How curiosity – not urgency – led Mike Kearns to his next role through Candid
After three and a half years at Wireless Social, Michael wasn’t looking for a new role – not really. As Head of Customer Success, he loved his team and had worked hard to get there. But something about the pace and purpose of smaller businesses was calling him back.
Here’s how signing up as a “truly passive” candidate led him to his next chapter with Joli.
👀 Staying curious – without making noise
Michael first came across Candid through people he knew in the industry.
He signed up not to job hunt, but to explore. That sense of quiet curiosity eventually led to something more. He opened just two rooms – one with Candid themselves, and one with Joli.
“Being able to do that passively and anonymously as well where you don’t feel like you’re going to ruffle any feathers if your CV just pops up somewhere with your name on there”
“The whole process was quick but meaningful,” he says. “It was the kind of conversation where you just know it’s the right fit.”
Mike, Customer Success Manager @ Joli
👐🏻From convoluted to curated
Before Candid, Michael’s experiences with traditional job boards had been – in his words – a slog.
“I think it was more of a case of you just kind of put up with the really convoluted processes that they take you through rather than actually enjoying applying through them.”
He remembers the endless repetition:
“Can you write a cover letter? And then can you also fill out this form that’s going to be completely blank and not bring anything from your CV”
That frustration is what made Candid stand out.
“You get the volume of roles that you may be looking for. But with Candid where you’re already getting that pre-filtered curated experience of roles just for you in the industry you really want to work in you’re getting rid of a lot of the noise.”
Mike, Customer Success Manager @ Joli
He laughs, recalling one of his biggest gripes with the “old way”:
“One of the things that’s really bugged me about the older way of doing things is when you are looking for roles and then they’re constantly retargeting you with emails and it’s for roles where there’s only a razor thin connection.”
🧡 Finding the fit
When the match with Joli came up, it just made sense.
“It’s a small team, a really well-established and growing book of customers. So what I’m going to bring to it is obviously all of my learnings of doing things at scale and doing things efficiently,”
Mike, Customer Success Manager @ Joli
The appeal was clear – impact, collaboration, and culture.
🤩Mike’s advice for job seekers?
For anyone using Candid, Michael says it’s about trusting the process and being selective.
“The Candid platform is all about that curated experience. So I think if the right role is there and it’s meant to be, then yeah, it will happen if you’re picky enough.”His move wasn’t driven by urgency – but by alignment.
“I wasn’t desperate to move to a new role by tomorrow or anything. It wasn’t about, “I’ll just take anything”. It really had to be that right role for me to take that step.”
Mike, Customer Success Manager @ Joli
💥Time to get Candid
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:
