The Road to One Million Members: A Conversation with CareerCircle’s Managing Director Kim Sneeder
When CareerCircle reached 200,000 members, it wasn't just a milestone—it was proof of concept. Proof that skilled talent exists outside traditional pipelines. Proof that technology and human advocacy can work together at scale. And proof that skills-based hiring isn't just idealistic; it's a competitive advantage for businesses.
Now, we're setting our sights on something even more ambitious: serving one million members and fundamentally reshaping how America's workforce connects with opportunity.
To understand what this journey really means, we sat down with Kim Sneeder, the Managing Director. With over 27 years in the staffing industry, including more than two decades at Allegis Group, Kim has seen many evolutions of the staffing landscape. But at CareerCircle, she's not just observing change, she's driving it.
In this conversation, Kim opens up about the "unlearning" required to build something truly different, the hidden skills traditional recruiting misses, and why the hardest decisions are often the ones that keep you closest to your mission.
We've seen incredible growth recently, hitting the 200,000-member mark. What was the catalyst for setting the ambitious goal of 1 million, and what does hitting that number actually look like for the labor market?
The first 200,000 members served was a journey of testing what was needed in the ecosystem to truly build new skilled talent pipelines and get them to work. We navigated every challenge and transformed each into an opportunity to do it better and at scale. The 1 million milestone is now about scaling what we have built so we can serve more skilled talent communities.
We've been studying supply and demand across all verticals and industries to determine transferable skills as well as those in demand. This intentional focus with our partners across the US will allow us to address some of the biggest opportunities for the labor market. With the advancements in technology across all sectors, we need to be tapping into all communities and unleashing the full potential of the American workforce.
You often speak about the importance of the 'human story' behind every placement. As we scale to 1 million members, how do we use technology to maintain that personal, human-centric advocacy that sets CareerCircle apart?
What we've learned is that the human element is critical because we are in the business of serving people. What is also true is that a digital approach works exceptionally well when developed, implemented, and leveraged effectively. The key has been to have a digital approach that inserts a human element at critical points when our members need additional support
We meet each member where they are on their unique journey. Everyone arrives with different experiences and needs different levels of support. The combination of AI tools and human support enable us to provide personalized assistance at scale, while ensuring no one gets left behind. We pride ourselves on adapting our support to help every member continue moving forward.
After we reach this 1 million milestone, what is the single biggest change you hope to see in how the Fortune 500 views talent from less traditional backgrounds?
I predict a future where Fortune 500 companies have countless stories of their best employees coming from backgrounds they never considered before. I believe we'll reach a future where companies no longer struggle to find skilled talent simply because they've been looking in the same places for decades. When you can access talent from all communities, not just traditional ones, you don't just fill positions faster, you build stronger, more innovative teams.
Companies will no longer need to have full teams to connect with all of the nonprofits, community groups, and training programs because they're housed in one ecosystem working together, for them. We're making it easier for companies to hire based on what people can actually do by training people for the specific jobs that exist in their local markets. Working together in one cohesive solution not only reduces required infrastructure for organizations but also yields greater hiring outcomes.
We talk a lot about skills-based hiring. For an employer who is used to scanning a resume in 6 seconds, what is the biggest challenge in getting them to adopt this new way of seeing talent?
I think the question highlights the inherent obstacle. To make skills-based hiring work, it can't require extra effort. We want the technology to match employers with candidates who are aligned. Through understanding historical data sets around skills-based hiring and where alignment exists, the technology does the work for organizations.
But there's another challenge: many job descriptions still haven't evolved. They still list degree requirements and credentials that aren't truly essential, and then automated systems screen out qualified candidates before a human ever sees them. A talented candidate could have every skill needed to excel in the role, but if the job posting requires a four-year degree and the applicant tracking system is set to filter based on that requirement, they never make it through. This is where updating job descriptions to focus only on essential skills becomes critical, to ensure companies aren't accidentally blocking their own access to top talent.
The concept of 'STARs' (Skilled Through Alternative Routes) is gaining traction. How is CareerCircle positioning itself to be not just a platform, but the primary voice for this demographic?
I believe that shared language around what STAR talent represents is a key responsibility of ours as a voice in this space. While the concept is becoming more understood, I fear the true impact of STAR talent performance isn't always tracked and shared. As part of Allegis Group, we have a unique opportunity to track how long people stay in contract roles and whether they successfully complete their assignments.
The STAR population of talent we represented achieved a 9% higher retention rate than their counterparts. It's a reminder that skilled through alternative routes doesn't mean less qualified than traditional education channels—often they're outperforming their teammates.
We are seeing a shift where skills are becoming the new currency of work. What is one specific 'hidden skill' you see constantly in our members that traditional recruiting processes completely miss?
It isn't "one particular skill" but rather transferable skills and that can look different per person. As we review the data on the members that were hired over the last five years, one of the data sets that inspired me the most were candidates that applied a skill from a completely different industry, or maybe they had used it in their personal lives, into a new role, position, or industry.
