Against the backdrop of layoffs and slowed hiring in the tech industry, more programmers are facing lengthy and exhausting job searches. Startup Fonzi has created a platform where employers directly approach candidates.
Against the backdrop of layoffs and slowed hiring in the tech industry, more programmers are facing lengthy and exhausting job searches. Startup Fonzi has created a platform where employers directly approach candidates.
Candidates go through a selection process that includes an interview with an AI interviewer capable of analyzing technical skills and possessing «infinite patience.» «You can talk for 15 minutes straight, and it won’t interrupt you,» explains Fonzi’s co-founder and CEO Ian Moe.
Based on the collected information, Fonzi invites engineers to Match Day — an event where companies directly meet with candidates. Employers must specify minimum salary levels in advance to eliminate unpleasant surprises after lengthy interviews.
According to Moe, traditional recruiting is «broken for both sides.» Companies receive thousands of applications in a day, while candidates spend months repeating the same information in interviews. Fonzi aims to avoid this inefficiency. «They [employers] won’t drag the process out for three months,» notes the founder.
For software engineer Frank Bardelli, participating in Fonzi was a chance to avoid a prolonged job search. Of the 14 companies at his Match Day, three immediately invited him for interviews. As a result, he secured a new job within a few weeks. «I was happy to get even one match, but I got several,» he shared.
The startup is free for job seekers and earns through an 18% commission on the base salary of hired candidates. Though only three months old, the company is already planning geographic expansion: beyond New York and remote positions in the US, it will launch in San Francisco this fall.
