In 2020, the MENA region will be faced with the challenge of creating 100 million jobs . This is indeed a daunting challenge for the MENA region, more so with the absence of an effective platform that links job seekers with employers and vice versa. Recognizing this missing link between employers and job seekers, Akhtaboot stepped up to fill this gap. Their approach was to first identify employer’s most common recruitment aches and pains, whether through online or traditional recruitment. After approximately a month and a half of research and interviews, Akhtaboot was able to narrow down those recruitment problems into 4 distinct areas:
- Filtering and sorting CVs takes a lot of time and effort.
- Irrelevant candidates always end up applying to advertised job openings.
- Candidates end up not fitting in with the company culture.
- Receiving applicants is easy; receiving qualified applicants is always a challenge.
After recognizing these most common recruitment problems, Akhtaboot went to work. Ten months later, Akhtaboot can provide employers with the following value added proposition:
Easy Filters Save Time
We all know that time is money. Finding the right candidate is more than just having access to a database, it’s about being able to filter through that database to find the perfect match. Akhtaboot allows employers to narrow down their search in a matter of seconds. Now, that sounds like a great feature! But how was Akhtaboot able to accomplish that better than any other recruitment website? The answer is simple: by adopting the web 2.0 mentality and introducing cutting edge technologies such as AJAX. AJAX allows employers to filter candidates without experiencing those annoying page refreshes, making the website appear like a desktop application. In addition to those filters, Akhtaboot adopted Google-like free text search that actually searches within uploaded CVs. So all you have to do is type the qualifications you are looking for in one simple text box, and Akhtaboot does the rest.
Receive Relevant Applicants
Akhtaboot is built upon a community-based model. Communities are sections within Akhtaboot grouped according to job function that attract people with similar career interests. Job seekers must join at least one community and at most three, which forces them to make choices and express their preferences. When companies post jobs, they post them onto specific communities, which means that they are able the target an interested, attentive and relevant audience. This community-based model also allows companies to filter out irrelevant applicants and serial appliers with the click of a button.
Increase Your Exposure
Almost every company has a corporate website these days. Their corporate website targets potential clients, with nothing more than a “careers” button for potential employees, if anything at all. Akhtaboot allows companies to build a comprehensive corporate profile that goes way beyond any other recruitment website. In addition to the standard company profile and company logo, Akhtaboot allows companies to put in other information such as hours of work, weekends, lunch breaks, their location on a map and even a video of an office tour or an interview with a key person at the company. By allowing this information to be out there, companies can start attracting the right talent to their corporation, and can even cater interview questions for potential candidates to make sure that they have taken their time to explore the company culture and that they actually subscribe to it.
A Feedback Loop and a True Career Network
Since Akhtaboot allows users to connect to each other and to connect to companies, they are building a professional network and actually taking “Word of Mouth” into the 21st Century. Companies can have a network of their employees and people that they trust, and those people can have their own network. Building upon the premise that good people know other good people, Akhtaboot uses the power of networking when companies post their jobs by spreading the “word” about their vacancy through the company’s network. Not only that, Akhtaboot’s technology actually tells you how you know that person, just in case you wanted to get a referral before interviewing or hiring them.
