BrighterMonday job applicants to get instant alerts
Job applicants on the BrighterMonday website will now get automatic feedback from employers, after the online firm upgraded its portal to improve transparency for users.
The job listing website is looking to grow its revenue base by offering clients additional services.
“In our new platform currently going through final tests, employers are now able to communicate the recruitment stage to an applicant.
“For example, when a CV is viewed, candidates are informed electronically and when they are shortlisted or rejected, an automatic email is sent informing them of the change in status,” general manager for East Africa Robert Kimani said in an interview.
The portal, which was featured among the top trending searches of 2014 by Google, listed more than 45,000 jobs in the second half of last year.
According to Mr Kimani, these were from large and small employers.
BrighterMonday’s main competititors include online job portals like Kenyan Jobs, My Jobs in Kenya and Career Point Kenya.
UPGRADE
The system upgrade is expected to enable job seekers to access their application history, showing information on whether employers have accepted or rejected them.
Mr Kimani said potential employers turn to web applicants with the aim of saving time by picking qualified candidates.
“Such employers are then able to use the Applicant Tracking part of our platform to filter out unqualified candidates,” he said.
BrighterMonday has been on an expansion drive in the region. It launched Rwanda operations in November last year, adding to its East African subsidiaries in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
BrighterMonday has been charging companies and individuals listing on the site for the human resource management and recruitment services.
While operating in four of the East African countries, Kenya has the most listings for jobs indicating a larger workforce or a need for jobs.
This, however, according to Mr Kimani, could also be attributed to the fact that they have had operations in Kenya for the longest. The company opened shop in the country in 2006.
BIG DEMAND
A random survey by Ipsos Synovate conducted last month showed that 22 per cent of Kenyans of working age would be job hunting this year, indicating a big demand for services such as those offered by BrighterMonday.
The job listing portal is under the One Africa Media group that received a capital injection of Sh1.8 billion ($20 million) from Australia-based recruitment portal Seek — which is also on an expansion drive in the continent.
Seek bought a 25 per cent stake in One Africa Media for $20 million, in a deal that valued the company at Sh7 billion ($80 million).
In addition to the job listing portal, the company runs classified advertising websites including buyrentkenya for real estate, Cheki for cars and Staynow for travel.
Internet advertising is on the rise in Africa. According to online data portal Statista, Internet advertising for both Africa and the Middle East stood at Sh109 billion ($1.24 billion) in 2013 and is set to grow by 38 per cent to Sh150 billion ($1.71 billion) this year and again by 30 per cent to Sh195 billion ($2.22 billion) next year.