Available to book
Sophie O'Brien
Transform recruitment practices with Sophie O'Brien, speaker on Gen Z talent acquisition and values-based hiring. Sophie works with startups and SMEs to eliminate CV bias and identify purpose-driven candidates, leveraging insights from her 5,000+ diverse talent community.
Sophie O'Brien is the founder of Pollen, a recruitment platform that is reshaping how young people access meaningful employment by eliminating traditional CVs and focusing on potential.
With a background in media and advertising, Sophie has navigated her own challenges within conventional education and employment systems, which fuels her commitment to democratising career opportunities for Gen Z and beyond.
Her work centres on innovative hiring practices, diversity in the workplace, and empowering the next generation. Sophie addresses the persistent difficulties startups and SMEs face in attracting the right talent, particularly in a landscape where hiring experienced candidates can be costly and reactive hiring cycles are common.
By adopting a values, behaviours, and skills-based approach, she helps leaders identify candidates who align with their business ethos rather than merely their experience.
Sophie taps into a community of over 5,000 motivated and diverse job seekers, enabling businesses to reach hidden talent beyond their usual networks. Her decade-long experience in hiring within small companies has equipped her with the insights needed to bridge the gap between young job seekers and employers.
In addition to her entrepreneurial efforts, Sophie speaks at business festivals and SME events, sharing her expertise on engaging the Gen Z workforce. Her workshops focus on aligning work with purpose and understanding the values that drive Gen Z, emphasising the importance of meaningful work over financial incentives.
Sophie’s insights into the emerging Gen Z leadership crisis highlight the need for organisations to adapt their engagement strategies to meet the expectations of a new generation prioritising balance, purpose, and ethical practices.
Her contributions have resonated with audiences, prompting them to rethink their hiring strategies and ensuring they are prepared for the future of work.
Topics, sessions and talks
Sophie O’Brien explores how Gen Z is reshaping workplace culture, challenging outdated structures, and demanding greater alignment between values and career choices. She examines the implications for businesses, from rethinking incentives to fostering inclusive work environments. Attendees gain insights into adapting to these shifts and leveraging Gen Z’s priorities to build more sustainable and equitable organisations.
The job market remains stacked against young people, perpetuating a diversity crisis that limits business growth and innovation. Sophie O’Brien examines the systemic barriers that restrict access to employment and how businesses can rethink hiring to create fairer, more dynamic workplaces. She offers practical strategies to open up opportunities, improve retention, and cultivate talent beyond the usual networks.
Multigenerational teams are the future of work, but without understanding different expectations and communication styles, businesses risk disengagement and high turnover. Sophie O’Brien shares strategies to foster collaboration between generations, improving team motivation and workplace culture. By addressing generational differences and highlighting shared goals, she equips organisations with the tools to build more cohesive and productive teams.
The CV is no longer a reliable measure of potential, yet many businesses still rely on it as the main hiring filter. Sophie O’Brien examines why this outdated approach fails both companies and candidates, offering alternative strategies to assess talent more effectively. She provides a framework for values-based hiring, helping organisations make smarter recruitment decisions that align with long-term success.
AI promises recruitment efficiency, but when used poorly, it often creates barriers, reduces diversity, and harms employer branding. Sophie O’Brien breaks down the common pitfalls of AI-driven hiring and how businesses can integrate technology without losing the human element. She provides insights into balancing automation with a personalised approach to improve hiring outcomes and candidate experience.
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frequently asked questions
Something we've not covered here?
To book Sophie O'Brien, email sophie.obrien@getapeptalk.com or call PepTalk on +44 20 3835 2929 (UK) or +1 737 888 5112 (US), and one of our speaker agents will contact you within hours to confirm Sophie's availability and speaking fee. If you can, please include your budget upfront – it helps us fast-track your request. It’s also helpful to know the date, format (virtual or in-person), location, and about your audience.
Sophie O'Brien structures her sessions around practical frameworks drawn from her direct experience founding Pollen and a decade of hiring within small companies, translating systemic analysis of generational workplace trends into actionable strategies for recruitment, retention, and team cohesion.
Sophie O'Brien speaks on Gen Z workplace culture, systemic barriers to employment access, and multigenerational team dynamics. She is the founder of Pollen, a recruitment platform that removes CV-based screening to connect businesses with diverse young talent across a community of over 5,000 job seekers.
No. PepTalk adds no booking fee, so you pay the speaker's fee and nothing beyond it. The service, from shortlist through to contracts and event-day logistics, is included. For repeat or multi-event bookings, PepTalk can agree preferential rates with your procurement team.
Share your event date, audience, format, objectives and budget, and PepTalk sends a hand-picked shortlist within 24 hours. Each suggestion comes with a profile, a fee and a recommendation on the strongest fit. Once you choose, PepTalk handles contracts, travel and logistics through to event day.
The typical fee range is the speaker's standard in-person fee in their home market, shown in their local currency. It moves with format, location, date and session length: virtual sessions and shorter slots usually cost less, while international travel and peak dates cost more. Send your brief to PepTalk and the team will confirm the exact fee in your currency.
Not all of them, and it makes no difference to your booking. PepTalk's network of 15,000+ speakers covers talent the team works with directly alongside speakers represented by agents and agencies worldwide. PepTalk approaches the speaker, negotiates the fee and handles contracting either way.
Three to six months ahead is comfortable for most events, and 12 months is better for large conferences, peak-season dates or one specific in-demand speaker. Shorter timelines are workable, and PepTalk regularly fills last-minute and replacement bookings within days. Availability is the constraint, so get in touch as soon as you have a date.
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