New career website JIBE lets friends help each other via #SoulcialMe

In the high-stress, high-competition job search arena, Lehigh's own Seth Handler, '07, can probably offer you an important resource. Handler is "The JIBE Guy" at Jibe.com —a website that connects jobseekers with open positions using social media sites like Facebook or LinkedIn.

Launched in 2010, the site works by allowing jobseekers to look through more than 100,000 open positions that employers have posted to the job board. Once you have found a position that you would like to apply for, you can find anyone in your Facebook or LinkedIn networks to give you a "thumbs-up" (JIBE's term for a referral that will be sent along with that application).

Essentially, a jobseeker would ask for a thumbs-up from someone in their network who is connected to their desired job in some way and has worked in a professional setting with the jobseeker before. Thumbs-ups are meant to add credit to the application.

Complete with a JIBE-branded front page, cover letter, resume, and list of the references that gave you thumps-ups, JIBE sends the application to selected employers. The site says that recruiters are more likely to call for an interview, and eventually hire you, if you show that you took the time to get thumbs-ups from people in your network, though it is not absolutely necessary to get them.

JIBE is free of charge to jobseekers. The process is meant to be simple and successful, going by the motto: "Where friends help friends land jobs."

"Our goal is to provide each jobseeker with a personalized job search that meets their needs," Handler said.

The job board contains everything from internships and entry-level positions, to high-profile jobs, many at Fortune 1000 companies.

This site differs from other job search engines and online application processes in that referrals are sent directly and cannot be lost through email or other mediums. Additionally, JIBE does not serve as a middleman. After applying, the employers can contact the applicant directly and no longer have to communicate through JIBE.

It is necessary to be on Facebook or LinkedIn to use JIBE so that you can see all of your friends' employment and education histories, and so that you can search your network to find people to ask for a thumbs-up. However, JIBE explicitly promises not to spam your network, send emails without your consent, or give away personal information.

The only things shown on the site are your picture and work experience and this can only be viewed by your Facebook or LinkedIn connections that also use JIBE. The only people who can see that you applied for a position are those who you specifically asked to give you a thumbs-up, because they received a message requesting them to do so.

Like all start-up companies, JIBE is constantly changing and evolving. The company's founders built on what they learned from the job board and turned that knowledge into a very successful business geared toward recruiters and hiring managers at top companies.

Interestingly, three current JIBE employees got their jobs through the website.

As "The JIBE" guy, Handler is in charge of all customer communications, including the Twitter and Facebook pages, blog, videos, emails and the job board.

"My goal for the site is to constantly improve the job search experience for our users," Handler said. "As someone who was a freelancer for many years and has been involved with numerous companies and industries, I know how hard it is to find a great job."

"If we can break down the walls between job applicants and hiring companies and give people all the tools necessary to land their dream job, then I think I've done my job," Handler said.

Handler graduated from Lehigh's College of Business and Economics with a degree in marketing and a minor in psychology.

"I realized that I did not want to go into finance or accounting like a lot of my peers, so I started to look into the entertainment world," he said.

"After spending a few years working in TV and radio, I decided to make the transition to tech starts-up and I love being on the ground floor of a company," Handler said.

Lehigh has the privilege of boasting very high employment rate. From the class of 2011, only 2 percent are still looking for jobs, while the others have been hired, are continuing their education, or serving in the military. Forty seven percent of Art and Science graduates are employed, 86 percent of Business and Economics students, and 68 percent of engineers.

"I was extremely excited when I began my job hunt," said Zachary Casler, '12. "The thoughts of landing a great job after college motivated me to apply to over 40 different positions. I knew that the extent of my efforts in searching for a job would end up deciding how I fared in the long run."

Like Casler, 59 percent of last year's class who found jobs did so through LUCIE —the Lehigh University Career Information Exchange.

"When looking for a job, I used LUCIE to send out a majority of my applications," Casler said. "In addition to this, I posted my resume up on individual company web pages if they were not recruiting specifically at Lehigh."

"I used Glassdoor.com to gauge salaries and to see what others had to say about company interview processes and the organization as a whole," Casler said.

Casler said he is not likely to use JIBE when searching for jobs in the future.

"The interface lacks a certain functionality that is vital when narrowing down positions," he said. "In addition to this, there are other established websites that provide the same services."

As with any new company, it is going to take time before JIBE catches on and is widely used and accepted.

Story by Brown and White lifestyle writer Emily Mack, '15.

via lehighvalleylive.com