Tara Horstmeyer

Simplifying LinkedIn | Individual + team training you need to succeed on LinkedIn | Executive Ghostwriting | Content Coaching | Hands-on Workshops

"One person posts, and I now know them. Multiple people post, and I now know their company..." - MJ Peters. (Powerful, huh?)

Execs: I believe you were made to lead—NOT exhaustively create LinkedIn content.

Yet:
> Figuring out how to engage + leverage the power of LinkedIn.
> Finding a TRUSTED Executive LinkedIn Thought Leadership team that understand business.
> One that also offers content strategy, company LinkedIn training and high-level, strategic writing execution...

...can feel like another full-time job.

I'm here to remove this burden.

HI! I'M TARA ⬇️

The Original LinkedIn Ghostwriter + Founder of Happy Words. 

My 20+ year career as an award-winning editor, writer + leader gives me a unique understanding of not only what it takes to leverage content in a digital world...

But also what it takes to work with impactful leaders—in the REAL world.

After scaling to 30K+ followers + driving well more than 6-figures of revenue solely from my LinkedIn as THE Original AND highly sought-after LinkedIn Ghostwriter...

My career evolved to building Happy Words: A writing, consulting + training team that supports executives like you.

I’ve since been featured in Business Insider, Vox and Morning Brew as a LinkedIn Ghostwriting industry expert and have spoken at events + workshops while appearing on dozens of podcasts.

This truly sets me apart as I can both appreciate + serve busy executives who desire to impact others through their LinkedIn presence.

Executives—like you.

Bottom line:

You were made to lead, not exhaustively create a LinkedIn presence.

I'm here to help you expand your influence, grow your presence and stand out as the authoritative thought leader you ARE.

LET'S CHAT. HERE TO SERVE YOU ⬇️
Serving individuals, founders, execs, teams + companies:

1. CONTENT: LinkedIn Post Strategy + Ghostwriting
2. WORKSHOPS: LinkedIn Mastery Workshop + Workbook

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So, that's a little bit about who I am, what I built (for years) and how I've served countless leaders (like you!) on LinkedIn.

I am ALWAYS up for a chat in the DMs. So...

Drop me a note.
Say hi.

DMs always open.
Cheering for you!

- T

Executive LinkedIn + Leadership Trainer

I help executives, companies and teams build their LinkedIn reputation at scale.

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Leading is a full-time job.
Exhaustively figuring out LinkedIn shouldn't be.

No matter if you are looking to build your executive personal brand on LinkedIn, bring visibility and opportunity to you, your company or team or create an employee advocacy program, I can help you achieve it all.

You were created to lead — not spend your time writing for LinkedIn.

Let’s work together to bring YOU, your business, your team and your company to those who need it the most.

🔥 Expand your influence. Grow your reputation. Ignite your opportunities.🔥

3 WAYS I CAN HELP YOU ⬇️

1. LinkedIn GHOSTWRITING:
Writing WITH you + AS you is what I'm known for.
DM or email for information, packages and availability.

2. LinkedIn 1:1 + Corporate TRAINING:
From corporate workshops to 1:1 consulting + employee coaching, I've worked with the best to leverage LinkedIn.

Shoot me a DM to design your session now.

3. LinkedIn Brand CONSULTING + COACHING:
Whether you are looking for an all-encompassing LinkedIn strategy that works or need a professional editor's eyes on your (or your team’s) posts, I'm your guide to help you along the way. 

Shoot me a DM to discuss a Coaching or Consulting plan or visit me here:

tara@happywordssell.com
www.happywordssell.com

Build right. Hire right. Rebel forever.

I'm a fractional Head of Talent for Series A-C startups and defense contractors. I build recruiting infrastructure companies own forever, ATS workflows, sourcing frameworks, scorecards, pipelines; then close critical hires in under 30 days.

My path wasn't traditional: TGI Fridays → booking bands → managing tours → 14 years in recruiting. It taught me to spot talent fast, sell with conviction, and treat every search like representation. I operate like an agent, take care of both sides, protect the brand, close the deal.

Currently: Fractional Head of Talent at EarthDaily Federal (geospatial intelligence, defense). Board member at Underground Admins.

Author: Head and Heart: Winning the AI Recruiting War

richie@rebeltalentsystems.com | rebeltalentsystems.com

Richie Lampani

I got recognized at Costco yesterday.


Guy walks up, points at me, and goes "You're that recruiter."

I said "Depends. Are you hiring or mad at me for ghosting you or something?"

He said "Neither. I just see you everywhere and wanted to make sure you were real."

Then he bought a 48-pack of paper towels and left.

No follow. No handshake. No "love your content." Just a man confirming my corporeal existence between the rotisserie chickens and the tire center.

I've never felt more seen and more invisible at the same time.

This is what 50,000 LinkedIn connections gets you.

A stranger in bulk goods aisle 7 performing a wellness check.

Anyway I'm still taking clients.

Also, who would tune in for the below podcast? I'm trying to talk Shaun Hervey into starting it back up. 

Richie

Fractional Head of Talent | Series A-C Startups & Defense | Author & Talent Strategist | Former TGI Fridays Flair Champ

When the hiring manager says ‘we need someone hungry’ and the team looks like they’ve been surviving on vibes and stale granola since 2023.

