Joblist launches using AI to tackle historic unemployment in US

Joblist launches using AI to tackle historic unemployment in US

Published: 14-08-2020 13:06:00 | By: Bob Koigi | hits: 4612 | Tags:

Joblist, a job search platform that personalizes the process of finding and landing a job, has launched publicl to address the needs of the millions of Americans facing historic unemployment and a struggling economy.

The platform surfaces AI-driven job matches tailored to applicants’ preferences and enables them to collaborate on and share the list of jobs they’re interested in with their friends, family, and network.

Joblist seeks to address some of the biggest challenges that confront today’s job seekers, including the significant amount of time and effort that it takes to find relevant opportunities and the lack of guidance or help in this process.

According to a Joblist survey, only 10 per cent of job seekers are currently receiving help with their search despite the fact that a majority of job seekers would welcome assistance — 58 per cent describe the job search process as lonely or isolating as a result.

Joblist addresses these problems in two ways: first, by offering a more customized search experience that is powered by a short preferences quiz, and second, by introducing collaboration to the job search process.

By enabling collaboration, Joblist allows family and friends to participate in the job search process. Job seekers can save their favorite job matches to their own personal “joblist” and then share that list with others so that they can also help look for jobs. This collaboration accelerates the search process, leads to better outcomes, and reduces the stress, anxiety, and isolation that is so common for many job seekers.

Kevin Harrington, CEO, Joblist: “It takes Americans more than nine weeks on average to find a new job, in large part due to an inefficient and isolating search experience. Joblist offers a better alternative by personalizing results and allowing you to work with others to quickly find the right jobs for you. If we can help people cut a week or even a day off of their search, we can have a real impact, especially right now.”

Joblist seeks to understand a full set of any job seeker’s needs through a dynamic quiz. For example, when so many are out of work due to the pandemic, the quiz asks if you’re unemployed due to COVID-19, open to remote work, or a recent grad looking for entry-level opportunities.

The quiz also narrows down preferences around the type of work and workplace that you’re interested in. Instead of relying solely on a single keyword, this allows Joblist to develop a more full picture of what a job seeker is looking for and quickly highlight the best matches across millions of available jobs from around the web.

Joblist’s recommendations also become smarter over time. As job seekers explore opportunities and save them to their personal joblist, results will become even more personalized through machine learning that adapts to these signals.

Joblist was built out of Wilbur Labs, a San Francisco-based startup studio, which has invested $4 million in the company. After making its soft launch last year, Joblist has been quietly gaining traction, already powering over 500,000 job applications and helping millions of job seekers, including many who have been hit hardest by the pandemic.

Although the Joblist team had planned a public launch for later this year, they decided to launch on an accelerated timeline to help as many people as possible.

Skylar Williamson, Chief Product Officer, Joblist: “A job search should be more personal and collaborative — it should feel more like real life where the people who know you best can help you find the right opportunities that fit your individual needs. We see a future where people can seamlessly leverage their network when they need it the most. Work is collaborative — the job search process should be, too.”

Moving forward, the team is focused on introducing more collaboration features and continuing to train its search algorithms to deliver even more personalized

www.joblist.com