EMPLOYER BRAND CONSULTANT
Stephen Flanagan set up TalentAttract in 2019 after seeing a gap in the recruitment market.
During his eight years as a marketing leader with Hays Recruitment, he noticed that recruitment advertising didn’t apply any of the methods that other industries used when trying to sell their products and services - target the right person with the right message and persuade them to do something.
He had previously spent many years managing brands from a customer perspective and worked in advertising agencies with organisations such as Vodafone, PlayStation, Warner Music, Etihad, Coors Light, RTE and Tayto.
Working with smaller companies, he discovered most don’t have the time or expertise to recruit the very best people. They also struggle to compete for talent against the large organisations and don’t have the budget for expensive recruitment fees.
As well as using his candidate attraction services, some of his clients required help with screening CVs and candidates. Others needed advice and support when it came to interviews. So he evolved his offering to do the following:
- Grant smaller companies a competitive edge when vying for great candidates
- Allow them the flexibility to choose certain recruitment services
- Do both of the above at a price they could afford
His 5 Core Values:
Passionate
I believe that the right job is out there for everyone, and if they find that job, they will give everything in their capabilities to make it a success. I love witnessing people grow within a company, acquire new skills, be successful, develop leadership qualities. Every project I work on, I will not give up until I’ve found the perfect person for the role.
Inquisitive
I’ve always been a curious person. If I find a subject interesting, I’ll keep finding out more. It lends itself very well to recruitment. Every assignment I work on, I naturally want to find out as much as possible about the company, the job role and the type of person required for that role.
Thorough
Being thorough goes hand-in-hand with being inquisitive. It’s searching for that deep understanding of a job role, screening CVs and candidates in absolute detail, writing and re-writing job descriptions until they are perfect. Then checking, double-checking, and triple-checking for any errors.
Creative
Working in marketing and advertising for 20 years, you have to be creative. What I found with recruitment advertising was that it all looked the same, absolutely no creativity. So how can a candidate choose your job? A TalentAttract attraction campaign will grab the attention of the right candidates and make them apply.
Integrity
This is important to me as a person, and so I’ve brought it into my business. Some might say I’m honest to a fault. I’m ok with that. Recruitment has to be honest. No job is perfect. Every one has its downsides, and it’s important to be open and truthful. Equally, if you have a job vacancy and I don’t have the skills to recruit for that position, I will tell you at the outset.