Photo by : Daphne Youree

Interview: Breezy Conner, Recruitment Partner at AD Talent

By Angela Tai

How old were you when you came out publicly? 

I came out when I was 19. 

What was that experience like?

I had a very unique experience with it. I was a freshman in college and selected along with a handful of other freshmen to go on a leadership retreat. Everyone at the retreat came from all over the U.S., they had different types of upbringing and backgrounds. We were playing ice breaker games and one that was very effective was “Over the Line”. They had a line down the middle of the floor in an auditorium and the counselor would point to one side and say stand here if you like Coke and go other there if you like Pepsi. They went on with lighter topics and then got into more personal things. When they did the sexuality one, I decided there and then to walk over and “come out”. Afterwards, I had a massive amount of support, love, and admiration from my peers. My fear of not being accepted and fear of confronting myself was gone, and I was very happy and peaceful at that moment. 

What pep talk would you give to someone who's concerned about coming out to their loved ones?

I would tell them it’s so important to be true to yourself and others, so you can truly live a full life - your own life. If you decide to not come out and live in a lie, you are doing yourself a disservice to your own happiness. You will be surprised, some people react very differently than what you would think. You will only gain strength from the experience and a guaranteed weight will be lifted from your shoulders. 

What were/are some of the challenges you faced/face being gay? Do you feel like times have changed for the better or worse? 

I faced a lot of challenges in my first 5 years of being out. Truly just getting used to people’s reactions and thoughts they might have about me. Just simply feeling insecure about being gay. I also dress masculine/like a man and with that, it can make me a bit of a target because I can’t really hide my sexuality. My father told me that I might have trouble getting hired because I didn’t look like a traditional woman. I rolled my eyes at him, but in the back of my head, I knew he was right (unfortunately). I decided to ignore him and stay true to what I felt and what I was comfortable with. Luckily, being in New York and in the creative space allow for less traditional thoughts and people who are different. I always knew I would find my way, I just had to trust myself. 

Since I’ve been out for 14 years, I’m comfortable with it now and it’s not what I’m all about anymore. When you are younger, being gay is a huge identity because you are still developing a career, a social life and don’t really have a ton of other things to point to. I also feel that times have changed pretty dramatically. I think people are much more accepting because so many more people have come out over the last 10 plus years. They are able to identify a bit more with each other. I feel in the workplace it’s changed as well, there is more overall exposure which helps people accept and/or change their views and feelings. I think we still have a long way to go, but it’s going in the right direction. 

What drew you to recruiting as a career path? 

What drew me to recruiting is actually having a career and working with creative people. I majored in Graphic Design and Photography, but didn’t really set myself up for success after graduating to become a creative professional. Like many people, I had a lot of odd jobs (retail, fitness and administration) in my first few years of moving to New York. Luckily, I met my friend, mentor and now boss; Angela Tai. She interviewed me as a candidate and then asked if I considered recruiting. I didn’t even know what recruiting was until I met her. At that point in my life, I just wanted to be surrounded by a team, have a salary and some type of direction. I met a ton of people on Angela’s team and everyone was lovely, packed full of energy and hard working. I happily jumped at the offer and now it’s been almost 9 years in the industry, which blows my mind! I truly couldn’t have done it without the support and encouragement of Angela. I feel very grateful that we are working together again. We have fun, have the same work ethic, and a ton of respect for one another. 

As a talent acquisition professional, how have you helped LGBTQ+ people progress in their career?

Yes! I have one person who truly sticks out in my mind. For privacy reasons, I’m going to call them “M”. When I was at R/GA, I was in charge of hiring interns for the summer. I was working closely with our business development team to find their best fit. The one they decided to hire was a lovely young, energetic and brilliant recent grad. A few days before they started the internship, M asked if we could hop on a call. They sounded nervous on the phone and said they wanted to let me know that they identified as non-binary. They added that I was the only person they felt comfortable talking to about this. It was a first for me in my career, and I was consultative and supportive, of course. As a person of the LGBTQ+ community, I felt very sensitive and protective over them. I sat their boss and co-workers on the team down the next day and told them how this person identifies themselves. I let them know their pronouns and I opened the floor to any questions. They were very open and supportive. The on boarding process and internship went very smoothly for this person. They ended up getting hired full-time after the internship. M and I are still good friends to this day, and I was honored to be a witness at their wedding.