Jason Cerrato

Jason Cerrato

Senior Vice President, Global Talent - Amentum

For Jason Cerrato, recruiting began as a doorway into human resources—but quickly became the perfect intersection of everything he cared about.

While studying public relations and corporate communications at Drexel University, Jason completed a required co-op assignment with QVC, the Home Shopping Network. At the time, QVC had a strong connection to Drexel’s co-op program, and Jason found himself working in internal communications and studio events.

One of his projects involved ghostwriting executive announcements. Among the leaders he supported was the company’s CHRO, who was working on QVC’s annual employee survey.

That project opened Jason’s eyes to the world of HR.

Through the work, he became interested in employee relations, organizational psychology, motivation, technology, and how companies engage and support their people.

“I became heavily interested in HR,” Jason recalls.

But breaking into HR without experience was not easy. While companies were not necessarily opening doors for entry-level HR manager roles, they were willing to give him a chance in recruiting.

Recruiting became his way into HR.

Once he started, everything clicked.

“It brought together public relations, marketing, technology, psychology, motivation, interpersonal relations, and behavior,” he says. “It was the perfect storm of everything I was interested in.”

Early in his recruiting career, Jason made a placement that would shape how he viewed the profession forever.

He helped a husband who had moved away for work return home to his family in time to see his son graduate high school.

For Jason, it was more than filling a role. It was a reminder that recruiting can change lives.

“I helped somebody get a new job, earn a higher salary, reconnect with his family, and see his son graduate,” he says. “I fell in love with that.”

Learning the Craft of Recruiting

Jason began his career at Allegis Group, an organization he credits with teaching him the discipline, rigor, and fundamentals of recruiting.

From planning the day and building call sheets to maintaining relationships and moving activity forward, the experience gave him a strong foundation in the mechanics of talent acquisition.

That early training emphasized consistency, work ethic, pipeline building, and relationship management.

Over time, Jason moved from agency recruiting into corporate recruiting, eventually progressing from recruiter to recruiting manager, program manager, director, and now senior vice president.

Throughout that journey, he learned from many mentors—some formal, others who influenced him simply through the way they worked.

“I had tons of mentors along the way,” he says. “Some of them didn’t even know they were my mentors.”

By observing how others built relationships, spoke with candidates, supported businesses, and handled complex conversations, Jason developed his own style.

One lesson stayed consistent: recruiting is most effective when recruiters deeply understand the business they support.

For Jason, that knowledge allows recruiters to provide candidates with real insight—not just about the job, but about the company, its culture, and what makes the opportunity different.

The Power of Personal Connection

As Jason’s career evolved, he became known for bringing passion, energy, and authenticity into his conversations.

He has often heard candidates say they were initially interested in the role, then the company, and eventually the opportunity to work with him.

That connection matters.

Jason believes recruiting has always been both an art and a science.

While technology continues to transform the field, the human side of recruiting remains essential.

“As much as technology has come into the field, this has always been an art and a science,” he says.

For Jason, relationships create trust, support onboarding, strengthen motivation, and help candidates feel connected before they even join the organization.

That personal connection is not something technology can fully replace.

Scaling Talent Through Technology

As Senior Vice President of Talent at Amentum, Jason sees technology and AI as powerful tools for helping recruiting teams scale.

He believes AI can help talent teams cover more ground, reduce administrative work, and create more time for meaningful human interaction.

The goal is not to remove recruiters from the process, but to amplify their ability to engage, advise, and connect.

“How do we take some of the administrative and transactional work off their plate so they can touch more people, meet more people, and engage with more people?” he says.

For Jason, technology should help recruiters spend more time doing the work that matters most: building relationships, understanding candidates, and positioning the company as an employer of choice.

When recruiters truly believe in the company and can explain the opportunity clearly, the conversation changes.

“You’re no longer selling,” he says. “You’re educating and explaining.”

Advice for Talent Leaders Heading into 2026

As recruiting continues to evolve, Jason believes the future belongs to teams that combine operational discipline, strong business understanding, relationship-building, and smart use of technology.

AI can create scale, but it cannot replace passion, judgment, trust, or connection.

The strongest talent teams will be those that use technology to remove friction while preserving the human moments that make recruiting meaningful.

For Jason, the magic is in the mix.

By blending business insight, recruiting fundamentals, technology, and authentic human connection, Jason Cerrato represents the kind of talent leader helping organizations build stronger teams while keeping people at the heart of talent acquisition.