Let me tell you a little story. A few years into my career, people started sending me their resume in case I hear of a suitable open position. Then I’d meet a company and they’d tell me that they’re hiring for that role. I’d send the resume, the company would contact that person, and it started to lead to good matches.
I thought to myself, “Why not do this in a more organized manner?” So I created a directory on my Google Drive full of resumes categorized by fields. So I have folders for administrative roles, design, finance, HR, marketing, developers, etc.
When a company tells me they’re looking to hire for marketing, I send them the relevant folder. With this system, which is pretty primitive and not scalable, I’ve been fortunate to help more than 350 people get jobs in Israel.
There definitely needs to be a better way.
Now, HR tech is quite a saturated space. I’ve personally heard probably close to a hundred pitches from companies trying to revolutionize the way we apply for jobs. And yet, the resume is still a thing. It’s time to change that and find a better way.
Meet Skillset.
Skillset is a SAAS (software as a service) artificial intelligible/machine learning job compatibility simulation platform that expands vetting pool opportunities at the pre-qualification stage. How’s that for a mouthful of buzzwords?
The company provides job seekers and companies with informative profiling data based on proven performance skills to provide superior hiring decision making and boost diversity and inclusion in future recruitment departments.
Skillset was founded by two women with extensive HR, diversity, inclusion, and employee retention backgrounds. Skillset is a Techstars Tel-Aviv alumnus and backed by the Israel Innovation Authority.
Skillset’s smart simulation platform offers a live experience of the job’s main tasks and environment. It accounts for the unique characteristics of a job position and a company’s specific needs, then matching them with applicants who have the tested and proven performance skills. Prospective candidates perform a job simulation, executing realistic tasks, and are scored by algorithms that assess their performances and behavior (calculated tested performance, alongside AI video and audio analysis), to generate their unique “Skillset Certified” profile. Additionally, their machine learning algorithms can match skills with available employment positions.
Skillset is targeting the $135 billion (IL+US) Staffing and Recruitment industry, with an initial goal to penetrate the $10 billion online staffing and recruiting market thus becoming the industry standard in hiring. The company has raised $600,000, is now closing its pre-seed round, and has customers both in Israel and the US.
Improved hiring decision-making, expanding job opportunities for a given candidate, and achieving longer term quality placement, will result in reduced unemployment rate, increased employee retention, and improved social resilience and confidence at the household level.
The company expects to impact many thousands of families in Israel within 12 months of operation, with a potential to reach hundreds of thousands in a few years time. They further expect a meaningful impact on the underrepresented populations (diverse/forced to change careers, long unemployment). Their growing global skills data set will help business/governments’ decision makers to better understand global job market trends and to respond accordingly.
AS FOR the founding team, Maya Huber, CEO and cofounder, is a PhD candidate in occupational therapy, and has 15 years of practical and research experience in the field of employment integration of vulnerable population groups.
Mor Panfil, COO and cofounder, holds an MBA and a bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy. Mor has 15 years of experience in managing social projects in the field of employment of people with disabilities.
Nir Famlier, CTO and VP R&D, holds a BSc in computer science and an MBA, and has extensive experience working for global hi-tech companies. He is an expert in AI application for video and in accessibility technology.
Mor and Maya have been working together as a team for more than 12 years. Throughout the years and their shared work on integrating people with disabilities into the workforce, they identified the key barriers these individuals face in the selection process.
Right now, the world is experiencing a phenomenon that has affected all spheres of life. What started as a strange disease discovered in a distant country has mutated into something that has affected every corner of the world. Key sectors of economies have shut down with others scaling down operations. Many companies have modified their business models. All these have impacted recruiters calling upon them to be innovative in meeting their business objectives, which is hiring top talent. According to PWCs human resource talent survey (2020), 58% of HR practitioners experienced difficulties in attracting and retaining relevant talent.
In line with COVID -19 containment measures, many organizations have changed their operations to allow for a decentralized workforce. This affects both the recruiters and potential hires. To protect their own health, as well as that of their candidates, recruiters had to shift to virtual recruitment. This involves the use of software to identify the perfect candidates for the position. Virtual recruitment is a concept that recruiters will continue to use because of the high returns on investment. It saves costs for both the business and applicants. It saves time and is convenient.
Many companies have been forced to fire staff, raising the number of people looking for jobs significantly. For example, in the US, an all-time high (14.7%) rate of unemployment was recorded in April 2020. Companies are changing their priority roles to adapt to the current situation. Job applicants are also changing the roles they are applying for. Such complicated situations require HR teams to adopt the correct tools and processes for talent acquisition.
While everyone is heavily focused on the medical effects of the pandemic, the effects on people’s livelihood does not get enough attention. Extreme situations call for extreme measures and it’s time we laid the CV down to rest, indefinitely. For that to happen, we need a powerful and holistic tool to replace it. That is what Skillset has built and the world has never needed a platform like Skillset more than we need it today!