Jobaphiles was recently interviewed by the National Technology News Examiner of Examiner.com
When was your company founded?
It was founded in March of 2008. We launched the website at the end of August.
What's the story behind how you started the company?
The idea of Jobaphiles originally came to me last year while I was a student at Williams College in Williamstown, MA. Tuition was on the rise and there were fewer available on-campus jobs. It became apparent that this was a problem that many students were facing at other schools. A lot of the job websites out there used the same model for applying to a job: submit your resume and wait for a response from the employer. With this system, you didn't know how many other people had applied, what credentials they were offering and whether you were even being considered for the job---for all you knew, your resume was buried under hundreds of others!
I thought it would be cool if there was a way job-seekers could have a "virtual conversation" with employers highlighting their qualifications and the compensation they desired. I thought by getting rid of the "imperfect information" that prevented applicants from knowing what the credentials of their competitors were it would empower the job-seeker to craft offers that could improve his chances of landing the job. Similarly, employers could benefit because if they were on a budget they could find the most highly qualified individuals that could work within their price range. With this idea, I then contacted Ben, a Brown University student and co-founder of Jobaphiles, and we spent last summer developing a beta version of the site. Since then, we've been promoting the site in Boston and recently opened it up nationally.
What is your company all about?
We've been called the "eBay of jobs" but a better comparison might be to eHarmony. Our aim is to create a virtual conversation between employers and applicants so that employers can hire individuals that best match the requirements of their job. Specifically, we offer the following to users of our site:
For job-seekers, Jobaphiles provides them a means of highlighting their compatibility (based on price and qualifications) for a given job. For employers, Jobaphiles enables them to hire the most qualified individuals who can work within their budget.
How is your company different than your competitors? Competitive advantages?
We're unique in that we strive to make the hiring and application process a more interactive and engaging experience for both parties. The auction system is set up such that interested job-applicants provide not only a desired price for compensation, but more importantly are prompted to state why they want the job. It's this qualitative aspect that enables employers to hire the most passionate workers in addition to those that can work within a specific budget. Also, employers have access to a wide array of information provided by bidders on their profile. Items such as a resume, past employer feedback, and a portfolio of the bidder's work is available for the employer to review and use to make an informed decision.
What are the main challenges your company faces?
The site's popularity has increased dramatically and one of the challenges is keeping pace with the demand for us to promote Jobaphiles in areas beyond Boston. But, we've taken the first steps in introducing Jobaphiles nationally and are building a team that can support the needs of a national audience.
Finally, what's your goal for the next few months?
We will be at the DreamIt Ventures incubator program this summer and plan on using their talent and resources to further develop the site. There's been a lot of demand from non-students (stay-at-home moms, freelancers, etc.) for us to promote the site among their circles; we're keeping that in mind and are extending the functionality of the site to better cater to their needs.
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