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Whalen Bryan The team at Whalen Bryan dedicates their valuable experience to your staffing objectives so you can focus on your core business, rather than your hiring needs. We specialize in legal staffing including attorney, paralegal, legal secretary and legal administrator placement. We also perform searches for high level executive assistants and personal assistants for high net worth individuals.

We have served the Santa Barbara, Ventura & San Luis Obispo counties for 30 plus years. Kathi Whalen is a member of NALS (National Association of Legal Staffing) and has also earned her California Accredited Counselor Certificate and is an active member of the California Association of Personnel Consultants.
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Whalen Bryan is here for you, so you can focus on business rather than human resources. We are an executive search firm emphasizing quality staffing and recruiting for permanent or temporary placement. As personnel recruiters, we have placed lawyers and accounting personnel, including placement for CFO, accountant, controller, executive assistant and HR manager positions in Fortune 500 corporations and law firms. We also specialize in placement for legal jobs whether for contract, full-time or part-time temporary positions.
Kathi and her team know our business, understand our staffing needs, and work tirelessly to help us find top legal talent! Kathi has been instrumental in matching highly-skilled and experienced candidates with our Deckers legal team to help us fill key positions on our team. I trust and highly recommend the Whalen Bryan team!
Reviews (15)
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Alisa D.
Apr 15, 2021
Kathi Bryan is such an amazing advocate for people trying to find a position that she knows you would be an excellent fit with. She truly goes above and beyond and is there every step of the way during the employment process. You can tell this isn't just a job to her. It is her passion and drive to help others see their full potential. I wholeheartedly recommend Whalen Bryan Inc for an amazing experience during a stressful time trying to find a suitable fit for you. The first moment I spoke to Kathi, I knew I was in such good hands. She is such a positive light and anyone would be lucky to have Kathi rooting for you.
Felicia D.
Oct 04, 2019
Bryan was great throughout my hiring process and always ready and able to answer any of my questions.
Jessica P.
Sep 25, 2019
Kathi and Whalen Bryan, Inc. made my Santa Barbara dreams come true! From the moment I spoke to Kathi on the phone, I knew I was in good hands. She has an incredible intuition and knew right away where she wanted to place me but warned that they don't hire very often. We spoke on a Monday morning and by that afternoon she had an interview set up for me on Thursday.

She was helpful with every step in the process and genuinely cared and wanted to find the right fit for me. A month later, I was Santa Barbara and starting my dream job! I can not say enough about her-- she is a true professional and has a gift. Thanks for all that you do, Kathi!
Gabrielle S.
Feb 13, 2019
Kathi Whalen is very gifted at what she does! She is approachable, kind, caring and truly is a matchmaker for professional connections and for job placement. She is a great communicator and really takes the time to listen to your needs. I was skeptical to begin looking for a new job since I had scoured multiple websites and not found anything in my niche area. Kathi not only had connections in town, but knew about openings that were not posted anywhere. Ultimately, she linked me to my dream job! It was my first time working with a recruiter and I have already recommended multiple people to them.
Kassie G.
Jun 14, 2018
Kathi Whalen is fantastic! She worked with me to place me in a job and I ended up with a salary much higher than I would have asked for myself. She's professional, kind and a great communicator. Thanks Kathi!
Daniel B.
Aug 01, 2017
Whalen Bryan Inc worked tirelessly to place me in a dream job. Bryan was available at anytime to discuss the job opportunity and assist me with preparing for the interview process. Without Whalen Bryan Inc I would not have landed this job. I recommend them to everyone.
Jake C.
Feb 10, 2017
I usually don't write reviews, but when I saw in today's paper that this organization has now added an office in Santa Barbara I decided to write. I had a family friend recently submit a resume via email and has not heard a peep from them, not even an acknowledgement that they received it. I find this unprofessional. My friend then attempted contact by phone to verify that the resume was received.

No callbacks, nothing. In one instance someone picked up the line, conceded that they picked up the line by mistake and promptly hung up. Based on some of the other reviews I've read, this seems to be their M.O. and not an exception. I'd think twice using them. Giving one star at this point is generous since they haven't done anything, but I guess that's the minimum Yelp requires.
A. B.
Oct 06, 2016
Whalen Bryan provided excellent support when our company needed a consultant for market research and salary comps for a management position. Their team responded quickly, and provided professional, comprehensive, detailed information, which was extremely useful for our project, which had a very short lead time. We were able to complete the work ahead of schedule, thanks in large part to their efforts. The firm has a great reputation in the industry, and came highly recommended, and we will definitely use them in the future.
Erin R.
Sep 23, 2016
Kathi is amazing professional and a fantastic recruiter. She places the best person for the job because she knows her clients and their business! Other than the principal of our firm and myself, we have used her to hire all of our staff! So pleased. Money well spent! Saved me weeks of sifting through resumes and interviewing candidates! Kathi knows what she is doing and does it with the utmost most professionalism and integrity!
Cyndi H.
Sep 23, 2016
I met Kathi through her volunteer work in the legal community and she has been personally responsible for placing me in three separate positions over the past 17 years. In addition, she has recruited several top employees for firms where I have worked. She seems to have a knack for finding the perfect match - qualified candidate for available position. I hope I won't need her services again (as I love my job) but if I ever am looking, she will be the one I call. Thanks Whalen Bryan!
Casey B.
Sep 23, 2016
I am very impressed with the service, responsiveness, and professionalism I received from Kathi at Whalen Bryan! I cannot recommend her enough for your placement needs.
Ada F.
Jun 10, 2016
I recently started a job search and sent in my resume, etc. Not only did I get zero response even to confirm it was received, despite following up still no response. yet I see postings from this agency with jobs. i don't know why employers are using this agency - i would think they are being charged for it, but not being matched up with potential candidates. I wish I could send my resume to these employers directly (this agency posts the job but won't say who the firm is). Very unprofessional agency.
Ashley T.
Mar 31, 2015
I have a background in Real Estate and when I relocated to the area, Whalen Bryan helped me to get an amazing position with A Real Estate Investment Trust Company. Kathi has the extraordinary ability of discerning what your innate talents and strengths are, and then helps match you with an Employer that will draw these attributes out and allow you to grow and excel.

She works equally hard to find the most suitable match for the Employer, and has only the best motivation behind all that she does. Perhaps the most distinguishing factor about Whalen Bryan is that Kathi has a true passion for helping individuals to accomplish their goals and live up to their potential. Consequently, this passion serves as maximum benefit to the Employer and Candidate.
Lauren C.
Dec 15, 2014
I had a great experience with Whalen Bryan. Kathi is an amazing listener with an intuitive sense of what position best fits her candidates. She placed me as a paralegal over a year ago and I am VERY happy in my position.
Kristin C.
May 30, 2013
I have boutique and corporate legal experience and was looking to relocate back to the Santa Barbara area. I emailed Kathi at Whalen Bryan (like the website instructs) and included my resume. I didn't hear from her for two weeks, so I followed up with her. She wrote a short "Did not receive the attachment". I checked my sent box and I will admit, my resume didn't make it through on my follow up email, but it did on my original email that she ignored.

I wrote her back and made sure to include my resume and then I never heard from her again. I know I was qualified for several open positions and even if she didn't think I was, a simple email saying "Thank you for your resume, however we don't have any positions available matching your credentials" or something like that. To completely ignore someone TWICE is the highest level of unprofessionalism.