Colette Turner

Colette Turner

GTM Recruiter - Stripe

Like many talent leaders, Colette Turner did not set out to build a career in recruiting.

Her journey began in an entirely different world: entertainment and media.

After graduating from college, Colette spent several years working in the music industry in Los Angeles before relocating to the Bay Area. There, she landed a role as a talent agent, sourcing models, actors, and voice-over talent for clients across a variety of industries.

Looking back, she sees clear parallels between those early experiences and the work she would later do in talent acquisition.

"I was sourcing talent then too. The audience was just different."

The role taught her how to identify individuals who matched a client's unique needs, how to assess potential, and how to build meaningful relationships—skills that would become foundational throughout her recruiting career.

Living in the heart of Silicon Valley eventually opened the door to a new opportunity. In 2017, Colette joined Google as a contractor during the company's major expansion into hardware products, wearables, and consumer devices.

What began as a sourcing role quickly evolved into full-cycle recruiting, and over the next eight years she built a highly successful career across Google and YouTube, partnering with teams across product, business operations, and go-to-market functions.

Today, she continues to bring that same people-first mindset to her work at Stripe, where she recently began a new chapter in her talent acquisition journey.

The Leaders Who Shaped Her Career

Throughout her career, Colette has been fortunate to work alongside leaders who not only helped her grow professionally but also shaped the way she thinks about leadership itself.

One person who stands out is Grant Rose, a former manager at YouTube who played a pivotal role in her development.

According to Colette, Grant possessed a rare ability to simplify complexity.

Working inside a large technology company often means navigating competing priorities, organizational politics, and constantly changing business needs. Grant helped her understand how to navigate those environments without becoming overwhelmed by them.

More importantly, he trusted his team.

"He always kept it real," Colette explains. "He trusted me to do my job, empowered me to make decisions, and was always there when I needed support."

Rather than micromanaging, Grant focused on enabling his team to succeed while creating an environment built on trust and accountability.

That leadership style left a lasting impression on Colette and continues to influence how she approaches partnerships and leadership today.

Navigating AI Without Losing Humanity

As artificial intelligence continues to reshape recruiting, Colette believes the industry is at a critical inflection point.

Recruiters today face unprecedented volumes of applicants, rapidly evolving technologies, and increasing pressure to move quickly while still delivering exceptional candidate experiences.

While she sees tremendous value in AI, she also believes the industry must be thoughtful about how it is implemented.

For Colette, the greatest strength of recruiting has always been human connection.

Her favorite part of the job remains the conversations themselves—learning what motivates people, understanding their experiences, and helping them navigate important career decisions.

"I'm always going to value the human-to-human connection."

She worries that organizations can sometimes become so focused on automation that they unintentionally create barriers between candidates and recruiters.

Whether it's AI-driven interviews, automated assessments, or increasingly complex hiring workflows, Colette believes there is a risk of losing the empathy and humanity that make recruiting meaningful.

That doesn't mean she opposes technology. In fact, she actively embraces AI when it helps recruiters work more efficiently.

Where she sees the greatest value is in helping recruiters manage volume, identify talent more effectively, and streamline administrative tasks so they can spend more time doing what matters most: building relationships.

For her, AI should amplify human connection—not replace it.

Expanding the Definition of Talent

One of Colette's strongest beliefs is that great talent often comes from unexpected places.

Throughout her career, she has consistently advocated for broadening the talent pool beyond traditional credentials, elite schools, or familiar company brands.

Rather than focusing exclusively on specific backgrounds or career paths, she encourages leaders to look for individuals who demonstrate adaptability, curiosity, creativity, and strong problem-solving abilities.

"I've always been a big believer in looking at the whole person."

She believes some of the most impactful hires come from non-traditional backgrounds—individuals who bring fresh perspectives, diverse experiences, and unique approaches to solving problems.

Those candidates often challenge conventional thinking and help organizations innovate in ways that wouldn't otherwise be possible.

As companies continue to evolve in an increasingly complex world, Colette believes these qualities will become even more important than rigid career paths or familiar credentials.

Advice for Talent Leaders in 2026

As recruiting continues to change, Colette's advice is surprisingly simple: never lose sight of the people behind the process.

Technology will continue to evolve.

AI capabilities will continue to expand.

Markets will continue to fluctuate.

But talent acquisition remains fundamentally about people.

She encourages talent leaders to maintain empathy throughout the hiring process, to remember that every application represents a person with their own story, and to remain open to talent that may not fit traditional expectations.

At the same time, she challenges organizations to rethink how they define top talent.

By broadening hiring criteria, embracing non-traditional backgrounds, and prioritizing adaptable problem-solvers, companies can unlock incredible potential while creating stronger, more innovative teams.

For Colette Turner, the future of recruiting is not about choosing between technology and humanity.

It's about using technology thoughtfully while never forgetting that great hiring starts—and ends—with people.