getting a job?

[Equilibrium]

Warning, I have horrible spelling. In a way, that's a good thing because If I could write well I wouldn't be here.


In 2013 I needed a job. I was living with parents, and had no way of supporting a fly.
I started writing resumes for each listing, building cover letters, reading all the crap online about getting a job.

it was taking forever for someone to reply. Sometimes a fake listing was posted with a company pretending to hire to harvest applications.
sometimes the job was a total sham! I had one interview where I walked in and there were 30-40 other confused people.
When everyone sat down it was a sales presentation for cutlery. as in door to door
*knock knock* hi there.. don't you need a new set of steak-knives during a economic recession? I RAN from that place.

Anyway, with curiosity for how things work I started using VPN's to apply to jobs. I started embedding tracking pixels within applications and seeing who clicked what, looking at how people were paying to post, why auto-reposonders were used.. and generally reverse engineering how employment is run.

This entire idea came into focus when I was looking for a building and came across a homeless man who was picking up cans on the side of the road. I asked him if he had any idea where the building was, and he asked if I had any paper and a pen. Digging into the console I found a napkin which when given to him he hunched over and started drawing.

To this day I wish I still had that napkin. It was just as clear as a view of google maps satellite view, with three dimensional trees and unbelievable detail. I asked this guy why he was picking up cans, why wasn't he designing cars, or making house plans? He told me he had never been able to get his foot in the door of any graphic design jobs. He couldn't understand the websites.

I did get a job, but it was not through any employment sites, and in the meantime I found a glaring hole in how employment works. One that has been in effect for years and I believe if fixed can change how people find jobs word-wide.

Job search websites do not have the goal of getting a job in mind. They are racist html payment processors with mediocre keyword search capabilities that do nothing more than create stacks of clickable documents.

With this in mind I intend to reinvent the employment process.

100% mobile view.
SMS notifications on account alerts.
NO dead listings.
Expiring posts.
no outgoing links.
no advertising.

here is the blueprint from before I had any website. This was $0.40 in cash, and only a idea. I started out grabbing URL's from the web. facebook, twitter.. you name it. Each profile contains a blurp about the service and a link to main site.

this SEO idea seems to have paid off, here's a screenshot from yahoo (who uses yahoo?!)
although I may be search bubbled so I would love to know if a web search returns the same results.

I became very good at my job, and have put aside money diligently into a separate account directly for the site, this way it has no negative impact on my day to day living expenses. I met the love of my life, and launched the site on a souped up computer in my own home.
Now i have a schedule, staying up from 10PM-3AM working on the framework, sleeping, working ..
I am in no way in the fast-lane, but I'm happy in what I'm doing and I hope this project can help change others lives.

Here is a attempt at a web video. I'll be releasing a better one soon.

I was very hesitant to get paper cards, as its VERY hard to get someone to search whats on a index card. However after some trial and error here is the design that will inspire action, not create bookmarks.

These cards are going to be left at the local library, along with a link to site on the job-seeking computers.
I'm currently undergoing negotiation for this, and it won't be too long before these cards start showing up at a university.

Here's a banner advert I ran for mobile applications.

The website itself is about 80% finished. Before launching I want to make sure it can handle loads of traffic, and everything works thoroughly, then start translating to other languages.


attached is a example letter I may be using.

Questions? Comments? let me know your thoughts.

 

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[IrishSpring600]

Job search websites do not have the goal of getting a job in mind. They are racist html payment processors with mediocre keyword search capabilities that do nothing more than create stacks of clickable documents

I just have no idea where this came from.

 

[Contrarian]

Hi AE,

You may well be able to make a business out of this, but for "reinventing hiring" - I'm skeptical. Internet job boards are everywhere but they're only responsible for less than 4% of all hires. For areas where supply of candidates exceeds demand, they cause the problem you mention of getting flooded by resumes. Where demand for candidates exceeds supply (the place you want to be if you're selling a premium service), good candidates aren't even going to look at the job boards let alone apply for jobs. They don't have to. Headhunters approach them.

You know the barrier to entry concept in TMF ? Same thing. Typically noone wants the candidates who are served up on a plate. The really valuable ones have to be tracked down and seduced by skilled salespeople. People have been trying to automate recruiting for a long time now and I don't see it happening any time in the foreseeable future.

(Source: I've been a STEM recruiter for 7 years)

I like the concept you have; resumes are a mediocre hiring tool at best. I actually use a third-party system occasionally for delivering searches for sales reps and senior management, through which candidates upload their resumes, a video explaining why they're good for the job, filtering tools and behavioural assessment matched against the client-created personality profile. The client logs into the system, goes through the information and chooses the shortlist themselves. It's a huge hassle though, it requires a large time investment from all parties to be effective selection tool and I really use it as a differentiator to get in the door with and to get clients to pay me a retainer.

Nobody would ever bother using this system for the kinds of generic jobs which typically get filled via job boards. Then, we have to ask...

