“A resume is just a story people tell about themselves,” says founder of startup that aims to put actual skills to the test

Resumes, as a way for candidates to apply to a position have been around for 500 years, and they haven’t changed much since. Relying on resumes to assess whether a candidate is suitable for a position was problematic prior to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, but the crisis brought with it record unemployment and increased competition, making it even fiercer than before. Many job seekers were forced to alter their careers and realized that their resumes are no longer relevant to the market’s needs.

“At the end of the day, resumes are words and stories that the candidate tells about him or herself. There are plenty of guides on how to write resumes, and at the end of the day, algorithms operate by identifying keywords. One of the populations that really struggles to find work are those who have recovered from cancer, who the system filters out because they don’t have any work continuum. Now, in light of the pandemic, we’re seeing many people completely change their careers. Ordinary learning processes have changed. There are now alternative training methods that demand a completely different way to assess a candidate’s capabilities. In addition, when looking at the future world of work, employers will be looking at all areas of a person’s life. Leisure activities are another significant factor and source of skills. There are some abilities that are only discovered during work interviews, but we want to identify them as early in the hiring process as possible,” said Maya Huber, who together with Mor Panfil founded Skillset, a smart platform that was designed to locate suitable candidates for certain positions by testing their job performance capabilities against potential positions prior to the interview stage.

The co-founders identified the key skill sets needed for operating a wide range of jobs, including in sales, insurance or banking roles, and service centers positions. They designed simulations to test a candidate’s skills and suitability, so that only those with necessary skills would reach the initial interview stage.

The platform provides smart simulations by creating a skill-matching generator. The simulations test the candidates performance in the main tasks necessary for the job and allow them to “experience” the position prior to applying. Candidates even have the ability to repeat the simulation to improve their results. According to the company’s co-founders, the entire process reduces recruitment costs by 30%, so that there’s less need to conduct interviews or filter through resumes, and increases the rate of getting accepted to a position by 20%.

The company’s co-founders have worked in the past toward integrating different sectors of society into the workforce, and their platform is also designed to increase diversity. Despite the technological developments in the recruitment field, most of the resume-screening processes exclude anyone in the job field whose resumes don’t represent their abilities, including people with disabilities, young people who come from at-risk backgrounds, the elderly (45+), and ethnic minorities, even if they are qualified for a certain position. The goal of Skillset is to create an alternate recruitment process that is based on analyzing a candidate’s skill set, and an objective and transparent suitability standard for both the employer and the job seeker.

The company participated in the 8200 IMPACT startup accelerator program, and received funding from Bank Hapoalim, the Israel Innovation Authority, and the international accelerator program Techstars TLV.