Celtic Careers – Lessons from 25 years in business.

By Founder and Managing Director, Deirdre Moore

The 1980s were a complex time for Ireland. For many entering the workforce, opportunity was sparse. So, like countless others I set sail for greener pastures, hoping to find prosperity abroad. First

The Netherlands, then across the Atlantic to the United States where I made a life for myself in Los Angeles. My husband and I had our careers, an apartment, and two young children. We’d made it.

But it was never really home.

A decade after leaving, we returned to a country on the rise. Ireland had started its journey as an economic powerhouse. It finally was a place of growth and prosperity with the promise of

opportunity for its people. It was a country ready to take on new industries and sectors and step into a new century with bright new ideas. And it was here that I had an idea. Recruitment. A business model

already pioneered and perfected in other parts of the globe, but not yet fully realised at home. The ability for organisations to outsource their recruitment needs to experts in that field, being able to

instead focus on their own domains and allow consultants to secure talent for their businesses.

This new field in Ireland would be radically needed as the country’s economy was set to rapidly expand. And that’s exactly what happened.

I founded Celtic Careers in 1999. Our name capturing the essence of the country I’d loved, left, and at long last returned to. We had a small premises in Lucan Village, finding ourselves quickly part of a

strong local community in the village.

We grew quickly, seeing enormous success serving both SME and Multinational organizations across the country. The Celtic Tiger was in full swing – apt nomenclature considering our own growth at the time.

We moved to a larger office, opened a 2 nd office, increased in size to over 30 full time staff members. We’d built out a strong reputation for both temporary and permanent recruitment, we retained an excellent

series of clients, and the future was very bright.

After 10 incredible years, the Great Recession forced us to reinvent the business. The entire country was on a hiring freeze, and the survival of Celtic Careers, much like any other organisation at the time was at

stake. We had to develop new services, target new sectors, and fight to continue. Week- to-week managing cashflow to stay afloat was the only option; hoping invoices would be paid. We downsized and

adjusted, and Celtic Careers persevered.

The following decade proved an enormous shift in the culture of work in Ireland. A new series of web technology giants had come to Ireland, the pharma industry was

expanding, and unemployment figures sharply dropped. A demand for quality candidates led to employers finding new ways to attract and retain talent from stronger benefits to a better work-life balance – and of

course some started offering beanbag chairs and foosball tables to entice their employees!

We adapted our processes and saw huge successes throughout the 2010s, and like the Celtic Phoenix, we rose from the ashes of the Great Recession. One of our biggest lessons learned during this period was

to focus on the quality of our operation. We maintained a very strong and lean team of consultants and staff in our operation, we made sure we reinvested effectively for any growth opportunities and this

approach proved highly effective. With a strong stable of high-quality returning-clients, a reliable and well-curated pool of talent, and of course one of the strongest recruitment teams in the country!

Ending out our second decade came with one of the greatest challenges yet and one everyone on the planet is all too familiar with. The Pandemic. Running a successful business suddenly was secondary to the

nation’s need to address Covid-19. Despite seeing an overnight halt in revenue and job orders, the focus was on the health and wellbeing of our staff, clients, and candidates. We witnessed a once-in-a-lifetime

collective effort on the part of our communities and countries to work towards reducing the spread of the virus, and despite several tough years, Ireland’s achievement is clear from the statistics.

After adjusting to a work-from-home model we endeavoured through 2020, ensuring we could continue keeping our staff employed and our bills paid. As restrictions gradually lifted, we moved permanently to a

hybrid working model, seeing the benefit and flexibility this offered our team. We also saw the advent of new collaborative remote technologies to facilitate the shift to remote and hybrid work. In-person

meetings became a novelty, and the world of work seems permanently changed. Launching into 2021 and beyond, we’ve seen some of our strongest years – more than

making up for the sacrifices of 2020. Proving once again, the value of facing a challenge, accepting market forces, and overcoming these hurdles. All of which brings us to today. 2024. An incredible 25 years at

the helm of an incredible company. We’ve experienced the peaks and troughs the market and economy has to offer from boom to bust; major unemployment, to record employment; and everything in between.

We pride ourselves on the passion of our team – people whose true vocation is matching the best quality talent to our clients’ needs. People who love their job and feel Celtic Careers is a great place to work.

Our quarter century of experience has shown us how to operate an organisation that can adapt when it needs to, that can maintain a strong set of values, and provide a much-needed quality service now and into

the future.

I’m proud to have been a part of the past 25 years in Celtic Careers. And if we continue to build on our success, the future is surely bright for our next 25.