How are you going to accurately assess their "fit"? How will this be superior to the resume method? Why would companies bother with this for generic jobs where demand exceeds supply? How would it be effective where supply exceeds demand and good candidates don't apply for jobs anyway, and don't need a way to have their "inner virtue" recognised, because it already is?

Where supply exceeds demand, why would they use you instead of one of the flat fee recruiting companies which harvests resumes from the online job boards and delivers them as a shortlist for $500, with a money back guarantee?

Where demand exceeds supply, why would they use you at all?

You may indeed have some mileage here if you repurpose this as a piece of Cloud software for licensing to recruitment firms, as a "value add" in the same vein as the system I mentioned to you above. There may also be value in using it as an online database system for day to day temporary workers, where the rigorous selection criteria don't apply and they just need someone capable and motivated in do to the job.

But as a replacement for internet job boards? I'm not convinced.

 

[Equilibrium]

Hello contrarian I'm not interested in outsourcing to private companies, or assisting already established sites. I'm interested in replacing them. And I can certainly understand your hesitation



The Past
From a Job-seekers POV

Right now the current job search site runs mostly like this.

Sign up for the listing for that job application.

Check your email to click on a continue link

Brew some coffee.. there’s going to be an hour long process of answering questions.

Here comes another questionnaire.

Finished! Time to wait for a phone call or success email.

Maybe two months later you will get an automated rejection notice that ALWAYS makes you sound like the winner of the lottery. ''Congratulations! After careful review of your fantastic qualities (skip 6 lines down) unfortunately at this time we have decided to pursue other candidates at this time.

This alone needs fixing. There's no reason for such a long notice.



Anyone with a criminal past will have a hard time finding a job, and from an ethical view

without getting into politics this can cause problems. I have no such past, but I understand how it can hurt others and AE wants to change that one strike mindset that prevents people who fell in the dark-side from creating a new start. Here's a site about this
and a video about the topic

AE plans to change this by disallowing the question ''have you ever committed a felony.''

other questions of slightly less intrusion can be added, abet for a charge.

Questions

Example: what pie would you be?

This question has NO bearing on getting a job, and yet I have seen it appear. For what function? I would love to know.

Also a lot of job search sites are using keywords and search filtering based on the highly misleading Myers briggs personality test.

resumes are all about ''how many 'reliable'' ''effective'' tags can you stuff into the resume for the computer to announce your resume fits?'' or how many boot-licks should be applied to get the thumbs up from people going through resumes?



Others use an intrusive approach, peeking into users social media accounts to evaluate hiring that person.

I believe people are made up by a combination of several personality traits.

AE is working on finding people who are training in anthropology.- or people who study people. Most companies are scared of social engineering, we want to stick you on the payroll. This team will then change how keyword search works, setting up a profile system which changes based on how you answer.. with the goal of pinpointing you towards the job you would want. AKA a dynamic profile. Also in the future I plan to headhunt headhunters if you will.

Example: A upload panel lets you save artwork on your profile

Example: a WYSIWYG panel asks you to type a short story

Example: A draw box appears, you have no eraser. Draw something!



AE wil not allow links to be placed in profiles. Except for the share system for registration we do not link to job-seekers social profiles. Likewise managers cannot post links to other job sites.

this dead ends the ''oh just go to storename.com/careers'' that you will hear in today’s job search.

One log-in into Active Employ lets you apply to multiple jobs, and we don't normally black hole listings. If your rejected at one company that has no bearing in normal situations.



At AE demand may not exceed supply.. but will burn that bridge when we get there. You are correct in saying that the market is overrun with profiles, links, people joining, and jobs..


And here we hit the milestone of Active Employ. The Pay-wall.

Registering on active employ brings you to a payment system.


Who is going to pay to join a website to get a job? Those who are determined.

AE has two ways to register. Remember at the top I said I started grabbing social profiles? The reason is by sharing [HASHTAG]#activeemploy[/HASHTAG] a job-seeker can bypass the payment system.

This drives campaigning, and those who do pay to register will be tagged as more determined.


why would they use you instead of one of the flat fee recruiting companies which harvests resumes from the online job boards and delivers them as a shortlist for $500, with a money back guarantee?


Active Employ will be used instead of a flate rate recruitment company because unlike scraping info from other job search boards, you will only find ACTIVE candidates. Have you ever seen farmville, where artificial grass withers away unless you water it? AE postings will expire, and inactive members will be hidden. The idea behind this is if you aren’t actively chasing a job, you are not the one the company is looking for.



And our pricing is highly competitive. Purchase a ticket, and you have access to all job-seekers who apply to your job. We don't charge per page view as per the norm.

It's going to be launched very shortly, with a test centered around my area with fliers distributed to universities a billboard overlooking the interstate and links to AE planted on job-seeking computers at the local library’s. I'm not too concerned about getting job-seekers as people snap pictures of the car magnet at Starbucks, the real task will be getting managers on board. Because your right, whats a job site without jobs?



Its going to be quite a ride.

(edit)
here is a draft of a managers advert.

To hiring managers who want to hire smarter,


What if there was a way to hire those who care most about your company?


Announcing An Easy Way To Screen Job Seekers

(only for employers who value their time)


Finally, a way to guarantee better matches and better hires.