The story that sticks out to me the most is the barista who completed a Google Project Management Career Certificate. She later went on to lead a project management role where she was responsible for a team of seven and achieved significant accolades for her impact and performance. In a traditional job board, the skills she used as a barista were being lost and not translating for the project management roles she was applying for. We needed to step in and serve as a "translator" to the employer she was interested in working with. What were those transferable skills and how would they apply against the job description?
What we've also learned is that the act of upskilling itself is a hidden skill that traditional recruiting completely misses. When someone takes the initiative to earn a certificate or learn a new skill on their own, they're demonstrating mastery and they've proven they can learn something difficult. That mastery builds self-belief and shows that they can learn other things too.
You spent over 20 years in traditional staffing before leading this mission-driven organization. What was the hardest 'unlearning' you had to do when you transitioned from traditional recruiting to the CareerCircle model?
The list is long—not only because of the work, but the advancements in general in the staffing industry over the last 27 years. In traditional recruiting, I was looking for the perfect match, and that was determined by the job description and alignment verbatim. At times, gaps in a resume would signal something potentially negative that often didn't get the exploration it required.
But the biggest shift was this: in traditional recruiting, the conversation stopped at "you aren't qualified." That was the end. At CareerCircle, that's where the conversation starts. We ask: what skills do you need to bridge that gap? How do we get you qualified? It's a completely different mindset; instead of screening people out, we're building pathways in.
I also came into CareerCircle with some limiting beliefs that I was constantly trying to shake. When you've done traditional staffing for so long, you get a deeply rooted belief in how it should be done. It became a game of sorts to say "but why" for any challenge, obstacle, or theory into why something was done a certain way. The fact that we were a small startup in an enormous organization gave us tremendous data sets but also a platform to quickly test new ideas and pivot. We had a commitment to each other to challenge antiquated thinking or any limiting beliefs when we were building.
Leadership often requires making tough calls between profit and purpose. Can you share a moment in the last year where you had to prioritize the mission over an easy win?
I believe when your purpose is solid and tied to a true business need, profits will follow. Most often, the "easy wins" you pass on aren't really wins at all; they're just short-term profits that pull you away from your mission and don't solve real problems. That's where most people get off course.
The last year was tough. Staffing overall was on a decline and we were feeling it on both the full-time employment and contingent sides. It would have been easy to go off course and chase whatever was available as a short-term gain. You can't build a sustainable business on short-term wins.
We really stayed true to the mission to build new talent pipelines and a solution against the skills shortage. We made sure all communities were represented and had resources available to increase the likelihood of recruiters finding top talent. 2025 was full of moments where I paused to say "does this align with our mission" and "does this solve a business need?" If the answer wasn't yes to both, it was a distraction built on the basis of fear disguised as profit.
You've talked about 'imposter syndrome' being a barrier for many of our members (like veterans returning to civilian life). Have you ever experienced that in your own career, and how did you navigate it?
It is such a human response and I believe most of us have experienced it. For me, it presented itself when I was promoted into a position and didn't feel like I had the skills and knowledge to achieve success. In the times I hit barriers early on, it would get amplified because those building blocks of confidence from early wins weren't built before the setbacks came flooding in. It can cause you to question yourself and then things can really fall apart.
Confidence is an amazing trait because not only does it prevent self-doubt from taking up space in your thinking, it also allows you to course correct quickly if you get something wrong. It helps you move at a pace of progress without feelings of fear or inadequacy slowing you down.
I found the best ways to navigate are to take inventory of your skills and why you believe you can do the role. Ground yourself in what you know to be true and not the negative self-talk that can creep in. If there are skills that are missing, get a mentor or obtain the skill, but keep moving forward in the meantime. Time spent worrying or thinking about the past does not propel you forward. Stay confident but humble and always be focused on progress.
If you could go back to the version of yourself that was just launching CareerCircle in 2018 and give her one piece of advice about the journey ahead, what would it be?
"Hire the right people and together, you will find a way."
The journey of CareerCircle has been one of twists, turns, and everything in between. We were built during COVID and have navigated so many challenges since our inception. There were times the human side of me would worry, feeling responsible for not only our members but the amazing team that works at CareerCircle.
What I have found is this brilliant team is so engrained in the mission that nothing will derail them. We know that unexpected events will happen and some naturally serve the mission while others create roadblocks. The key is the commitment to always find a way through them with a focus on serving and solving business challenges. They proved time and time again they were not only capable but excelled under pressure.
The journey from 200,000 members to one million members isn't just about scale—it's about proving that the alternative route to skilled work isn't alternative at all. As Kim makes clear, CareerCircle isn't asking employers to take a chance on unproven talent. We're asking them to look at the data, see the 9% higher retention rates, and recognize that their next top performer might not have the traditional experience or degree like those they've hired before. They just need someone to open the door.
