United We Work Goes Public
By Kevin Robinson in News on Jul 13, 2009 2:40PM
United We Work, a job matching website fronted by Jason Kerr, founder and CEO of Chicago-based QuietAgent, is publicly available today. United We Work, "a new nationwide service designed to stimulate hiring by connecting job seekers and employers without any recruiting, job posting or advertising fees," puts employers together with job-seekers at no charge. Backed by Starbucks Coffee Co., AT&T Inc., Hyatt Hotels & Resorts and 7-Eleven Inc, as well as Sears Holdings and Allstate, Kerr's goal is to stimulate hiring by cutting out the costs associated with recruitment. According to Kerr, recruitment, job postings and advertising cost U.S. companies about $60 billion. United We Work won't cost employers anything for the rest of this year, but in 2010, firms employing more than 100 people will be charged $35 annually for the service; job seekers will continue to access the site for free.
United We Work, puts employers and employees together using QuietAgent, which asks job seekers to answer a few questions about themselves and their career interests, upload a resume and then get matched with available jobs that meet those criteria. Because QuietAgent does the searching work for both job hunters and recruiting companies, Kerr believes his service will cut recruitment costs for firms while removing the burden of searching job listings from people looking for work. Kerr has also put together AllianceQ, a consortium of 35 large companies that pool resumes of candidates. Job seekers that are not offered jobs at one company are invited to submit their resume to the AllianceQ database. Then other firms in the consortium can tap into that database, cutting out the need to advertise jobs or recruit candidates. "It's a no-brainer," Phil Hendrickson, a recruiting manager at member company Starbucks, told BusinessWeek. With 8,500 jobs listed and 350,000 candidates, as well as the somewhat exclusive nature of the consortium, it's unlikely that QuietAgent will replace job boards, advertisements and the need for corporate head-hunters. But with unemployment hovering near 10 percent nationally, it's nice to know people looking for work have one more avenue to get in front of potential employers.