Patrick C.

Experience

• 

  American Empirical Pictures

  Jun 2002 - Jun 2003

  Assistant to Wes Anderson

  One of two assistants who oversaw the day-to-day operations of Wes Anderson's shingle American Empirical Pictures.Assisted Mr. Anderson in his personal, professional and creative affairs during the distribution phase of THE ROYAL TENNENBAUMS and the writing and pre-production phase of THE LIFE AQUATIC.

• 

  Scott Rudin Productions

  Jul 2003 - Jan 2004

  Executive Assistant

  One of five assistants in a rotating cadre tasked with the day-to-day management of indie powerhouse Scott Rudin Productions as well as managing the personal life of the Grammy, Emmy, Tony and Oscar-winning superproducer. High-stress environment performing execution-dependent tasks under extreme pressure, with the expectation of zero mistakes.

• 

  Condé Nast

  Feb 2004 - Apr 2005

  Assistant to the Editor-In-Chief // Vanity Fair Magazine

  Assisted the Journalist/Editor/Writer/Documentary Producer, Graydon Carter, in all aspects of his professional and personal life. Acted as conduit and firewall between Mr. Carter and editorial staff. Regularly solved problems and made them disappear.Interfaced with luminaries from the worlds of art, business and fashion such as Christopher Hitchens (RIP), Dominick Dunne, Barry Diller, Diane Von Furstenburg, David Geffen, Brian Grazer, Annie Leibovitz, Lou Reed and others...Performed research for Mr. Carter’s novel, What We’ve Lost (credited), Vanity Fair's Hollywood (credited), and received monthly masthead credit.Contributed to the magazine. Show less

• 

  Focus Features

  May 2005 - Dec 2005

  Acquisitions Executive // Assistant to Senior VP of Acquisitions

  Assisted the Senior VP of Acquisitions, Jason Resnick, in an administrative capacity as well as made independent strategic and analytical decisions regarding Focus’ potential acquisition targets. This included, but was not limited to--script analysis, interfacing with writers and directors, and screening films in various stages of development and assessing market fit and fit with Focus' mandate.Notable Acquisition: MY SUMMER OF LOVE, dir. Paweł Pawlikowski, starring: Emily Blunt

• 

  Tod Culpan Williams

  Mar 2006 - Jun 2010

  Writer's Assistant

  Assisted the writer/director with the writing, revising, proofreading and submission of his screenplays to major studios.We would later collaborate on several projects, including adaptations of THE FOURTH HAND (John Irving) and PAGAN BABIES (Elmore Leonard).

• 

  Mountains of Hope LLC

  Jun 2007 - Jun 2008

  Documentary Writer and Director

  MOUNTAINS OF HOPE, written and directed by Patrick Christell, produced by Kara-Lee Pool, explores the twin epidemics of AIDS/TB, exacerbated by the endemic doctor shortage in the landlocked African nation of Lesotho. Featuring global health legend, Dr. Paul Farmer (RIP).Co-authored several grant proposals that garnered over $30,000 for project completion.Film screened in competition at first-run film festivals in the United States and Africa and garnered awards. Presently part of the public health curriculum at Boston University. Film was responsible for the return of native doctors to Lesotho and made a palpable dent in the death rate. Show less

• 

  NBCUniversal, Inc.

  Oct 2011 - Jan 2012

  Scriptwriter

  Crafted interactive “choose your own adventure” style branching narrative teleplays for Universal's Content Innovation group, designed for the cutting-edge Interlude platform.Created teleplays for Unilever, Syfy and Real Housewives.

• 

  The Sourcing Institute

  Feb 2014 - Jul 2016

  Ghostwriter

  Collaborated with sourcing industry pioneer Shally Steckerl to revise and restructure his seminal primer, The Talent Sourcing and Recruiting Handbook (later retitled The Sourcing Method), a comprehensive guide for both aspiring and experienced Talent Sourcing and Recruiting professionals.

• 

  Hire4ce

  Oct 2014 - Dec 2022

  Talent Sourcer > Senior Sourcer > TA Architect > Board Member > Partner

  Shally Steckerl pioneered the career specialization of talent sourcing, focusing on the identification, engagement, and screening of passive candidates through advanced OSINT techniques. Our professional relationship began when I revised his seminal work, The Sourcing and Recruiting Handbook. I later completed his course at The Sourcing Institute and eventually joined him at his Sourcing Process Outsourcing firm, Hire4ce. My career as a sourcer evolved into expertise in its own right, leading me to take on leadership roles, speak at industry conferences, and mentor blind and disabled graduates of the Sourcing Institute Foundation. This journey ultimately led to my role as a partner at Hire4ce, where I continued to shape sourcing strategies and contribute to the growth of the field.Notable Engagements: Cambia Health Solutions, Groupon, Roblox, Grindr, YogaGlo, Tillster, Anthem Blue Cross, Baptist Health, State Farm, Avanade, Riv.al, LTK, Nielsen, USFoods, Newton Talent Show less

