How Candid took subconscious bias off the table for Deeksha
For Deeksha Mathpal, a move to Birmingham meant the start of a new chapter – a fresh city, fiancé and hopefully an exciting new step in her career.
“I’d been in hospitality for over three years,” she explains, and after making plans to move to Birmingham with her fiancé, she started looking for the perfect role.
Like so many others, she began her search in the usual places – Indeed, job boards, the endless scroll of applications. One of the roles she applied for just happened to be the Assistant Manager role at Tonkotsu.
But after sending in her CV, she wasn’t successful in securing an interview.
Thankfully Deeksha had also registered with Candid, setting up an anonymous profile, and just so happened to match with the exact same role – under her nom nom de-plume ‘Raspberry & ginger fridge cake’.
👀 Finding Candid
“I was looking for a job in Birmingham. I was trying to look on Indeed and other job boards then Candid just came up on a Google search and I signed up and got the job”. It turns out it really can be that simple.
On how she found Candid to use as a candidate:
“I think it’s really, really easy to use. I got 3 or 4 matches on the platform, and I applied to a couple of the roles picked for me. One of which was Tonkotsu, thankfully they thought I was a good candidate for the job so they hired me”
Deeksha, Assistant Manager @ Tonkotsu
🔎 Why anonymity mattered
When asked what made Candid feel different, one element stood out in particular to Deeksha:
“The part I love most is that Candid keeps candidates anonymous.”
As an Indian woman working in UK hospitality, she’s seen bias show up more than once.
“I’m Indian, and there are some people who think ‘oh she’s Indian’, or ‘she’s Italian’, she’s not best for this particular brand. You know sometimes it happens in hospitality, so it was nice to be anonymous when applying for roles.”
And the reality is, Deeksha & Tonkotsu are a perfect match. We asked what had attracted her to this role in particular.
“To be honest, I really like Ramen and Japanese food and I watch anime so I can speak a bit of Japanese as well, so I thought ‘why not – I’ll do it’”
“To be honest, I really like Ramen and Japanese food and I watch anime so I can speak a bit of Japanese as well, so I thought ‘why not – I’ll do it’”
Deeksha, Assistant Manager @ Tonkotsu
🧡 A match made in ramen heaven
Through Candid’s anonymous matching, Tonkotsu reviewed her profile based only on the three C’s; Culture, Competencies & Compensation. No CV, no assumptions, no missed opportunity.
Her personality and values shone through, and the match was made.
Today, she’s the Assistant Manager at Tonkotsu Birmingham
“Everything is going so well, everyone is so nice and friendly. I really love working here, they have the best work culture here for me.”
Deeksha, Assistant Manager @ Tonkotsu
📝 Culture fit over CV
We also had the opportunity to speak with Trieu, Head of People at Tonkotsu, who explained:
“Her CV didn’t stand out and neither did her experience compared to other candidates. But having the opportunity to meet her via Candid gave us the chance to get to know her. She just felt right for Tonkotsu and the Birmingham team in terms of culture and values – and that’s what really matters. Candid is about looking at someone as a person, rather than a one-dimensional piece of paper.”
Trieu, Head Of People @ Tonkotsu
It’s proof that when companies recruit based on skills & values – rather than credentials alone – the results can be beautiful.
📣 Words of wisdom
So what would Deeksha say to others thinking about using Candid?
“I think if anyone is afraid that subconscious bias might work against them, for their ethnicity or any other reason, then Candid is the best platform for you. It’s such a fun platform, and anyone would really enjoy the experience of using it”
Deeksha, Assistant Manager @ Tonkotsu
🫶🏻 Why this story matters
Deeksha’s journey shows that even the best candidates can still be overlooked by traditional recruitment methods. By removing names, CVs, and bias – and matching with just a handful, rather than hundreds – Candid helps employers discover hospitality superstars they might have otherwise missed.
🧡 Find your match
If you’re looking for opportunities that feel like you – where you don’t need a CV, just a sense of what makes you tick – start with Candid.
Effective Date: 09.07.2025 Last Updated: 09.07.2025
Welcome to Candid’s Refer-a-Legend scheme – our way of rewarding you for growing a community of incredible hospitality talent.
These Terms & Conditions outline how the referral rewards work, what you need to do to qualify and the fine print we need to cover to keep things fair for everyone involved.
1. Who Can Take Part The Refer-a-Legend scheme is open to all Candid users who:
Have signed up as a candidate.
Are based in the UK.
Have a unique referral link generated by the Candid platform.
2. How It Works You complete your Candid profile.
Receive your unique referral link via email and/or in your dashboard.
You share your link with your network via WhatsApp, socials, email, text… wherever you like.
When someone signs up using your link and completes their candidate profile, it counts as a referral.
You’ll receive updates as your referrals come through, and rewards will be unlocked as you hit key milestones.
Note: Referral links must be shared organically. Paid promotion, bulk messaging or use of bots/automated scripts is not permitted.
3. Reward Milestones You’ll earn rewards based on the number of successful candidate sign-ups using your unique link:
3 Sign-ups
Community Builder badge on your candidate profile, visible to employers
5 Sign-ups
Exclusive Candid merch drop delivered to your door (UK only)
10+ Sign-ups
Upgrade to Candid Champion badge + invite to join our private community group
Referral leads to interview
Receive a £25 voucher each as a thank-you from the Candid team
4. The Small Print (But Important!)
Referrals must be genuine new users who haven’t previously registered on Candid (duplicate or spam accounts won’t be counted).
Referral links must be shared organically (e.g. through personal messages or social posts). Paid promotion, bulk messaging, or automated scripts are not allowed.
We reserve the right to monitor, verify or disqualify any referral if fraudulent or suspicious activity is detected.
Physical rewards (e.g. merch) can only be shipped within the UK. Rewards are non-transferable, have no cash value, and cannot be exchanged or resold.
The £25 voucher will be issued digitally via email. Voucher options are selected at Candid’s discretion.
A referral voucher is considered when the referred candidate is progressed by an employer via the Candid platform.
Referral milestones and reward structures may be reviewed or updated at any time. If changes occur, we’ll communicate them in advance.
Candid reserves the right to suspend or terminate the Refer-a-Legend scheme at any time. If we do, we’ll give reasonable notice via email or platform update.
We process referral data in line with our Privacy Policy. No personal information about your referrals will be shared without their consent.
5. When Will I Receive My Rewards? Badges are added to your profile automatically once a milestone is hit.
Merch and voucher rewards will be processed within 14 days of reaching your milestone.
You’ll receive an email confirmation with next steps when a reward is unlocked.
6. Data & Privacy We process your referral data in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Rest assured:
Your referrals’ data remains private
No personal information will be shared without consent
We remain GDPR-compliant and committed to protecting your data
7. Need Help or Have a Question?
We love hearing from our community!
If something’s unclear or you want to chat about your referral progress, drop us a message:
