JobMatch.com “Because everybody knows somebody”

The Pitch The post-grad world is a scary, scary place often filled with uncertainty [and unemployment.] People often say, “the job market is all about who you know.” But what if you don’t know anybody? Wouldn’t it be great if there was a place graduates could go to find people willing to hire them in their desired fields?

How about JobMatch! Essentially an online database of verified industry connections for students of all fields Updated daily by a full-time staff of people actively recruiting “certified connections” Members guaranteed at least one “certified connection” Members guaranteed at least one “certified connection” Takes the stress out of job searching

How it Works-The Employer Staff would reach out to industry employers and request their permission to be contacted by graduates looking for a job in their field. If they say yes, the employer would receive “certified connection” status, and be posted in the database. The more times they are searched for, the higher rating they would receive. This provides incentive for both employer and prospective employee. Employers can also be recommended to the site’s staff by outside contributors, and after extensive research into their credentials, they would be certified and posted on the site. Lastly, employers themselves can request to be included in the site’s database. Again, background research would be conducted.

How it Works-The Employee In order to contact an employer, the individual must first be registered with the site and become a member. (This is free) Registered members must create a profile, which includes their alma matter, organizations they’ve been involved in, internships they’ve had and previous employment (if applicable) Once the member finds a “certified connection” that interests them, they send them a copy of their resume, as well as a brief summary as to why they are interested in working for them (a cover letter of sorts) The employer then has a week maximum to get back to the prospective employee, or they will be removed from the database. Their response should either include an interview appointment or a polite decline. Once the member receives their response (desired or not) they are free to either accept the job offer or continue searching.

Conditions Only post-graduates are allowed to be members. No unpaid internships may be offered on the site. Employers in the database must have the full intention of hiring at least one prospective employee. Members must adhere to a general, ethical code of conduct that will be outlined during their registration. If an employer offers a job, they CANNOT revoke their offer. This defeats the purpose of the site, and gives the prospective employee an even worse outlook than they had when they sought out the site.

Why this site? Many institutions offer current, undergraduate students assistance with finding alumni and industry connections. However, many undergrads don’t take advantage of these services during their time at school. JobMatch would provide grads a second chance to land their dream job in their dream field. There are similar sites out there for job-seekers, (like Ed2010 or JournalismJobs.com) but are typically all one- field focused, and offer mostly internship opportunities. They also cannot guarantee the prospective employee contact with an individual person, rather an opportunity to apply for a position with a company as a whole.

Premium Membership Benefits Though the basic services are free (and will be free until the site gets off the ground), members also have the option of becoming premium members for $3.99/month Premium members receive: Monthly alerts of new “certified connections” willing to hire students in their specific field or from the institution they graduated from. Basic members will have to search for these connections through the database on their own First-come-first-serve benefits, such as first “dibs” when contacting a desired employer Full access to any and all connections in the database

Marketing To get started, we’ll have to take out ads, ads, ads. Magazines, newspapers and online We will also distribute information pamphlets to the Career Services offices at different universities to give undergrads something to think about for the future. Word of mouth will also play a big role in increasing the site’s visibility.

Funding Most of the site’s revenue will come from ads taken out on the site by companies and organizations where the connections are employed. We will also look into the value of GoogleAds. We would also count on the majority of members becoming premium, paid members. We would slowly transition toward a required paid membership as the site became more popular. We would also have a section of the site where visitors could donate to the site’s upkeep costs.

Staff At the beginning, the staff would most likely only comprise about three full-time employees. These people would conduct background research, contact employers and provide around-the-clock support for members as well as general site maintenance. There will be one researcher, one web master and one staff member who will act as a “liaison” between connections and members, when necessary. Everyone on the staff should have sufficient job experience, and be knowledgeable about the job market as a whole.

Estimated (Year One) Budget Expenditures: Three full-time staff without benefits: $120,000 Ads: $2,000 Domain name: $9.95/year through Yahoo! General maintenance and other equipment costs: $2,000 Total: $94, Income/revenue: Small donors: $20,000 Ad revenue: $60,000 Premium membership (with 600 members): $28,728 Total: $108,728

Estimated (Year Three) Budget Expenditures: Five full-time staff with benefits: $300,000 Ads: $4,000 Domain name: $18/year General maintainence and equipment costs: $4,000 Total: $308,018 Income/revenue: (Possible) major donors: $100,000 Small donors: $80,000 Premium membership (with 3,000 members):$143,640 Total: $323,640