New start-up aims to get students internships, jobs

Careerstarter.com, a new business  designed to help recent college graduates get jobs and internships, is set to launch in early February.

There is a prelaunch invite on the website, so students can start using the services when it is officially launched. IU alumni Chris Hollins and David White started the company based on skill competitions and video introductions.

“We have two platforms to sift through the best-of-the-best talent,” Hollins said.

Hollins said when people apply for jobs they are just another resume on a desk, and there is no way to prove applicants can do the skills listed. Companies can go to careerstarter.com and upload a skills-based competition for students to complete.
The skill competitions are based on social voting, where peers can vote for the contestants they like best, and the winner receives a cash scholarship and an interview.

However, winning does not necessarily guarantee a job. Companies will choose applicants based on what they are looking for and are free to interview whoever they choose, even if it is the eighth place finisher.

Hollins said a lot of companies decide whether or not they want to hire someone within the first 30 seconds of meeting. Therefore, video introductions allow companies to introduce themselves and ask questions on the website. Then, students can respond with a 30-second video.

“Some companies will say, ‘You know what? We don’t want to do a competition, but we love the way we can ask people questions before we even hire them,’” Hollins said. “So, it is a try-before-you-buy.”

Students build online profiles for free and upload resumes and sample work.

Companies can then go online and search for potential candidates.

“It is an online platform by which students, recent graduates, young professionals have profiles,” White said. “It is an opportunity for you to stand out as a candidate, even as a young professional, where you might not have the experience that companies might be looking for. This is an opportunity for companies to consider you despite that.”

The idea to create the business was to fulfill a need, White said.

He said there has been a rise of college graduates in the past five to 10 years, along with a stagnant economy.

“We set out and said, ‘How can we help young professionals find a career?’” White said.

“After going to employers and going to universities, we devised this platform based off of over a year of constantly asking, ‘How can we help you find a job?’”

The idea for skills competitions was to help companies diversify who they are looking for.

“It also stemmed from the idea of ‘I can do it better than they can,’ whether it is a sport or you watched someone on TV, and you said, ‘If I would have just had the opportunity, I would have been able to do it better than they can,’” Hollins said. “So, we are basically just saying, ‘Prove it.’”

Anyone is welcome to participate, even though the company is focusing on young professionals and recent college graduates.

“We are trying to look past the label of the major and look straight to the skill sets,” White said.

“The goal is to open doors that might not exist right now for young professionals.”