process makes recruiting more consistent. Good judgment makes it effective.
“The glue of the team.”
I also consider myself a culture champion. At Walmart Connect, my manager once described me as “the glue of the team,” which remains one of my favorite compliments I’ve received professionally. I believe strongly in sharing knowledge, helping colleagues succeed and creating an environment where people genuinely enjoy working together.
FAQ
Frequently Asked. Occasionally Answered.
Tell me about a time you handled a difficult search.
All the difficult searches come to me. Apparently, someone else gets the easy ones. I come from a sourcing background, so I’m a hunter at heart, and I pride myself on the quality of candidates that I provide.
Have you ever dealt with a difficult hiring manager?
No. They’ve all been pleasant 😊. I’ve worked with all types of personalities. Some have been frustrated, had unrealistic expectations, or needed a reminder that their opening wasn’t the only requisition I was working on. Working through that is part of the job.
How many requisitions can you manage at once?
More than I want to admit.
Do you use AI?
Yes. I’ve embraced it and use it extensively. Tasks that used to take me hours now take minutes. However, I still rely on my judgment when it comes to candidate evaluation.
Are you looking to return to an in-house role?
OMG yes! Very much so. This website is a fairly elaborate way of saying “please hire me.”
Questions I Wish More People Asked
Do you have startup or high-growth experience?
Yes. I worked at Roku as a contract recruiter, and Walmart Connect was like building a startup within an established company. When I joined, the organization had approximately 35 people. I helped scale it to more than 1,600, recruiting across sales, marketing, product management, strategy, client services, analytics, and operations.
What did you like about your last role?
I had opportunities to work on things I hadn’t done before. I worked closely with the compensation team on the Sales Incentive Plan and partnered with Recruitment Marketing on a career landing page and social media efforts. I also built a talent intelligence and knowledge-sharing resource for the recruiting team and worked with the Event Recruitment team on DEI events.
What I enjoyed most, though, was mentoring people. Being a team player comes naturally to me, and I enjoy helping others grow professionally.
And I got to work on a lot of presentation decks. Tons and tons of presentation decks.
How does your background translate to SaaS?
I’ve recruited Sales and Customer Success professionals in advertising technology, where consultative selling, technology platforms, and complex sales cycles are central to the work. There’s considerable overlap with SaaS talent pools.
One of my strengths as a recruiter is my business acumen. I take the time to understand the company, its products, its customers, and the problems its products solve. That understanding helps me develop an effective recruiting strategy and identify the talent the business needs.
Working With AI
AI Fluency
At this point, I’m beyond a power user. I’m an applied AI practitioner.
What does that mean exactly? Well, I don’t use AI as a glorified search box, and AI fluency isn’t about knowing a bunch of prompt tricks. I think of AI more like an artist’s paintbrush—a tool that helps me bring ideas to life, explore possibilities and refine my thought process.
To me, AI is a collaborator. I use it as a working partner across recruiting, research, writing, website development, image generation, strategy, career positioning and idea development. I even use it for auto repairs. You’d be amazed what it knows about a 1968 Ford Mustang!
But I don’t automatically accept what AI gives me. I’ll challenge an answer, add context, refine the brief, compare alternatives and keep working with it until I get to something useful.
A large part of that is context engineering: giving AI the background, objectives, constraints and audience it needs to produce useful work. Domain knowledge matters, too. The better I understand the subject, the better I can evaluate what AI gives me, recognize when something doesn’t make sense and steer it in the right direction.
And yes, I made this website with AI.
02 — Photography
Jeff Pearce Photography
Cities. Landscapes. Travel. Expeditions with a camera.
03 — The Garage
Mustang Jeff
It’s the car my father helped me get, and it’s been a huge part of my life ever since.
I own a Concours Driven Class 1968 Ford Mustang powered by a 289 cubic-inch V8 with a two-barrel carburetor producing 195 horsepower, paired with a three-speed automatic transmission and a maroon interior.
I grew up with this car and later restored it to showroom, factory condition using all-new original parts.
04 — A Former Life
I Also Used to Tell Jokes on Stage
My jokes may be bad, but people paid to hear them.
When you’re starting out as a comedian, they give you five minutes on stage. That’s five minutes to get your message across, make people laugh and leave them wanting more.
Turns out, that’s a very useful skill for running meetings or 1:1s with hiring managers. You learn how to pace a meeting, communicate effectively, transition from one topic to another—and how to close a meeting on time.
This whole email could have been a meeting.
05 — Household
Brody & Baxter
Chief Barketing Officers
Beagle brothers. Management remains unclear.
Contact
Let’s Connect
If you’d like to talk recruiting strategy, photography, favorite spots in Manhattan, classic Mustangs—or you also have a beagle that likes to sit on you—I’d be happy to hear from you.