Belfast recruitment software firm appoints new managing director to spearhead expansion

Belfast recruitment software company SeeMeHired has announced the appointment of Sam McIlveen as its managing director.

With more than 30 years’ experience in media advertising and publishing – including 15 years in the recruitment sector – Mr McIlveen joins as SeeMeHired enters a phase of “significant expansion”.

Founded in 2018, SeeMeHired is a talent acquisition software platform enabling companies to source, engage, select, hire and onboard talent at scale.

The firm was recently named as one of Belfast’s most influential software start-ups for its cloud-based platform, which automates much of the recruitment process – from application right through to hire. It supports HR leaders across the UK and Ireland in sectors such as hospitality and healthcare, with Hastings Hotels and Andras House and Beaumont Care in Northern Ireland, along with groups including Exceptional Care and We Care in the northwest of England and English Oak Care in Hampshire, among its customers.

Co-founder and recruitment veteran Gary Irvine said: “We have recorded a strong growth trajectory over the past two years and now have over 60 customers, each using our platform to hire anywhere between 30 and 200 people per year in their respective businesses.

“With demand for our solution continuing to grow, we are anticipating a period of significant expansion in 2024, as more and more customers continue to come onboard right across the UK and Ireland.

“Given his wealth of experience spanning digital and recruitment, we have every confidence that Sam is extremely well placed to lead us into this next exciting phase in SeeMeHired’s journey.”

Prior to his appointment to SeeMeHired in summer this year, Sam McIlveen spent 10 years at the Stepstone Group, first as general manager of NIJobs and then as managing director of the Group in Ireland, which also owns Irish Jobs and Jobs.ie and Total Jobs in the UK. This followed five years overseeing NIJobfinder.co.uk in his role as digital publisher for the Belfast Telegraph.

He said it was the “undeniable quality and innovation” behind SeeMeHired’s product offering and its focus on candidate experience that compelled him to make the move to his new role as managing director at the firm.

“Over 15 years I saw, time and time again, the many frustrations experienced throughout the recruitment journey,” he continued. “Employers were struggling with what can be an arduous, time-consuming and often costly process, or a failure to attract talent of a suitable calibre, simply because they were not positioning their brand and their employer value proposition in a compelling way.

“Candidates, meanwhile, were becoming jaded and disheartened with the process because they weren’t hearing back from employers after submitting an application – which happens in 50% of cases.”

This is where SeeMeHired comes in, according to Sam. “Our platform completely streamlines the process for the employer, meaning they can hire at scale and at pace in what is an almost entirely automated process,” he added.

“The talent market has become exceptionally competitive, placing a much greater onus on the employer to both showcase a compelling brand and ensure a hassle-free end-to-end experience for the talent they are trying to attract – otherwise, they will go elsewhere. SeeMeHired enables this to happen.

“It also facilitates regular communication with the candidate, and enables the candidate to check in on where they are in the process at any time.”