Tony Cornett
Tony Cornett
Talent Leader and Strategic Advisor
Tony Cornett did not plan on becoming a recruiter. Recruiting found him.
Early in his career, Tony walked into a staffing firm expecting to interview for a Windows help desk role supporting an oil company. Instead of technical questions, he was met with behavioral interviews. At the end of the conversation, the firm offered him a recruiter role instead. The help desk job was no longer on the table.
Tony asked a practical question. Which role pays more?
He took the recruiting offer and never looked back.
Twenty seven years later, that accidental entry point has turned into a long and influential career in talent leadership.
From Transactional Hiring to Strategic Talent Leadership
Over the decades, Tony has watched recruiting evolve from a transactional function into a core strategic capability. What has kept him energized is not just hiring, but understanding the systems underneath it.
Today, the work that excites him most sits at the intersection of data, analytics, and business strategy. He describes modern talent leaders less as recruiters and more as talent data scientists. The ability to interpret metrics, turn them into insights, and connect them directly to business outcomes has become central to the role.
For Tony, data is not about dashboards or vanity metrics. It is about storytelling.
Yield ratios, funnel performance, market availability, and cost signals only matter if you can translate them into clear recommendations for leadership. The most effective talent leaders, in his view, operate almost like chief operating officers. They help the business understand what talent exists, where it lives, how competitive it is, what it costs, and how to realistically get there.
How the Recruiting Landscape Has Shifted
Tony has seen the recruiting landscape change dramatically over the past year.
The transactional model has largely disappeared. Recruiters can no longer sit back and process inbound applications. Everyone now has a polished resume. Everyone knows how to optimize keywords. Everyone can look perfect on paper.
As a result, the work has swung back toward real assessment, judgment, and human conversation.
At the same time, artificial intelligence has moved from novelty to necessity. Tony is clear that AI will not replace recruiters. It will replace recruiters who do not know how to use it.
Used well, AI allows teams to analyze larger data sets, surface better insights, and operate with far greater leverage. Used poorly, it creates noise and false confidence. The differentiator is still the recruiter’s skill, curiosity, and business understanding.
Tony has also seen a meaningful shift toward skill based hiring. Instead of recruiting against static job requisitions, leading organizations are building perpetual talent ecosystems. Recruiters focus on attracting skills continuously, not just filling roles reactively.
Degree requirements and arbitrary years of experience matter less. What matters is capability, adaptability, and fit for the work ahead.
Why Humanity Matters More Than Ever
Despite all the automation and tooling now available, Tony believes something old has become new again.
Picking up the phone matters.
Having real conversations matters.
Technology has made efficiency table stakes, but humanity is what now sets great recruiters apart.
Tony’s Advice for 2026
Make data a core competency, not a nice to have
Knowing how to pull data is only the starting point. What matters is understanding what the data means and how to turn metrics into actionable insights that solve real business problems.
Operate as a strategic advisor, not a requisition manager
Talent leaders should be able to walk into a room and clearly explain the talent landscape. What the business wants, what exists in the market, what it costs, and the strategy to close the gap.
Use AI to amplify judgment, not replace it
AI increases productivity and leverage, but it does not remove the need for strong recruiters. The best outcomes come from pairing technology with human assessment, curiosity, and accountability.
Stay human in an automated world
As automation increases, personal connection becomes more valuable. Picking up the phone, asking hard questions, and building trust are more important now than ever.
Tony Cornett’s career reflects the evolution of modern recruiting itself. From an unexpected start to decades of leadership, his approach consistently centers on clarity, rigor, and strategic impact.
In a world of accelerating technology and growing complexity, his perspective is grounded in a simple truth. The tools may change, but great recruiting still requires insight, courage, and human judgment.
