Meghan Magette

Meghan Magette

Vice President, Corporate Recruitment and Employer Brand - Hilton

Like many recruiting leaders, Meghan Magette never set out to build a career in talent acquisition.

In fact, she often asks every new recruiter on her team the very same question she was asked herself.

"Nobody grows up saying, 'I want to be a recruiter,'" Meghan says with a smile.

For her, the journey began in human resources.

Having spent more than 16 years with Hilton, Meghan started her career as an Engagement Coordinator, focusing on team member engagement and employee experience.

When it came time for her next career move, she found herself drawn toward campus recruiting.

That's where everything changed.

"There was nothing like giving someone a job," she says.

"And even more exciting, there was nothing like giving someone their first job."

Helping candidates launch their careers—and doing so with a company she wholeheartedly believes in—showed Meghan the lasting impact recruiting can have on people's lives.

That realization sparked a passion that has shaped her career ever since.

The Leaders Who Shaped Her Leadership Philosophy

Throughout her career, Meghan credits two leaders with having an extraordinary influence on the way she approaches leadership today.

The first is Diana Vaughn, her very first manager at Hilton.

Diana built a reputation across the organization as someone who genuinely invested in developing people.

"So many people would tell me how lucky I was to work for Diana," Meghan recalls.

More than anything, Diana taught her to stay open to opportunities—even the ones that initially seem intimidating.

Rather than following a rigid career plan, she encouraged Meghan to embrace unfamiliar challenges and trust that new experiences often lead to unexpected growth.

That lesson continues to guide Meghan's career decisions today.

The second leader is her current manager, Christine McGinnis.

Meghan admires Christine's ability to tackle even the biggest challenges with calm confidence.

Whether implementing major initiatives or solving complex business problems, Christine has shown her how to break large challenges into manageable steps while bringing others along throughout the journey.

"There really isn't a problem that you can't solve," Meghan says.

That practical, collaborative approach to leadership has become one of Meghan's defining strengths.

AI Should Automate the Ordinary

As artificial intelligence continues transforming recruiting, Meghan believes the conversation should focus less on replacing recruiters and more on empowering them.

For organizations like Hilton, where hospitality is built on human connection, she doesn't see AI replacing the recruiting process.

Instead, she sees it enhancing it.

One quote has become her personal philosophy for AI in recruiting:

"Automate the ordinary so you can humanize the extraordinary."

That idea perfectly captures how Meghan believes AI should be implemented.

Administrative tasks.

Routine processes.

Scheduling.

Documentation.

Automation should handle those responsibilities, allowing recruiters to spend more time where they create the greatest value.

Making Recruiters More Human

Recruiting has always been about relationships.

Candidate conversations.

Hiring manager partnerships.

Understanding people beyond what's written on a résumé.

Meghan believes AI should strengthen—not replace—those interactions.

By reducing repetitive administrative work, recruiters gain more time to provide exceptional candidate experiences, build stronger partnerships with hiring managers, and focus on the conversations that truly influence hiring decisions.

"What I love is that AI gives recruiters more time to create meaningful interactions," she explains.

For Meghan, technology should make recruiting more personal, not less.

Collect Experiences, Not Job Titles

When asked what advice she would offer other talent leaders, Meghan doesn't immediately talk about promotions or career ladders.

Instead, she encourages professionals to think differently about growth.

"Don't collect job titles. Collect experiences."

She believes too many people become focused on achieving promotions within a specific timeline.

While advancement certainly matters, Meghan believes the most valuable career asset is the collection of experiences, skills, and challenges that each role provides.

Those experiences ultimately shape stronger leaders than titles alone ever can.

Every opportunity teaches something new.

Every challenge builds capability.

Every experience becomes part of the foundation for future leadership.

Play the Long Game

Alongside collecting experiences, Meghan encourages leaders to think beyond short-term wins.

Before making major career decisions, she believes it's important to pause and ask a simple question:

How will this decision help me in the long run?

Rather than pursuing opportunities that offer immediate recognition, Meghan encourages professionals to evaluate how each experience contributes to their long-term development, their team's success, and the broader organization.

Sometimes the best opportunities aren't the fastest path forward—they're the ones that create the greatest growth over time.

Advice for Talent Leaders

For Meghan Magette, recruiting has always been about people.

Whether helping someone land their very first job, developing future leaders, or embracing AI to improve recruiter effectiveness, her philosophy remains remarkably consistent.

Lead with purpose.

Stay open to new experiences.

Invest in people.

And never lose sight of the human moments that make recruiting meaningful.

As technology continues reshaping the industry, Meghan believes the future belongs to talent leaders who use AI to remove administrative burdens while doubling down on what makes recruiting special: genuine human connection.

After all, careers aren't built by collecting titles.

They're built by collecting experiences—and using those experiences to create opportunities for others.