Career Journey GPS’ proprietary alignment algorithm to allows graduates to step into a career that suits their skills and goals, while connecting employers directly to the newest talent. We call it VOCATIO, and it is the eHarmony of the employment world: it’s long term matchmaking versus the Tinders (how much can you really tell at a glance?) of other job-posting services.
Other services allow mass distribution of traditional resumes and job postings, but that still leaves each side with a lot of work and a near-ocean of possibilities to wade through. With odds like that, the chances of the best employee winding up in the most well suited position are slim – and the resulting turnover rates with Millennials costing employers up to twice the amount of the worker’s salary.
Employers are looking, but with the resources currently available it is hard to hone in on the specific individual that will best fit their team and mission. This means there is a disconnect between graduates and the jobs where they will thrive – and Career Journey GPS aims to fix that by addressing the major obstacles between the two.
High Cost of Education
The Institute for College Access & Successdetermined that 69% of seniors who graduated from public and nonprofit colleges in 2013 had student loan debt, averaging $28,400 per borrower.
Unfriendly Economy for Millennials
Due to lack of experience, new grads are often the last to be hired due and the first to be let go when things get tight. According to an EPI report released to MarketWatch, the unemployment rate for workers under 25 is more than double the overall unemployment rate. This is further aggravated by the fact that the wrong Millenial candidate is often hired, and high turnover rates are costing employers approximately $15 billion.
Tough Competition for Jobs
The average number of people applying for any given job is 118. Trying to make your resume stand out in the pile is a challenge, especially when traditional resumes are hardly formatted to highlight individuality or personality.
That’s where Career Journey GPS comes in. Our approach is to give millennials the opportunity to connect directly with employers whose needs are already determined to fit their skills. Less wasted time applying for jobs that don’t make sense, and less wasted effort for employers struggling through mountains of resumes. This way, jobs get filled with ideal candidates, so both parties can stick around for the long haul.
Career Journey GPS knows that ensuring the perfect fit requires accurate measurements. Whether we’re talking perfect suits or perfect partners – accurately identifying what matters and what doesn’t makes all the difference for compatibility. It’s the same with employment.
We’re aware of the employment challenges facing new graduates, and are working fast to help reconcile the disconnect between unused talent and the employers looking for them.
High Volume of Opportunities
Students graduate with a lot of debt, and a pressing need to start paying it off. After completing the initial questionnaire, the resulting profile is compared to over 450 job postings in diverse industries, with employment types ranging from full time to part time to contractor. This takes a lot of the grad’s legwork out of the equation, while making sure the employers who are a match get the attention they deserve.
Ensuring Fit
Our unique career alignment algorithm analyzes multiple data points while making comparisons, in order to take the guesswork out of selecting the best candidates.
Our service is available to every size organization, so that even smaller businesses can be seen in a big way.
Narrowed Targets
Because employers trust the matching data, the truly ideal candidates are the only ones they need to look at. This ensures that students with relevant skills and career goals are given the spotlight for the jobs they want the most. VOCATIO has the ability to learn preferences so it can continue to narrow the list of prospective employers as the grad gives feedback and moves towards different opportunities.
With VOCATIO’s technological abilities to assess candidates and employers for multi-level matching, combined with the ease of linking those candidates directly to interested employers, Career Journey GPS is changing the way graduates enter the market. We’re highlighting individual’s talents in a way that benefits their prospects, and allows employers to get a clear, confident picture of their newest team-members before they begin investing.
Our founder Patrick Jones produced a successful feature length documentary, and gave speeches at 65 universities, on the difficulty engaging with students around career services. It was in pursuit of a solution to that problem that he was inspired to think outside the box of existing job searching options, and create a new-from-the-ground-up system for connecting employers to new grads (again, think eHarmony-meets-LinkedIn).
Interviews with employers demonstrated that the need was two sided: employers were just as eager for a fresh way to look for new talent. Major companies like Coke, Cisco, Koch Industries, and Solar City have expressed interest in using VOCATIO for more accurate matching.
We’ve raised $125k in Angel Funding, because people already believe in what we are creating. We ran a successful MVP and pilot test on 300 students with an almost unanimous positive response, and empirical evidence of excellent engagement among Millennials. Non-profit partners like Boys & Girls Clubs are excited to use VOCATIO to demonstrate to high school students the value of education towards more desirable careers and the renowned Duke University awarded us as winners of their 2015 Startup Showcase.
Proceeds of this raise will go to building a stellar team to support the movement, launching a two-sided VOCATIO beta, and acquiring users and partners. We’re not just bringing a product to the market – we’re bringing careers to Millennials, and rockstar employees to the companies looking for them.
Interested in learning more about what’s next for Career Journey GPS and how you can help make it happen? Request access to the Business Plan side of this profile and let’s talk!
Patrick Jones: Founder and CEO
Patrick Jones is the communicator of the vision and product progenitor. He has a MBA from Duke Fuqua School of Business, and has served as a consultant for PwC and Diamond Technology Partners. His own career journey and his experience working with Universities trying to connect students to careers have inspired him to develop this movement towards a better meeting place for graduates and employers.
Joe Walker: VP Product & Marketing
Like Patrick, Joe Walker has earned an MBA from Duke Fuqua School of Business. He has worked as VP Product at several companies, including Lycos, Turner Entertainment, Slivercast, and Tellus. Career Journey GPS will benefit from Joe’s past VP experiences, as well as his time spent as Practice Lead of Social Marketing for Adobe and Macquarium.
Kevin Jerge: VP of Sales
Kevin Jerge brings expertise in sales and business development from his VP experience with Paychex, Chek.com, Freecause.com, Direct Message Lab, and MarkitX. His skills in acquiring important accounts and maintaining customer relationships will directly benefit Career Journey GPS’ outreach to partnering employers.
David Schmitt: VP of OPS and Business Development
David Schmitt worked as Chief Marketing Officer for Airo Wireless where he supported sales with marketing and operations with strategy and ERP installation. He built deep BD experience at Connexion Technologies, Maxim Consulting, and Lexis Nexis and will be applying those skills to grow Career Journey GPS with strength and speed.