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Startup seeks to simplify job hunting with AI

Job hunting is a chore, no matter how you look at it. Entering the same information into applications over and over again is even more so. It looks like this process is ready for a digital upgrade, and Simplify, an early-stage startup, is attempting to do just that by combining questionnaires, job search, job offer matching, automatic application filling and help answering text-based questions in a single program.

Simplify raises $3 million in funds

Today, graduates of Y Combinator's W21 class are announcing a $3 million fundraising round as they continue to work with candidates and employers to try and build a business model around the idea.

An IA career agent "always operational

The company's CEO and co-founder, Michael Yan, says it's high time we started applying for jobs in a smarter way than we generally do today. "People spend dozens of hours scrolling through job offers, finding opportunities and often submitting hundreds of repetitive applications. So what do we do? At Simplify, we're building what we like to call 'an always-on AI career agent'," Yan told Toukiela.

A personalized AI career agent

It compares it to a Hollywood agent, who understands your career, background and skills, as well as your salary requirements, and helps you find the right match. You can take a quiz to help the algorithms understand your skills. This probably works best for people with technical experience with a specific skill set such as programming languages and development tools.

You can also define preferences such as work-life balance, diversity or innovative technologies, among others. You can also define your salary expectations, and the software finds jobs that match your answers. The company also offers a more detailed CV creation application on the site.

Automated application completion

But it doesn't stop at finding potential jobs, it also helps you fill in applications by automatically filling in the most common information, the ones you have to fill in over and over again with the same information, and which can be easily managed by automation. The company deliberately positions itself as a separate tool from LinkedIn, which Yan believes should make it more private, as no one sees your information except potential employers.

A job match based on your skills and requirements

When it comes to job offers, the software presents you with a set of matches extracted from the web that match your skills and requirements, or you can download the Simplify Copilot Chrome extension and apply for jobs automatically when you find them on job search tools outside Simplify. The Copilot tool can also help you answer job application questions based on your background and skills.

Founders inspired by their own experience

The co-founders conceived the idea for Simplify a few years ago when they were at university, applying for hundreds of jobs and filling in the same information over and over again. They thought there had to be a better way and launched Simplify in 2021, joining Y Combinator's Winter Class of 2021.

A diversified team to avoid bias

The company now has around ten employees. It currently works remotely, but Yan says this may change in the near future. As a hirer, he sees diversity as particularly important for a company like his, where biases could easily creep into a job search. "If you have a product designed by men in a small room with similar backgrounds, it will probably only serve those men with similar backgrounds," he said.

Experimenting to find a business model

For the moment, the company has the resources to test the idea, but is still experimenting with monetization methods. Today's $3 million fundraising round was led by Craft Ventures with the help of YC, Hyphen Capital, GFC and several industry business angels.