Career Journeys in Talent Acquisition: Joshua Carey

Thanks for reading! This series is designed to shine a spotlight on Talent Acquisition professionals and highlight their career journeys and learnings so far. Today, we're joined by Career Journeys in Talent Acquisition: Joshua Carey. If you'd like to be next, please reach out to a TTC Community Manager.

Introduce yourself in one sentence:

Hey, I’m a senior in-house Technology Talent leader with 10 years’ experience scaling tech teams globally, and outside of work I’m a single dad to a neurodiverse toddler who unwinds through hiking, camping, fishing, and football.

Can you walk us through the key milestones in your career in the talent acquisition space? What were some pivotal moments or decisions that shaped your journey?

I started my career in agency recruitment, which gave me a really strong grounding in delivery, stakeholder management, and understanding what “good” looks like across a wide range of tech environments. One of the first key milestones was being promoted to Senior Consultant within my first year — that early acceleration confirmed that talent acquisition was the right long-term path for me and pushed me to take on more complex roles across engineering, infrastructure, product, and cloud.

A pivotal decision came when I chose to move into building things from scratch. At Jefferson Wolfe and later at Source Technology, I was trusted to set up and scale permanent divisions — including building the Germany Cloud and Engineering function from the ground up. That phase was hugely formative: I learned how to design hiring strategies, build and lead teams, develop client partnerships, and balance commercial outcomes with quality and DE&I. Generating €1.2m in revenue in the first year in Germany and developing future leaders were big confidence-building milestones.

The next major inflection point was moving fully in-house and into leadership. Joining TheoremOne initially as Associate Director and then being promoted to Director of Talent Acquisition marked a shift from “hiring roles” to “building systems.” I owned global TA strategy, a $12m P&L, and a team of 26, hiring over 250 technologists across 40+ countries. Leading global compliance, embedding DE&I, onboarding newly acquired teams, and introducing more structured processes and tooling — including early AI adoption — really shaped how I think about scalable, modern TA.

More recently, I’ve leaned into senior in-house consulting and interim work, partnering with startups and scale-ups — particularly in SaaS and AI — to help them mature their hiring functions quickly without losing quality or culture. Alongside that, taking a short sabbatical to support close family reinforced how important empathy, flexibility, and sustainability are in leadership, which now strongly influences how I build teams and advise organisations.

Overall, the key milestones in my career have been about progressively moving from delivery → building → leading → scaling, while staying close to the human side of hiring. Those decisions have shaped me into a TA leader who’s commercially minded, people-focused, and comfortable operating in complex, high-growth environments.

In this rapidly evolving industry, what strategies or practices have you adopted to continuously enhance your skills and stay ahead of the curve? Do you have any resources or learning methods you'd recommend to others?

I stay ahead in TA by combining hands-on experience with continuous learning. Working across startups, scale-ups, and global consultancies has meant constantly adapting my approach to different growth stages, markets, and technologies. I experiment with new tools and processes — for example, structured interviewing, skills-based assessments, and early AI solutions like Brighthire — to improve quality, reduce bias, and scale efficiently.

I also invest in peer learning, staying connected to other TA leaders and communities, and keeping close to the tech I’m hiring for, especially in areas like AI, Cloud, and DevOps. For anyone in TA, I’d recommend learning from real-world case studies, operator-led discussions, and testing approaches in practice rather than just theory — staying curious and iterative is key.

What has been the most challenging aspect of your career in talent acquisition, especially when you were actively seeking work? How did you overcome it, and what advice would you offer to others facing similar hurdles?

One of the most challenging periods in my career was returning to the market after taking a sabbatical to care for a seriously ill parent and grandparent. I found that my last role as Director of TA sometimes counted against me — I’d get feedback like being “too senior” for certain roles, or that there were “high volume of applicants” for positions that matched my experience. It was frustrating, but it also made me rethink how I approach job searching.

To overcome it, I leaned into professional TA communities, both online and in-person, to share knowledge, stay current on trends, and build connections. I also explored interim and consulting opportunities to stay active, visible, and relevant in the industry. These steps helped me stay engaged, keep my skills sharp, and broaden the types of opportunities I could pursue.

My advice to anyone facing similar hurdles is to embrace networks and communities, be open to different roles or projects, and focus on demonstrating continued expertise and value — sometimes visibility and engagement are just as important as the application itself.

The recruiting world can be fast-paced and demanding. How do you strike a balance between your professional commitments and personal life? Are there specific routines or rituals you follow?

Due to recruitment being often fast-paced, I focus on prioritising what moves the needle and trusting my teams to handle delivery. Being a single dad to a neurodiverse toddler has taught me to be organised and intentional with my time, so I balance professional commitments with family and personal recharge. I make space for routines like hiking, camping, fishing, and football, which help me stay energised and focused while managing a demanding TA environment.

As someone involved in talent acquisition, you've likely witnessed various technology and trend shifts. Which technologies or trends do you believe have had the most significant impact on the industry, and how have they influenced your role?

Two technology trends that have had the biggest impact on TA are Cloud and AI. Cloud has changed the roles we hire for — from DevOps and platform engineers to SaaS specialists — and enabled global, distributed teams, which in my roles meant building scalable hiring functions across multiple countries.

AI has transformed both how we hire and the skills we need to recruit for. I’ve used AI tools like Brighthire to streamline interview feedback, reduce bias, and make decision-making more consistent. More broadly, understanding AI trends helps me anticipate emerging skill needs and advise companies on building future-ready teams. Both Cloud and AI have shaped not just the talent I hire, but how I design processes, structure teams, and partner with leadership globally.

For those entering the talent acquisition space or those looking to pivot within it, what's the one piece of practical advice you'd give to help them thrive, especially if they are actively job-seeking?

My top advice is to build your skills and your network at the same time. Stay up to date on the roles and technologies (if in Tech) you’re hiring for — like Cloud, AI, and DevOps — while engaging in TA communities to learn, share, and stay visible. For job-seekers, being strategic, tailoring your story to each role, and showing your expertise through community involvement can make all the difference in a competitive market.