Innovation doesn’t always lead to the creation of ground breaking models to problem solve. Sometimes it’s just about looking at existing solutions from a different perspective to create a new way of using them.  One such recent example is the QuikrJobs, platform that focuses on blue collar, grey collar and entry level jobs across India, has helped create over 10 Lakh job seeker profiles through its pioneering missed call service. 

With the presence of mobile phones growing exponentially in past couple of years, a significant portion of the Indian population now have access to handsets that help them stay connected. Even at places where accessing internet on a regular basis remains distant dream for individuals, mobile phones create the necessary conditions to stay connected.   Traditionally this extensive network has been tapped mostly for marketing purposes. But as the working population in India is on a rise, exploring existing networks to enable prospective candidates to reach out to recruiters has been fruitful to QuikrJobs. 

Providing economies of scale, the method relies on a simple missed call to initiate the process of signing up.  QuikrJobs offers candidates the ability to create online profile through a simple missed call to a toll-free number which results in a call-back for profile creation. After the profile is created they are informed about matching jobs for their profile and the job-seeker gets an SMS with Job alerts to apply to those via a missed call.

Elaborating on the innovative use of this service, Amit Jain, VP & Business head, Quikr said "Our missed call service was initially launched to help non-internet savvy consumers post ads on Quikr - it was a way for us to initiate mass market India into buying and selling things online. At QuikrJobs, we saw a natural extension in how we could help candidates create profiles and even apply to matching jobs through missed calls.”

In the wake of increasing mobile phone usage, such initiatives to drive recruitment are a much welcomed move. Given (link: http://bit.ly/28NNCSp) the fact that India might face a job crunch in the coming years, such innovations by job boards are necessary to help create an accessible talent market where candidates and recruiters can easily meet up.  And sometimes this simply entails thinking out of the box to enable candidates with no access internet to create job profiles and interact with recruiters. 

“Smartphone penetration is increasing fast in India, bringing with it a lot of first time internet users. While our first wave of online job seekers was well versed with the internet, a new wave has emerged from within these first time internet users. Many of these new job seekers need someone to initiate them into the online jobs world and that’s exactly what we are doing. Missed call is a very familiar concept in India and we are using it to open a new world of opportunities at absolutely zero cost to job seekers,” added Amit Jain, VP & Business head, Quikr.

But a move in isolation might not be enough to cure the impending problems of job growths. As the working population increases, job boards will have to play a greater role in connecting candidates with their desired jobs. Such innovations are a good example of how job boards can bridge the gap without necessarily ‘re-inventing the wheel’.