Technology has made things a bit bearable especially for the job searching area where people are now ‘tarmacking’ on the internet as opposed to the traditional way of dropping resumes in all the companies reception area which end up in the trash can.
Bridging the gap between the employer and employee, Kenyans are now logging in to BrighterMonday’s portal in search of a job opportunity. The number of searchers has greatly grown especially as higher university intakes lead to more graduates. To keep up with the growing numbers of job seekers, the firm has revamped its portal adding more features for both job seekers and employers.
The Kenya Economic Report 2013 says Kenya is characterized by high rates of unemployment among the youth, coupled with similarly high rates of underemployment and informal employment in the same demographic. Employment rate among those aged 15 to 24 years stood at only 48.6 percent, but this rose to 62.7 percent for those in the 15 to 35 age group.
Robert Kimani, Chief Executive Officer, BrighterMonday says, “ We analyzed thousands of past records of job seekers and employer postings, looking at factors that resulted in job seekers being successfully matched to employers. We aim to ensure that every jobseeker is guided in applying for jobs with the aim of achieving a 99% match.”
In addition, the number of steps taken by users in applying for a job has been reduced. Users will be automatically notified of new job postings that fit their profiles based on their profile and past job searches indicating their interests.
For employers, the new portal provides more capabilities and control over their postings. When it comes to responding to job applications, an automated feedback mechanism will especially come in handy for employers who receive numerous applications for their postings. An analysis tools also helps employers see how job applicants are responding to the posting, contrasting the views from actual applications.
On the other hand, employers will be able to interact with the self-service modules on the websites, and also give direct automated feedback to the jobseekers. They will also have full control of their content, with simple easy to use dashboards that show the number of views per job advertised and the number of applications.