Unleash your potential
Welcome to ‘the hive mind’ of global talent acquisition with over 10,000 community members. Free to join.
The global talent acquisition leaders in tech who are driving innovation in the workplace
Meet the Talent100
The inside-track on everything TA
HIGHER is a safe, inclusive space where in-house recruiters can share best practice, make new connections and plug into the ever-changing world of global TA. All united on a mission to level-up the industry of TA, together.
Join the biggest hang-out of TA leaders on the planet
With over 10,000 members from the world’s most innovative companies.
Where ambitious TA professionals learn, grow and connect
What our community say about HIGHER
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“Better than Google for the world of TA!”
Keziah
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“It's a good tool to find answers and help on issues that we may not know internally.”
Simon
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“It feels like a safe space to sense check processes and best practice.”
Lucy
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“It's somewhere where the value of what I prioritise is appreciated and celebrated.”
Gaurav
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"Everyone is different and thinks differently and contributes in such a way that there's great diversity of thought.”
Kerry
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“The general approach to levelling up TA as an industry and discipline is great.”
Calum
The HIGHER team
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Phil Blaydes, Founder and MD, HIGHER
Phil has over 16 years of experience in recruitment and leadership for some of the world’s most innovative companies.
His role at HIGHER is overall strategy, commercial and partnerships, and leading the Talent100, executive and leadership initiatives.
Phil was most recently Chief Experience Officer at Talentful, where he led a team of up to 300 internal recruiters across 50 clients spanning the USA and Europe. Before founding Talentful, Phil led global recruitment for Forward3D, Magic Pony Technology and Thought Machine.
Phil lives on the South Coast of the UK with his wife, daughter and dog.
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Kelly McGrath-Smith, Community Director, HIGHER
Kelly has over a decade of international experience in Talent Acquisition, working both in-house and agency side across a diverse portfolio of companies, sectors and markets. At HIGHER, Kelly is the Community Director, supporting and driving the overall membership experience both online and during our in-person events.
Prior to joining HIGHER, Kelly was most recently the Head of Talent and Inclusion at MATCHESFASHION after moving back to the UK from Sydney, where she was Group Talent Partner at WPP AUNZ.
Outside of HIGHER, Kelly is an independent Career Coach and she also helps bring a sense of zen to her teams as a yoga teacher in London, UK.
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Chris Abbass, Founder, HIGHER
Chris has more than a decade of expertise in leadership and recruitment for game-changing technology companies.
In 2015 Chris co-founded Talentful and now leads the business as Chief Executive Officer. He is also the host of the ‘Hiring on All Cylinders’ podcast.
Before founding Talentful, Chris was the UK Head of Talent at Audible. Prior to that, he was Head of Talent at Zopa and Lead Recruiter at Shazam, focusing on engineering talent.
Chris lives in New York with his partner and is a keen musician and Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioner.
Community by Talentful
Founded in 2015, Talentful accelerates the growth of ambitious companies through expert, embedded talent acquisition. From sourcing to full-cycle recruiting, leadership search, co-ordination and recruitment operations, we help high-growth brands scale efficiently, including Alphabet, Microsoft, Atlassian, Asana, Adobe and many more.
We have built a global team of 350+ talent experts who work in-house as an extension of talent functions, so it’s fair to say we know a thing or two about how to help TA professionals succeed. We’re excited to build-out the HIGHER community - a place where TA leaders can learn, grow and connect.
For information on community partnerships please contact jo@higherhq.com