A way to sift out the resume blasters, and hire those that will make your company GROW.


Introducing: ActiveEmploy, a new way to search for candidates.


Other services allow you to sort by overused ‘power words’ that don’t tell you anything about the employee. With ActiveEmploy, candidates aren’t ranked by their past experience.


Instead, we rank them on things that matter to you most: personality, industry skills, and activity level. No longer interview candidates with all of the experience and none of the spirit. And if they aren’t actively job searching, who’s to say they will be active at their job?


Job searchers are asked to complete simple tasks that reveal who they really are. Here’s what you’ll find:

• Will this candidate perform for my company?
  
  
• Why this candidate is applying and what are they looking for?
  
  
• What does their past feedback say about them?

This means no more wasted time hunting through hundreds of mis-matched applications.


Hire different. Choose the best fit for the job, and contact them instantly.


How does it work?

1. You sign up (we’re cheaper than our competitors).
   
   
2. Applicants are sorted by fit for your position.
   
   
3. You contact candidates you like, instantly, through our secure text messaging service.

Searchers are contacted via text, giving you a faster response time.


Simple as that.


Sign up today, simplify your search, and hire active.





Alternate Headlines:


1. A Better Way To Hire

2. Stop Hiring Deadbeats

3. Talk only to the top candidates – hire the best

4. Introducing The Best Way To Screen Candidates FAST

5. Screen The Best Candidates Without Looking At Every Resume

6. Hire Right The First Time

7. Take Control Of The Hiring Process

8. A More Proactive Approach To Hiring

9. Find Energetic Employees Quickly and Easily

10. Automate The Screening Process

11. An Easy Way To Screen Job Seekers (only for employers who value their time)

 

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[IrishSpring600]

AE plans to change this by disallowing the question ''have you ever committed a felony.''

Stopped reading right here. Do you realize how difficult it is to commit a felony? Starting a business requires less effort! You're rewarding unacceptable behavior. Whether it's a single night of drunk driving and "accidentally" injuring someone or 3rd degree murder, it should not be allowed. Also, several states have different views on felonies, so good luck with managing that.

 

[Mr.B]

It would be great to see the recruiting industry revolutionised, I think there are lots of ways that it can be improved.

Simple as that.

Unfortunately, it isn't as simple as that. I was confused when halfway through your initial post and by the end of it was 100% certain that if I was hiring at the moment I would not go with a service like this.

I do not mean to be discouraging, but this doesn't exactly fill me with confidence:

Other services allow you to sort by overused ‘power words’ that don’t tell you anything about the employee. With ActiveEmploy, candidates aren’t ranked by their past experience.

Surely past experience is important?

I would have thought that it is one of the better indicators of future performance?

Job searchers are asked to complete simple tasks that reveal who they really are. Here’s what you’ll find:

• Will this candidate perform for my company?
  
  
• Why this candidate is applying and what are they looking for?
  
  
• What does their past feedback say about them?

This means no more wasted time hunting through hundreds of mis-matched applications.

Hire different. Choose the best fit for the job, and contact them instantly.

This sounds to me like something online dating sites use to match potential partners. I know that dating sites spend huge amounts of money making sure that there matching algorithms are as good as possible, but from what I can see, they still don't work very well.

How do you intend to get these results? Do you have a track record of finding 'the best candidate?' or is this all just a working theory?

Searchers are contacted via text, giving you a faster response time.

I may be getting to the 'GET OFF MY LAWN!' age, but I don't see this as a positive.

If I am hiring for a position I would not want to text potential employees, but rather call them and have a discussion over the phone.

Questions? Comments? let me know your thoughts.

@active employ, I am not intending to be discouraging, but I think this idea still needs a lot more work.

But I guess there is always something to be said for jumping in feet first and figuring things out as you go along!

All the best with your venture.

 

[Contrarian]

I also wish you the best of luck with your venture AE.

Just remember a few things:

- Your customer is the hiring company, not the job seeker. Unless your system is free to use for the hiring company, and even then they will *still* have to see some significant benefit to using your system. Are you fulfilling the needs of your customers, or building your own dream?

- The vast, vast majority of hires are not made through job boards anyway. And their most profitable customers by far are recruitment agencies who use them to build their database and obtain market information, not companies who are using them to fill jobs. Even then, I haven't used a job board in five years or more. It's not worth the time, expense and hassle - even IF there is a good candidate on there, they're likely to be interviewing for six other jobs anyway so what chance do I have of actually placing them?

- Active candidates who are "chasing jobs" are - rightly or wrongly - perceived as low value candidates. If you really want to disrupt recruiting, figure out a system which can highlight the people out there who are not looking but who would be most open to an approach. I would pay good money for something like that.

Also, it may pay you to bear in mind that the more junior or more temporary the job, the less the selection requirements, the less the candidates have to be proactively "hunted" and the more automated the process can be. Maybe this kind of thing could work for temps, warehouse staff, call centre rank and file, etc. Not for software sales reps, engineers, scientists and so on.

 

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