About the TA20 Awards

The TA20 Awards honor those who are moving the Talent Acquisition and Recruiting function forward. TA20 recipients are chosen through a two-step process. Nominations are made by peers or through self-nomination during the nomination window. Every nominee receives a public page where colleagues can show their support with a vote. From there, our judging panel reviews every nomination weighing the actual work against three criteria: candidate experience, sound decision-making in hiring, and inclusive reach in sourcing. Each judge cast an independent ballot, and the 20 recipients per industry are the ones the panel identified as best embodying these standards.

The TA20 Awards are presented by Alex AI, the AI Recruiter used by exceptional talent teams.

Cost
Free
Who qualifies
TA & Recruiting leaders
Time to nominate
~2 minutes
Self-nomination
Allowed
Seats
20 per industry
Nominations close
Closed for 2026, Open again mid-2027

The process

1

Nominate

Nominate a peer or colleague you'd want running your own hiring, or nominate yourself.

2

Vote

Vote to support who you think is moving the TA and Recruiting function forward.

3

Nominee Review

Our judging panel reviews all nominees, judging based on TA20 criteria and peer backing.

4

Class Announced

20 honorees per industry are notified directly and celebrated publicly on TA20 and LinkedIn.

Criteria

How nominees are judged

Candidate experience

How people were treated during the process, not just the outcome.

Decision-making

Hiring calls grounded in real signal, not gut feel alone.

Inclusive reach

Pipelines that gave a fair shot to people who might otherwise be overlooked.

Judging Panel

Who decides

Joel Cheesman
Joel Cheesman
Co-host, The Chad & Cheese Podcast20+ years in recruiting media
Tim Sackett
Tim Sackett
CEO, HRUTech.com · Author25+ years in executive TA
Voting

Every nominee has a public page where anyone can back them with a vote, and the judges see that support when they review nominations. Votes tell them who the industry is rallying behind, but it doesn't decide the class on its own.

Browse the nominees →
Nominations closed for 2026

Know someone who's changing how their company hires?

Nominate someone →See the industries →