About Us

Julie Fanburg

Founder and Nerd-in-Chief

High-caliber talent is always key to your success. And finding a great team is more than just posting ads on job boards. It’s about finding great people who believe in your company’s vision, whose goals align with yours, and who are genuinely excited about applying their talents to help you solve problems and create a competitive advantage.

Julie founded Nerd Up 20 years ago because she is passionate both about helping small to mid-size companies (who are people-oriented with fabulous cultures) hire fabulous people who are an exceptional fit for their organizations — and about helping fabulous people learn about and find career-homes they love where they can have impact. This is Julie’s jam.

Julie started her staffing career working in internal recruiting and Human Resources for start up companies, government contractors, and innovative tech companies. Her HR experience spans recruiting leadership, employee engagement, talent management, compensation negotiation, aligning business goals with the skills and people needed to achieve them, and employee communications.

On a personal note, back in the Dark Ages, Julie ran the humor magazine in college, won the Montgomery County Women’s Amateur golf tournament, and serves on non-profit boards. Julie is certified as a Senior Professional of Human Resources by the HRCI and is a long-time member of SHRM.

Her degree from Bryn Mawr College focused on Group Dynamics. She has always believed in setting a standard for integrity, excellence and helping others achieve their goals. We know you are juggling a million important things; we handle the recruiting for you, so you can focus on growing the rest of your business.

We are passionate about diversity, inclusion and contributing to community in ways that have positive impact. If you’d like to learn how Nerd Up can have positive impact for you and your teams, we would love to meet you!

In trusted partnership,

Julie

Smarter staffing, that’s what’s up™.

Here’s How We Roll at Nerd Up

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We do everything in our power to help you hire great people who light up your organization.

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We listen closely to your goals and wishes and respond directly in ways that bring value to your search. Why do we put so much effort into getting to know you? Because this level of engagement means that your new hires’ skills, experience, and personality align with your mission and culture.

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Our hires significantly and positively impact your entire organization. And if you're a candidate, you LOVE your new team and getting to drive the impact that matters.

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We always cherish the referrals our clients share for a job well done; those accolades about our work have lit our fire for 20+ years and counting!

We look forward to helping light up your teams (or your career) soon!

Julie Fanburg, CEO

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“I’ve worked with Julie for nearly 15 years thinking through and acting strategically to fill a variety of mission-critical positions in IT, sales, account management, marketing, and HR. Julie – Nerd Up! – is interested in the long-term fit and the success of her clients, on both sides of the table. You’ll learn that Julie not only gets to know your company’s culture and “people fit” but asks incisive questions that other recruiters don’t even contemplate. She also protects your Inbox and only sends candidates with a very high likelihood of being that rare fit you were hoping to find.

Julie has partnered with me successfully at every stage of our company’s growth, from start-up through M&A last year. I’ve yet to find a headhunter or staffing partner who shows up as committed and who follows through with the kind of tenacity and success that she does.

If you “Nerd Up” your company, your life will be a lot easier — especially on the staffing front, short and long term!”

by BRYAN O.

CEO

“Julie is absolutely the best placement professional I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with. She’s both recruited me and recruited *for* me, and the experience has been phenomenal each and every time. Julie takes the time to understand the people on both sides, and has a real gift for identifying great matches — and knowing when someone is not a good fit.

I recommend Julie wholeheartedly and enthusiastically. She is my first call every time I am looking for staff or a new position.”

by Chris C.

Principal Engineer

“Julie is an amazing recruiter. Unlike the countless hoards of mindless recruiters just looking to fill openings with Microsoft- or Sun-certified warm bodies, Julie cares about the people she’s dealing with. Julie doesn’t want to fill an opening – she wants you to find your dream job (or dream employee). Julie helps superhero nerds find their dream job developing amazing things.

If you have a position for a superhero nerd or are looking to find a job that really rocks your socks/cape/utility belt off, Julie is your super recruiter!”

by Kevin C.

Engineering Manager/CTO

“We have the highest standards and Julie became THE RECRUITER for us. She was able to find people with excellent technical skills as well as a great match for our fast pace and innovative culture. She listened, anticipated, and provided us with great information on the current job market so we were able to better plan our hiriing projections. Julie is responsive, professional, and at times, a miracle worker. She is everything you would want in a recruiter.”

by Tham N.

Principal Architect, Quality Assurance

Are you ready to Nerd Up?

Good Call!