• 

  Grindr

  Feb 2016 - Dec 2017

  Senior Sourcer/Employer Brand Architect

  Managed multiple recurring senior-level SDE requisitions across Data Science/ML, Automation QA, DevOps, Backend, Mobile, and Cybersecurity, building Just-In-Time proactive sourcing pipelines and guiding candidates from top-of-funnel to offer-stage handoff to the Head of TA.Co-led the development of a fully Agile recruitment function and a complete employer brand overhaul, both built from scratch. Played a pivotal role in scaling hiring operations through a $260 million cash buyout, setting and elevating hiring benchmarks.Oversaw the implementation and codification of best practices across all stages of the recruitment lifecycle, driving consistency, efficiency, and long-term scalability. Successfully eliminated dependence on third-party agencies, resulting in significant cost savings.Designed and launched Grindr’s first DEI hiring strategy, leading to a 40% increase in diverse hires and strengthening Grindr’s commitment to inclusive hiring.Delivered a talk at the Recruiting Trends Conference 2016, outlining the key steps for replicating Grindr’s recruiting function in any rapidly evolving SME.Stack: Java, Scala, Akka, Go, Amazon Elastic Beanstalk, Terraform, Mesos, MongooseIM, RabbitMQ, CloudAMQP, Sauce Labs, Appium Show less

• 

  Avanade

  Dec 2017 - Jun 2018

  Senior Sourcer/Project Manager

  Led sourcing efforts within an elite 10-person recruiting team, identifying and submitting senior-level Microsoft consultants with an 80% travel requirement.Managed a high-volume pipeline, delivering 1,445 sourced leads and 15 submittals per week in a fast-paced, high-visibility environment.Oversaw and optimized a custom-built cloud-based lead dashboard, ensuring seamless tracking, reporting, and process efficiency.Drove strategic initiatives; implemented personalized InsideConnector video-based outreach that increased engagement 3x. Show less

• 

  Tillster

  Oct 2018 - Feb 2020

  Senior Sourcing Consultant/Sourcing Program Manager and Trainer

  Built on-demand talent pipelines, increasing hiring manager acceptance rates and slashing time-to-hire for engineering, ML and cloud deployment teams. Placements included: Senior Software Engineers, Frontend engineers, Agile Product Managers, DevOps engineers, ML Lead, Hybrid Cloud Architect, VP, GTM SalesCreated and delivered sourcing curricula for broader TA team, engineering staff, and C-suite stakeholders.Designed and deployed referral program, boosting internal referral rates by 15%.Software Stack: Java, AWS(Lambda), MongoDB, Kubernetes, Node.js, Angular.js, NativeScript, Cordova, Appium, Selenium. Show less

• 

  Cruise

  Mar 2021 - May 2022

  Senior Simulation Talent Sourcer III

  Led sourcing efforts for the Simulation Group, tasked with training the neural network for autonomous Cruise vehicles in a virtual world, built-to-scale in Unreal Engine 4.Hired top-tier talent from major game studios, film studios, chipset manufacturers, aerospace companies, and autonomous vehicle firms, including Rockstar, Bethesda, Riot Games, Ubisoft, Sony, Disney, Pixar, Nvidia, Intel, Blue Origin, SpaceX, Waymo, and Zoox.Notable hires (from top-of-funnel to offer stage handoff): Technical Art TDs, Software Engineers (Behavioral Animation), Systems Engineers, Staff Technical Artists, Staff NPC AI Developer, Automation SDET, Content Pipeline Lead, and Senior Manager—Procedural Generation.Reduced Simulation Group time-to-hire and time-to-fill by 13% and 20% YoY, respectively.Talent Acquisition Stack: Greenhouse, Gem, Linkedin Recruiter Show less

• 

  Environmental Defense Fund

  May 2022 - Nov 2022

  Senior Sourcing Consultant

  Sourced and placed the Mission Operations Sr. Manager (Flight Director) for the MethaneSAT mission, a pioneering initiative focused on tracking global methane emissions.Also identified, sourced and placed key mission control roles during the pre-launch phase window: Flight Dynamics Officer (FDO), Guidance, Navigation, & Control Engineer (GNC), Payload Operations Specialist.

• 

  Bonfire Growth Partners

  Jan 2023 - now

  Principal

  🔥 Scaling Startups with Elite Technical Talent 🔥High-growth companies don’t just need great ideas—they need great people to build them. I specialize in sourcing top-tier engineers, technical leaders, and product specialists who can take startups from vision to velocity.With a background spanning creative storytelling, talent sourcing, and startup scaling, I understand what it takes to attract, engage, and secure the kind of talent that drives innovation and competitive advantage. I don’t just fill roles—I find the right people who align with a company’s mission, culture, and long-term goals.🔹 Targeted Talent Sourcing – Identifying and engaging high-impact candidates for technical and leadership roles.🔹 Growth-Focused Hiring Strategies – Scaling teams efficiently without sacrificing quality.🔹 Brand Storytelling for Hiring – Crafting compelling employer narratives that attract the best talent.🔹 Pipeline Development & Market Insights – Building sustainable hiring funnels and leveraging data-driven sourcing.I work with venture-backed startups, scaling tech companies, and forward-thinking organizations to assemble the teams that make game-changing products and services possible.Past Clients: Braze, Newton Talent, ICON Aircraft, James Hardie Show less