As a freelancer for more than a decade, it has been a while since I have had the experience of applying for jobs in a traditional way. But I am not so removed as to have forgotten how the system works. Despite modern technology designed to streamline the hiring process, our underlying methodology has not changed. We still have to jump through hoops to find a job. Why?
The simple answer is this: we jump through hoops because that is what employers want. But why do employers continue to require endless resumes, most of which will end up in the trash? Why conduct multiple interviews with the same candidate? We still follow the same process whether it full time employment or part time jobs for students. It doesn’t make much sense, either.
Overthinking a Simple Problem
I have been a freelancer for just over one quarter of my working career. The remainder of my career I have been either an employee or a business owner. In my role as the latter, I have often thought that business owners have a bad habit of overthinking a very simple problem.
A business owner has an empty position. They need a candidate to fill that position. When all is said and done, the only thing that matters is that the eventual hire is capable of performing the job to the employer’s satisfaction. That’s it. Unfortunately, we assume that work performance always correlates with the information on a candidate’s resume and how that person performs during the interview process.
Such assumptions are both misplaced and shortsighted. I know from my own experience how difficult it is to find a well-paying job without a college degree. I have worked part time jobs for students. I have career experience in retail, food service, textiles, and manufacturing. Now I write for a living. Not once, in 40+ years of working, has my performance ever been questioned.
My resume wouldn’t impress anyone looking for college degrees, professional certifications, etc. But my work history speaks for itself. Isn’t that what matters?
A New Way to Hire
There is at least one entrepreneur who sees things the way I do. He is WorkClass.co co-founder and CEO Nikita Okulov. His company created a mobile-based hiring platform focusing exclusively on blue-collar workers who need to find jobs quickly. Okulov’s company now claims to be the number one hiring platform for blue-collar workers in Singapore.
WorkClass takes a new approach to hiring blue-collar workers. If there is one word to describe what sets them apart, it is ‘speed’. The platform doesn’t force job candidates to jump through hoops to find work. Candidates can look for all sorts of blue-collar jobs throughout Singapore based on district, sector, job description, or a number of other parameters. Applications can be made immediately. Best of all, the platform gets candidates and employers connected quickly.
The company claims that it helps Singaporean job seekers find work within 24 hours. That is pretty fast. So where does the company go from here? Okulov hasn’t said for sure but expanding beyond Singapore is likely.
White-Collar Workers, Too
Assuming WorkClass enjoys successful expansion in other countries, why limit it to blue-collar workers? There is no logical reason to continue forcing white-collar workers to jump through hoops, either. Perhaps employers do have to exercise more discretion when hiring for white-collar jobs, but there is still no need to utilize a dinosaur process that places too much emphasis on things that do not matter. It is time to get rid of the hoops and streamline hiring regardless of collar.
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