Founder Spotlight: Joel Garcia of Recruitday
Joel Garcia
Founder Spotlight: Joel Garcia of Recruitday
Harnessing The Power of Referrals for Recruitment
By Michaela Villaroman
When we think back to our job seeking days, most of us could still probably recall how daunting the whole process was. From tediously sifting through postings on job boards to interviewing for numerous companies that end up being dead ends, it almost seemed impossible to find and secure a good job with a good company.
On the employer’s side, things aren’t as easy either. Companies looking to hire also experience challenges like having to comb through a truck-load of resumes and interviewing applicants upon applicants only to find one quality candidate (and that’s if they’re lucky).
For both parties, recruitment can definitely be difficult. Luckily, there’s a way to hack the process - by utilizing referral systems.
It was found that referrals cut down the amount of time it takes to hire by nearly 50 percent compared to applicants coming in from job boards. Through referral systems, companies are able to improve the quality of their hires while cutting down on all the hassle that the usual recruitment process entails. For job seekers, being a referral also means that they are likely found to be a good fit for the job.
Recruitday wants to utilize the convenience and ease of the referral system when it comes to matching the right people to the right job. Joel Garcia, Founder and CEO of Recruitday, tells us more about their referral-based recruitment platform and how he hopes it can change the game.
Joel Garcia and his entrepreneurial journey
From a young age, it was clear to Joel that entrepreneurship was his calling. Even as early as the second grade, he recalls that he was already a young entrepreneur selling comic books to his classmates.
It wasn’t a surprise when Joel continued to dabble into a few more businesses during and after college. His entrepreneurial ventures ranged from selling retail to the more unconventional ones like setting up a soap refilling station and even getting into agriculture, specifically goat-raising. He simply found that he always had a passion for seeking out opportunities through his ventures.
But while Joel knew that his heart belonged to entrepreneurship, he still wanted to branch out and explore other opportunities out there.
Right after college, Joel joined the corporate world and built a career in project management, went through the arduous task of earning a PMP certification, and successfully launched numerous projects for his employer companies. Joel eventually landed a job in a cloud business solutions company after almost a decade at a telecom company. It was here that he met John Orrock, founder of FutureNow Ventures, and got mentored in all aspects of running a business.
Throughout his 12 years working corporate, he made sure to keep track of any entrepreneurial ideas he had. He wrote it all down in his ‘idea book’ so that when the opportune moment came, he’d be ready to pick out a concept worth exploring.
Several years and company transitions later came the opportunity for Joel to pitch his own idea for a startup, which provides solutions to every business’ growing need.
Referrals as the solution to recruitment
Recruitday offers to make recruitment a whole lot easier for both the job seeker and the employer. By providing a platform that helps connect businesses to quality and well-suited candidates, companies are able to hire more efficiently. Job seekers are also able to discern a good match for employment as they are provided with the tools and insights to learn more about about companies looking to hire.
“Why recruitment? Probably because all businesses would not work if they don't have people. There’s a business for recruitment especially now that it’s so hard to look for people,” Joel explained.
While Recruitday’s platform offers the traditional job board where companies can enter job listings and job seekers can apply for themselves, what really sets them apart is their referral service. Joel’s idea for this feature came from observing how difficult the usual recruitment process can be. He thought bringing referral recruiting to the table would be a good solution as it allows employers to harness the power of social networks for a better refined candidate pool.
The idea is to enable companies to recruit smarter and faster through entertaining candidates that someone has personally vouched for. Recruitday offers both the Employee Referral Service for employee referrals as well as the Scouts Service for non-employees wanting to recommend a candidate. Since any successful referral would result in a reward, scouts are given the incentive to recommend people they strongly believe are a good fit. Companies then are able to gain access to high quality applicants with a better chance of ensuring a high retention rate.
As Joel puts it, “It’s a four-way win. The company wins by getting a good hire, the job seeker wins by getting the right job, the scout wins by getting rewarded, and Recruitday wins by making all this happen.”
Currently, the most prevalent problem of the recruitment industry lies in the mismatch between the efforts of the companies in finding a good employee and the number of good hires they are actually able to make. Joel explained, “It doesn’t matter how many applicants you get to interview. What matters is how many you are able to hire.”
Recruitday steps in by making sure to make that the process is made simpler without compromising quality. “Understanding the challenges of recruitment, we make sure not to waste your time or your trust in us,” Joel said. “In a way, what we have here is a platform that allows people to vouch for others. It’s likely that they won’t refer someone who they think is not trustworthy. And I’m not sure if it’s a Filipino mindset but when someone gives their word on something, parang mas komportable tayo [it’s like we’re more comfortable] as their word serves some kind of reassurance.”
Joel’s future plans and advice for entrepreneurs
To date, Recruitday has over a thousand scouts on their platform and partnerships with hundreds of companies. At the moment, they are focused on providing recruits for the IT, Finance, and HR markets but they plan on reaching out to and catering to more in the near future.
Joel shared, “In terms of expansion, Recruitday will definitely go regional. But at the moment, our main priority is to be able to penetrate the Philippine market. We want to help the country out first.”
For Joel, he has taken his passion for entrepreneurship and turned it into something that provides opportunities for others. He advises fellow entrepreneurs hoping to do the same, “Experience is your friend and time is very important. There will be a lot of trial and error down the line but make sure to power through it and to use your experiences to keep improving. Look around to see opportunities, and do what you can to make it happen.”
To learn more about Recruitday Scouts, you may visit their website here.
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