How Sam matched with Draughts across the Three C’s, and became their new Operations Manager
Sam stepped into a role he was genuinely buzzing about: Operations at Draughts London, the legends behind those iconic board game bars in Waterloo, Hackney and Stratford.
Here’s how he got matched through Candid and why it felt more like a conversation than a job interview.
“It didn’t even feel like an interview!”
Sam, Operations Manager @ Draughts
“When I first sat down with Nick, the founder of Draughts, we just clicked. It wasn’t a grilling. It wasn’t a tick box chat. It was more like catching up with someone you already get. We were bouncing ideas off each other, talking about what makes people tick and so much more.
And then I visited one of the venues. I brought a mate. We played a game for hours. Halfway through I realised: I’d forgotten I was on a site visit.I looked around the room and just thought: Yeah, this is something I want to be a part of building.”
Started Scaling Fast
“By week three, we were launching a brand new venue. I loved it!”
Now, I’ve got my sight set on three things:
🧡 Making ops consistent across all Draughts sites
🧡 Growing brand awareness (because honestly, I wish I’d heard of Draughts sooner)
🧡 Supporting the team through their next chapter of growth
“I just felt like Candid was doing something different”
Sam, Operations Manager @ Draughts
Why I chose Candid
“Before Candid, I was stuck in that loop: Endless applications. No replies. The kinds of processes that dragged on for weeks and left you frustrated. Then I spotted a Candid post on LinkedIn, made a mental note and came back when it launched.
And straight away, it felt different:
✅ No CV. No guesswork. ✅ Just thoughtful questions that matched me with roles based on who I actually am. ✅ Conversations that felt human.
Even for a senior role, it didn’t feel clinical or impersonal. It felt like Candid was trying to build trust. That’s rare.”
“The idea that the brand has to win you over – that’s rare”
Sam, Operations Manager @ Draughts
Real Talk
“I did feel daft when I first messaged…Turns out the character limit was tiny and I had to send seven mini texts in a row 😅
But happy to report that Candid have now fixed that!”
My advice to anyone using Candid?
“Don’t treat interviews as one-way. Ask questions. You’re interviewing them too. Now I’m waking up excited to go to work. And that’s something you can’t fake.
If you’re on the hunt for something that actually fits who you are – skip the spreadsheets and 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:
