“The recruitment industry is stuck in the past” and more greatest hits from the latest recruitment disruptor

Aah, the innocence and naivety of the young entrepreneur who says, “The recruitment industry is stuck in the past,” as she confidently launches her app to “make hiring faster, smarter and more human.”

Yes, it’s another start-up owner who wants to “revolutionise the way people hire and find jobs.”

Last Wednesday, Startup Daily covered the launch of JobMatched, with the ticking-all-the-cliches headline, “Job Matched, a recruitment startup bootstrapped by a first-time female founder, is using AI to get the cultural fit right in hiring.”

Job Matched is the brainchild of Australian-American Kayla Parry, which promises “A recruitment platform that combines the simplicity of dating app swiping with AI-powered soft skills matching…….”

Like I was, you are no doubt scratching your head, trying to recall whether Ms Parry’s name might be familiar from an existing recruitment industry tech vendor, or maybe her origins were as a recruitment agency owner or leader.

It’s a negative on all counts.

Ms Parry comes to the rectech sector via a wide range of industries and roles not typically associated with the recruitment sector.

After starting her professional life in a tanning salon she’s had various roles in a variety of sectors covering gyms, hairdressing, debt collection, and she’s been the owner of Tainted Pty Ltd for nearly a decade, (“Tainted Pty Ltd was conceived to remove the stigma around feeling ‘sexy’ or ‘confident.’ We created a brand where people can feel confident in their skin, see themselves as sexy, and feel good about it. Tainted purchased our first salon, Touch of Genius, in Maroubra. Whether it’s makeup for a night out, a deep cleansing facial, lash lift and tint, spray tan, or a waxing appointment, Touch of Genius will make you feel at home!”)

Ms. Parry thinks she’s onto a winner with her latest venture, targeting the complacent and inefficient recruitment industry.

“Job seekers are drowning in irrelevant listings, while employers waste time and money hiring the wrong people. Job Matched flips the script by prioritising personality, culture fit and soft skills alongside qualifications. We’re not just matching skills—we’re matching people.”

Unbelievable! Why didn’t the recruitment industry think of this?

Startup Daily reveals, “Parry wanted the swipe-based interface to make job discovery quick, fun, and engaging. It also delivers auto-generated résumés and portfolio uploads to  streamline applications, while personalised onboarding helps candidates identify and highlight their top soft skills and strengths. It spans everything from full-time to part-time, contract, apprenticeship, internship, and disability-assisted roles.”

An insight into the depth of Ms Parry’s rigourous analysis of the rectech sector and pressure-testing of her product’s business case is revealed in the same article, “…..(she)  originally set out to make Job Matched in three months, but as a non-technical founder, spent the next two years dealing with the harsh realities of tech building and startup life.”

Oops.

SEEK will be terrified to learn that, “For employers, the AI-powered “suitable candidates” feature lets businesses view those with the best fit, even if they haven’t applied. Meanwhile, the ad management dashboard makes it easy to track applications, view detailed profiles (including résumés, video intros, and portfolios) and customise job postings to stand out. Parry said affordable, scalable subscription tiers cater to businesses of all sizes, while data-driven insights and analytics help optimise hiring strategies.”

It’s “AI-powered,” so it must be good!

The article concludes with the sort of ambition that must have Randstad contemplating calling an emergency board meeting to deal with the latest threat from down under.

“She’s now set her sights on going global.

“This is just the beginning,” Parry said. “We’re not just building an app, we’re building a movement and creating a future where everyone finds work that doesn’t just pay the bills—it fulfils them.”

I wonder if Ms Parry has heard of RecruitLoop, Gooroo, The Search Party, OneShift, Route1 or one of the many other recruitment industry ‘disruptors’ founded locally?

All were founded by smart people who invested substantial time and money (both their own and that of investors) in developing a scalable alternative recruitment solution. Many succeeded in the short term, but none remain operating.

After seven years, PredictiveHire (now Sapia.ai) appears to have encouraging momentum.

Still, as many other founders have discovered, longevity guarantees nothing when the GenAI-powered pace of change can leave former market darlings suddenly irrelevant in the space of a few months.

As I wrote just over three years ago about the founder of Route1;

“Henry Allan discovered that three years of recruitment experience, a bright idea and a shedload of belief and entrepreneurial zeal were no substitute for undertaking the hard yards of truly understanding the customer problem and what solution will solve that problem faster, cheaper or better than any existing product or service.”

Solving recruitment problems often appears relatively straightforward to outsiders.

In the next year or so, the market will deliver its verdict on Ms Parry’s product and entrepreneurial skills.

The long history in this field suggests the outcome is all but inevitable.

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