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August 12, 2025
How Purple Story found their perfect hire without a CV in sight
Imagine only having a handful of candidates apply for your role – and still finding exactly the right person.
That’s what happened at Purple Story, and it’s why we’re so excited to share the next chapter in our Match Made in Hospitality series. This time, we’re telling it from the employer’s side – and letting the brilliant Karen Turton take the mic.
Because when your company’s culture is as bold, human and unapologetically honest as Purple Story’s, hiring anyone just won’t do.
💡The Challenge: When CV’s don’t tell the real story
Karen’s seen it all. From household hospitality names to household brands, Purple Story has grown fast – and so has the need for a team that can keep up.
But traditional hiring? It wasn’t cutting it.
“I think traditionally what I’ve found is what gets put on the CV is not actually what is reflective when you possibly recruit somebody into that role.”
Karen Turton CEO @ Purple Story
In Karen’s words, too many hires looked good on paper but weren’t the right fit in practice. People were saying all the right things in interviews – but once in the job, their passion didn’t match the pitch.
🚀 The Switch: Hiring through Candid
When Karen heard about Candid, she was intrigued – not just by the platform, but by the philosophy behind it:
No CVs
No time-wasting
Just values-aligned, human-first hiring
And when it came time to expand her team again, Karen made a bold call:
“I’m not recruiting in any other way than through Candid.”
Karen Turton CEO @ Purple Story
Enter: Bella…
A former colleague, a maths grad, a creative soul – and now a powerhouse at Purple Story. What stood out? Bella followed the process. She didn’t DM Karen on LinkedIn or try to cut corners. She wanted the role – and it showed.
“Bella is a key member of the team already.”
🎯The Result: A perfect match
Bella’s now just weeks into her role and already outperforming expectations – launching new ideas, bringing clarity, and raising the bar.
Karen says it best:
“We’ve found somebody through Candid who gets it. They’re on point. What they’re doing is epic. It’s like music. It’s just music.”
And with Bella, it’s not just about performance. It’s about alignment – with the pace, vulnerability, and purpose that makes Purple Story what it is.
🛠️ Why it worked
✅ Ease and Efficiency ✅ No fluff, no mismatches ✅ A hiring experience that reflects real people, not just profiles ✅ Time saved, culture gained
“It was easy. I could check in. I could fit recruitment in and around everything else. So, when a little message popped up from somebody, I could stop what I was doing here, answer a question, and then get back into something else. Ease and efficiency.”
Karen Turton CEO @ Purple Story
“Bella is a key member of the team already. She’s not afraid to get involved, pick up the phone. She is performing above my expectations.”
💥 Want to see what it feels like to hire the right one?
If you’re ready to stop sifting through ‘maybes’ and start meeting ‘hell yes’ candidates, we’d love to help.
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:
