Job.com will rebuild its job platform on blockchain technology. The 60-million-user service plans to cut out recruitment middlemen. Spring 2018 marks the target launch window. The last major change i
Job.com will rebuild its job platform on blockchain technology. The 60-million-user service plans to cut out recruitment middlemen. Spring 2018 marks the target launch window.
The last major change in recruitment came with the internet, according to co-founder Paul Sloyan. He sees blockchain solving problems that have persisted in hiring for years. "Candidates and companies are spammed with fake listings, strung along by commission-driven recruiters, or inundated by irrelevant applications," Sloyan said. "Coupling blockchain with our existing job matching technology enables a much needed shift, allowing us to remove recruiters from the equation entirely and focus on the only two parties in the hiring process that actually matter – the hirer and the jobseeker."
The fee structure shifts. Today, recruitment commands 20% fees. Job.com charges 6% to employers for each successful hire, with 80% of that fee flowing to the new employee as a signing bonus.
Employers build shortlists of qualified candidates, negotiate terms using smart contracts, and finalize hires through the system. Candidates own their data—contact information, work history, skills, qualifications—and control who sees it. Job.com doesn't sell resumes to third parties without candidate permission.
Co-founder Arran Stewart frames the shift as a return to first principles. "When the recruitment industry first started decades ago, the purpose of the job recruiter was to match businesses and candidates in a manner that was a fit for both parties. Somewhere down the line, recruiters realized that there was more money to be made by taking the process hostage, charging commissions, and selling candidate's data from the process," Stewart said. "We are looking to displace these entrenched recruitment agencies because they have deviated from their intended purpose and are hurting the ability of hard working job seekers to find jobs, and for companies to find qualified talent cost-effectively. Job.com will make the hiring process more secure and rewarding for candidates, and cheaper and easier for companies to find the best talent, period."
Candidates submit applications with personal information hidden from view. Once an interview advances, both sides negotiate terms that Job.com records on its blockchain through smart contracts. When the candidate completes an agreed probation period, the hiring company deposits the signing bonus.
