Jonathan Long
Jonathan Long
Senior Director, Global Talent Acquisition and Culture - Forter
Jonathan Long didn’t set out to become a recruiter.
Like many in the field, he initially stepped into the profession almost by chance—applying for roles after college without a clear expectation of where they would lead. What he found was a niche technical recruitment position focused on the Benelux region, supporting tech companies across the UK and Europe.
“I don’t remember applying for the role,” Jonathan admitted. “I remember going to the interview, hearing about it, and thinking I could do it.”
That early agency experience blended sales, communication, and high-volume candidate engagement. While he developed strong foundations in niche technical hiring, Jonathan quickly realized the traditional agency model wasn’t the right long-term fit.
“It was a little bit too salesy for me,” he shared.
What stayed with him, however, was the impact of hiring—not just filling roles, but understanding how people grow inside organizations and how multiple factors beyond a CV shape successful hires.
That perspective eventually guided him toward in-house talent leadership, where he began focusing more deeply on employer branding, internal mobility, and long-term talent strategy.
For Jonathan, recruiting evolved from a transactional function into something far more strategic: building teams that align with business goals and enable sustainable growth.
What Shaped His Leadership Philosophy
A defining influence in Jonathan’s career has been his current manager, Lauren.
Lauren played a key role in bringing Jonathan into Forer and quickly established a leadership approach rooted in partnership, accountability, and strategic alignment with the business.
“She sees recruitment as a partnership with the business,” Jonathan explained. “Constantly thinking about how our recruitment goals can be focused toward business initiatives.”
That mindset significantly shaped how Jonathan approaches his own work—encouraging him to think beyond hiring targets and instead focus on how talent acquisition directly supports broader company objectives.
Lauren also emphasized recognition, human connection, and continuous improvement.
“No matter how many times I’ve achieved my goals, she’s always pushed me to think bigger and better,” Jonathan said.
Under her leadership, Jonathan has also been closely involved in AI transformation efforts within recruitment. This has further reinforced his belief in combining operational efficiency with strong human judgment.
For Jonathan, great leadership is not only about achieving results, but about continuously raising the standard while supporting people to grow into their potential.
How AI Is Reshaping Recruiting
Jonathan sees AI as one of the most significant accelerators in modern talent acquisition—but also one of the most nuanced to implement effectively.
Across the industry, he has observed a rapid shift over the past year, with organizations racing to integrate AI into their recruitment strategies.
“There’s definitely been a shift in the last 12 months,” he noted. “Everyone is focused on AI strategy.”
At Forer, AI has already been deployed across multiple areas of the hiring process, including automation tools and agents designed to support recruiters with administrative work, sourcing, and intake processes.
The goal, according to Jonathan, is not to remove recruiters from the process—but to allow them to operate at a more strategic level.
“The key is how can we automate where possible, but still keep the process close to recruiters,” he explained.
Despite the benefits of automation, Jonathan strongly believes the human element remains essential. Candidate experience, trust, and communication still depend heavily on personal interaction.
For him, the challenge is not simply adopting AI, but striking the right balance between efficiency and authenticity.
He also emphasizes the importance of demonstrating clear return on investment when deploying AI tools.
“It’s easy to roll out agents and bots,” he said. “But the key is being able to show the ROI to leadership.”
Jonathan’s Advice for Talent Leaders in 2026
As AI continues to evolve, Jonathan believes talent leaders must act decisively rather than cautiously.
In his view, waiting too long to adopt AI-driven tools creates a competitive disadvantage that becomes increasingly difficult to recover from.
“The longer you wait, the harder it gets,” he said.
However, he also stresses that adoption alone is not enough. Leaders must ensure AI implementation is meaningful, measurable, and aligned with business outcomes.
For Jonathan, success comes from using AI to free recruiters from repetitive tasks so they can focus on becoming true strategic partners to the business.
That includes strengthening relationships with hiring managers, improving decision-making, and contributing more directly to organizational strategy.
At the same time, he believes leaders must remain focused on outcomes—not just activity.
Deploying AI tools is not enough; organizations must be able to clearly demonstrate impact, efficiency gains, and value creation.
Jonathan’s perspective reflects a balanced approach: embracing innovation while maintaining accountability and purpose.
That combination of early agency experience, evolving in-house leadership, and a forward-thinking approach to AI adoption is what defines Jonathan Long as a Talent 100 leader shaping the future of recruitment.
