An unconventional name for an unconventional company. Akhtaboot is taking on the online recruitment market with all 8 tentacles. With an edgy brand and a friendly mascot to go with it (the Akhtaboot even has a Facebook profile like any normal user, he’s called “Akhtaboot Jobs”), Akhtaboot is bringing the dot com culture to the Middle East. You just need to take one look at the design and functionality of the website (www.akhtaboot.com) to know that Akhtaboot is set on raising the bar.
Established in 2007, Akhtaboot is an online career network that is committed to providing a user-friendly way of linking the right person to the right career opportunity. Akhtaboot is the only recruitment website that allows companies and users to establish connections with one another and build a professional network. Built and headquartered in Amman, Akhtaboot.com is initially set up to serve the Jordanian market, however Akhtaboot plans to serve as a career network for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Akhtaboot is a young revolution in the online space. The company was soft-launched on June 17 2007 and officially inaugurated by the Minister of Labor, His Excellency Mr. Bassem El Salem, on July 7 2007. It has been exponential growth since then, and Akhtaboot is seeing a phenomenal increase in traffic and users with every passing day.
Essentially, Akhtaboot is designed to operate as a community of people who share professional and career interests. Offering web 2.0 functionality, Akhtaboot provides an interactive and dynamic interface for its users. In addition to traditional job postings, it also offers “word of mouth” postings that mimic how people hear about jobs in their daily life. The filtration tools on Akhtaboot are highly advanced and efficient, and the content is locally and culturally relevant.
Recognizing the importance of placing the right person in the right job, Akhtaboot is the only career site in the Middle East that is qualified as a Myers-Briggs© (MBTI) provider. The MBTI is recognized as a global leader in personality tests with over 70 years of extensive research. It is used by Fortune 500 companies worldwide both for hiring and human resource development purposes.
Akhtaboot’s added-value and benefits serve two entities: career seekers and employers. Career seekers can benefit from Akhtaboot whether they are actively searching for a job or simply interested in building a professional network of business contacts.
The services provided to career seekers include: free job application and search functionality, receiving “word of mouth” job announcements, and the opportunity to take the MBTI personality test. The MBTI provides a reliable and valid analysis of the career seeker’s strengths and areas for development in a career context. It also includes suggestions on how the career seeker can capitalize on his/her strengths and compensate for his/her blind spots.
For users who are simply interested in professional networking, Akhtaboot’s services include: the ability to build an extensive network of professional contacts, the opportunity to hear about potentially interesting career prospects from your network’s “word of mouth”, and the functionality to add personal notes related to their list of professional contacts. Professional networkers also have the opportunity to take the MBTI.
Akhtaboot is built upon 20 professional communities. Communities are sections within Akhtaboot grouped according to job function that attract people of similar career interests. Every job seeker must express interest in at least one and at most three communities. Career seekers can join communities so that they can network with fellow community members, grow their knowledge in a specific field and, of course, look for and apply to relevant jobs.
Akhtaboot’s community based model also allows companies to see only relevant candidates. Companies can either post jobs to certain communities to target a relevant audience or can search within members of certain communities. In general, the services provided to employers include: posting employment opportunities onto specific job function communities in order to receive relevant applicants, efficient CV browsing through user-friendly filtration tools, and the ability to create a comprehensive company profile.
Akhtaboot’s services are based on extensive research, and their approach was a solution-based approach in that companies were asked what recruitment pains they had and then the website was built to help solve these pains. Akhtaboot was built by its users and for its users, and they encourage everyone (employers and career seekers alike) to continuously provide their feedback, as they plan to incorporate their ideas to help make Akhtaboot even better. Akhtaboot is committed to putting users first and is focused on providing only the best service.
In addition, Akhtaboot is also committed to attracting the passive job seeker and high quality candidates. The Akhtaboot brand, the locally-relevant information in communities, the professional networking functionality and, of course, providing job seekers with the ability to simply upload their CV are all efforts in making Akhtaboot the leading destination for the highest quality talent.
The young management team at Akhtaboot is dedicated to keeping Akhtaboot on the cutting-edge of technology, continuously researching and implementing new Internet trends that cater to the needs of career seekers and employers alike. As it expands its network, Akhtaboot is expected to spread its tentacles in the MENA region.
