Finding the right fit

For more than a decade, Cavan Town’s Cian Walsh has worked inside global hiring, holding senior recruitment roles across multinational tech firms and Fortune 100 companies. He has helped design talent pipelines across Europe, the United States, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific and from the outside, his career appears a steady rise through a competitive industry. In truth, it has been a life journey shaped by personal revelation and adaptation.

“I’ve been in recruitment for about 10 years,” he says. “I’ve always worked with people around interviews and helped them find the next stage in their careers.”

That experience led him into management, but a late ADHD diagnosis in 2024 saw Cian reassess his path, literally and figuratively.

Like many adults Cian found a sense of clarity through his diagnosis. Earlier academic and professional struggles began to make sense. Dyslexia, also identified retrospectively, formed part of a broader picture.

“It made a lot of sense of my 20s and early career,” he says. “It gave me confirmation.”

School had not been straightforward. After missing his desired Leaving Certificate points, Cian moved from a PLC pathway into a degree. What felt like a detour at the time now reads as part of a pattern.

ADHD is often framed in terms of distraction or burnout. Cian though sees it differently. His experience in recruitment has shown him that people rarely struggle in isolation - they find difficulty in environments that don’t fit how they think.

“Things that didn’t make sense for years suddenly had context,” he reflects.

Finding a gap

By the time of his diagnosis, Cian was already working at a senior level. That gave him a dual perspective: inside hiring systems, and close to how individuals experience them.

Looking outwardly for support, he noticed a gap. Whereas ADHD coaching often focuses on habits and emotional regulation; career coaching gears more towards CVs and progression. Few intersect.

“I started looking for someone who understood both - how ADHD affects people at work, and how careers actually function,” he says. “I couldn’t find that in Ireland, or even across Europe or the US.”

The absence stood out.

“For neurodivergent people, career is a huge part of life. Having something fulfilling and stimulating really matters.”

When Cian couldn’t find it, he began to consider building it himself.

Recruitment, Cian realised, suited aspects of his ADHD cognition: fast-paced, reactive, and pattern-driven.

Still, he avoids broad generalisations.

“It depends on the person,” he says. “Everyone is different.”

His work has shown him the consequences of poor fit. Many people struggle not because of ability, but because their roles don’t align personally.

“Putting someone with ADHD into a highly repetitive administrative role often doesn’t work long-term.”

That mismatch is frequently labelled underperformance, he opines. More often, Cian argues, it is environmental.

Beyond labels

As awareness of neurodivergence grows, so do simplified narratives- ADHD as either a “superpower” or a deficit. Cian rejects both.

“What I’m trying to do is work with individuals, not labels,” he says. “Symptoms vary a lot, and many people have co-occurring conditions like dyslexia or autism.”

Many people he works with describe a similar response after diagnosis: a sense of “grief”.

“They ask, ‘If I’d known earlier, how different would things have been?’”

The challenge, Cian thinks, is turning that reflection into something practical. Cian is clear about what ADHD is- and isn’t.

“At its core, ADHD is a neurological condition,” he says. “It affects dopamine regulation- motivation, focus, reward.”

That is why environment matters.

“If someone has a stimulating, fulfilling career, it can make a huge difference,” he says.

“Without that, people are more likely to struggle- with burnout, coping behaviours, or mental health challenges.”

Misunderstanding

Medication, Cian adds, is often misunderstood too. It works best alongside lifestyle changes - sleep, diet, exercise, structure.

“Otherwise, people assume it’s not working and just increase dosage. That causes its own problems.”

Diagnosis though is only part of the process, claims Cian. Support afterwards is often limited.

“There’s very little guidance on what to do next,” he remarks. “Especially when it comes to translating diagnosis into real changes.”

As such, misconceptions persist.

“People think ADHD means being hyperactive. For many, it’s internal.”

He also points to later diagnoses among women and girls, where symptoms are less visible.

“That’s why awareness matters - so people recognise it earlier and get the right support.”

As awareness of ADHD grows, Cian’s focus is consistent: helping people turn self-understanding into career direction.

He continues to work in recruitment leadership while building his coaching practice, Rue Coaching. The two roles intersect- one inside the systems that filter talent, the other supporting individuals navigating them.

For him, the goal is simple.

“It’s about helping people understand what suits them and build a path that works,” he says. “That’s it - giving something back.”