SABJ's "Startup Spotlight" highlights founders and new businesses cropping up in the region.
Looking to help connect job applicants with open positions, Rackspace co-founder Dirk Elmendorf, alongside Brett Elmendorf, Natalie Karney and Drew Hicks started Jobward in January 2020. They researched different ways to break into the market, and after nearly two years they launched a free web-based application that builds customized resumes for specific job postings. About 1,000 people have used the application since its launch last October.
But the founders say that the resume builder is just the start for Jobward, and ultimately they want to build a much larger platform to help create an equitable relationship between employers and job seekers.
"In the current marketplace, the employers holds all the chips," said Hicks. "You have professionals out there getting ghosted, who are getting ... salary information withheld, 'gotcha' questions in interviews — it feels like throwing a resume in a black hole."
With Jobward's initial resume builder, applicants upload a job they are interested in applying for, and the site breaks it down into the basic requirements for the position. Applicants match items from their background to requirements from the job description. The program then formats the resume into an individualized format optimized for quick scanning.
Hicks said that in order for a recruiter to contact an applicant for an interview, they need to be able to look at the job listing and look at the resume and in about 30 seconds decide if the two are a good match.
"Hiring managers and recruiters don't want you to be impressive," he said. "They want you to be relevant."
Before launching the resume platform, several of the Jobward's founders saw former employees — whom they knew to be talented and qualified — repeatedly passed over by potential employers, especially during the pandemic when employment hit an all-time low, said Hicks.
This experience got the founders thinking about how they could fix what they see as a broken hiring process with a new hiring platform based on equity and parity, Hicks said.
The Jobward team reimagined the employment process as a two-way street: If employers get to ask questions, candidates can ask questions too, and candidates are entitled to share that information with each another.
The company is still in the planning stages for these more ambitious projects. Jobward — a project of the Elmendorfs' parent software consultancy company r26D — is entirely self-funded. Karney serves as CEO, Dirk Elmendorf as chief technology officer, Hicks as chief development officer, while Brett Elmendorf wears multiple hats.
Hicks noted that they don't have a traditional revenue model at the moment because they've been releasing free tools for job seekers and want to continue to do so. Down the line the founders hope to monetize Jobward like Indeed, LinkedIn and Glassdoor, where it's the prospective employers who foot the bill — not struggling job seekers.
Hicks said it's an interesting time to be hiring, and he feels some employers are frightened about the amount of power that professionals now wield in the employment conversation.
"They shouldn’t be afraid. Good people should find good jobs," he said.
Fast Facts
The startup: Jobward, which offers a free web-based application that builds customized resumes for specific job postings.
Founded: January 2020
Homebase: San Antonio
Founders: Dirk Elmendorf, Brett Elmendorf, Natalie Karney and Drew Hicks
Goal: The founders say that ultimately they want to build a much larger platform with multiple tools to help create an equitable relationship between employers and job seekers.
