James Collins
About James
James Collins is a talent acquisition leader, advisor, and builder with 25 years of experience helping companies solve hiring challenges in a practical, sustainable way. Over the course of his career, he has led recruiting organizations in startup, private, and public company environments, partnered with executive teams on workforce strategy, and helped businesses strengthen how they attract, assess, and hire talent. His experience spans leadership roles with organizations including Vimeo, Republic Airways, Blackboard, and Verisign, along with consulting work that has kept him close to the real-world needs of growing businesses.
Today, James focuses on helping small and midsize businesses improve hiring by addressing the three areas that matter most: process, systems, and people. His work is rooted in the belief that most hiring problems are fixable when companies are willing to look honestly at how decisions get made, how tools are being used, and whether teams have the structure and support they need to perform at a high level. He brings a calm, direct style to that work and helps leaders cut through noise, focus on what matters, and put practical solutions in place.
James is known for being thoughtful, grounded, and easy to work with. He enjoys helping leaders and teams get better at the craft of hiring, whether that means stepping in as a strategic partner, mentoring talent leaders, or helping a business tackle a hard-to-fill search. Based in Carmel, Indiana, he brings both enterprise-scale experience and a practical appreciation for what growing companies actually need: clear strategy, better systems, stronger execution, and a hiring function that earns trust across the business.
Area of specialization:
TA strategy and planning
Talent acquisition strategy and transformation
Small and midsize business talent solutions
Recruiting process assessment and redesign
ATS and CRM selection, optimization, and modernization
AI-enabled recruiting workflow improvement
Workforce planning and hiring strategy
Team design, coaching, and mentorship
Interview and selection methodology
Talent pipelining and sourcing strategy
DE&I hiring diagnostics
Executive and hard-to-fill search
Workforce planning