Talia Brennan — Recruiter
Chicago, IL
Recruiter two years off a retail sales floor, now running operations and manufacturing searches end to end. Filled 41 roles last year at a median 34-day time to hire, eleven days under the desk average, with 92% still in seat at twelve months.
Experience
Recruiter, Northgate Talent Group · August 2024 – present
Agency desk covering operations, warehouse and manufacturing roles for 14 Midwest clients.
- Filled 41 roles in twelve months at a median 34-day time to hire against a 45-day desk average, with 92% of placements still employed at one year.
- Rebuilt the intake call as a nine-question scorecard signed off by the hiring manager; submit-to-interview rate rose from 28% to 51%.
- Sourced 60% of placements through outbound outreach rather than job boards, taking average cost per hire from $6,200 to $4,050.
- Wrote the scheduling templates that moved candidates from first contact to a booked interview in four hours instead of two days.
Assistant Store Manager, Cedar & Vane Outfitters · June 2021 – July 2024
- Hired and onboarded 38 seasonal staff across three peak seasons, averaging four days from application to first shift with no unfilled openings.
- Cut seasonal turnover from 44% to 26% by replacing walk-in hiring with a two-interview process and a written first-week plan.
- Trained six shift leads, four of whom were promoted into store roles within a year.
Education
- B.A. Psychology · DePaul University · August 2017 – May 2021
Skills
- Sourcing: Boolean search, Outbound outreach, Talent mapping, Referral programs, Market salary research
- Hiring process: Intake scorecards, Structured interviewing, Offer negotiation, Reference checks, Pipeline reporting
- Systems: Greenhouse, Lever, Workday Recruiting, Gem, Excel
Certifications
- Talent Acquisition Specialty Credential — SHRM