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I get why people hate recruiting agencies. I’m Richie. I’ll go first.
I apologize for my part in it and for once being one of the idiot recruiters you all deal with. Candidates AND Decision Makers. 

Because the real problem with recruiting isn’t mysterious. It isn’t candidates. It isn’t even “bad actors.”

The real problem with recruiting is that there is zero barrier to entry.

Anyone can open a “firm” tomorrow.

No credentials. No licensing. No skill checks. Nothing.

Even if you get hired into an agency, the interview process isn’t about expertise for recruiters with 2 or less years experience. It’s about personality and enthusiasm.

Can you smile through rejection, handle being micromanaged, and agree to do more for less? Congratulations, you’re a recruiter now.

No wonder the industry looks the way it does.

What new recruiters actually get taught
It’s not recruiting. It’s volume mechanics.
Here’s the training plan at most shops:
-Here’s the template job description. Don’t think. Just post it.
-Here's the basics of the ATS. Not even how to search the database that exists within it.
-Here’s how to search for keywords. Don’t understand them. Just match them.
-Here’s the call quota. Hit it.
-Here’s the email quota. Hit it.
-Here’s the “submit” quota. Hit it.
AND INVARIABLY and INEVITABLY at EVERY shop I've worked at, there is a minimum of 1 meeting a month about candidate ownership that 100% will devolve into a battle of how to decide who talked to Joe that has a very basic skillset but always answers every outreach.

If I’m finding .NET developers but I don’t know what .NET is, that’s not recruiting.

That’s scavenger hunting.
Volume is the skill.
Quality is the accident.


When you hand anyone a LinkedIn seat and tell them “go find talent,” this is what happens:
-Bad outreach floods good candidates
-Bad screening wastes hiring managers’ time
-Bad job descriptions repel the people you actually want
-Bad incentives encourage speed over accuracy

Candidates think we’re clowns(and a LARGE % of the time, they're right)

Hiring managers think we’re a tax.

And agencies keep doubling down on “more activity” instead of “more skill.”

If this industry took its job seriously, recruiter would mean something:
-Understanding the tech you’re sourcing for, not just the keywords
-Writing job descriptions that attract, not repel
-Market mapping, calibration, and diagnostics with hiring teams
-Measuring retention and quality of hire, not CV volume
-Training rooted in assessment, psychology, and labor market knowledge

It’s not complicated.
It’s just not how the industry is built.

If you run a recruiting team or an agency, ask yourself:
Are you training recruiters to understand the work or just search for words?
Would you trust your own career with the people your shop places?

If the answer makes you uncomfortable, that’s the point.

Zero barrier to entry is not changing.
The bar you set inside your own shop can.

This is Chuck. Chuck charges 25% to send you ‘top-tier talent your internal team can’t find.’ 

Because apparently his LinkedIn recruiter seat works differently than yours 

Or his job posts are better because he changed your company name out for “our client” so candidates wouldn’t just apply direct. 


Stop renting Chucks. Hit me up about a better way.

Once you see it as a demonstration and not an audition, everything changes.

You’re not begging for approval.  

You’re showing how you actually work.

Candidates: You’re not “on stage.” You’re giving a preview. And finding alignment. 

Companies: You’re not “judging talent.”  Or “selling an opportunity”. You’re showing what it feels like to be on the inside. And finding fit.

The "trust your gut?" poll results are all in here. How people treat red flags in interviews.

When you've taken a job you already had doubts about, when did the gut feeling hit that it wasn't going to work out? I ran a poll. 442 people answered

Open article: The gut knew. You overruled it. by Richie Lampani • 3 min read

REMOTE - Production Engineer/SWE/SRE opening through Underground Administration Staffing and Recruiting! Share this please

6 month contract to hire - 160-200k+ DOE plus bene's and extras

Global SaaS platform. Zero bureaucracy. Actual engineering work, not ticket triage.

I am looking for someone who can write real backend code and also own reliability end to end.

 If you are a script-only SRE, this is not the role.

 If you are a heads-down SWE who avoids production, also not the role.
I need the rare breed who lives in the middle.

The Work:
 • Write production-grade backend code in Python, Go, or Java(plus C# chops)
 • Support modernization and migration of legacy .NET services into AWS
 • Build internal tools, APIs, and automation
 • Tune Postgres and improve service performance
 • Deploy, monitor, troubleshoot, improve
 • Own services independently with minimal supervision

Bonus Points:
 • Kubernetes experience
 • Rust exposure or willingness to learn
 • Strong observability stack experience with Datadog, Dynatrace, or New Relic

Requirements:
 • Must be a US Citizen
 • Must be physically located in the US
 • No visas or sponsorship
 • Contract to hire
 • Fully remote

Interview Process (fast and simple):
Engineering Manager
Peer interview
Engineering Manager again for final talk and offer

No marathon interview loops. No whiteboard theater. No pointless homework.

If you can build, ship, deploy, break, fix, and improve a service, you will get through this quickly.

If this sounds like you, or you know the complete STUD who can do both SWE and SRE at a high level, let's talk. 

Also have some fun stuff coming up at EDF and Rebel. 

Feels like motion. Let's get people hired.

taplio

The Battle

Tara Horstmeyer

Richie Lampani

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taplio

The Battle

Tara Horstmeyer

Richie Lampani

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Richie Lampani's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreRichie Lampani's LinkedIn Performance