With unemployment, especially among the youth, a hot topic and big problem in South Africa, a new app called MrEmploy has been launched to help South African employers find the staff and to help job seekers find work. What is interesting about MrEmploy is that as part of setting up their resume on the platform, job seekers need to also upload a 15-second elevator pitch-type video.

Once a candidate has completed all the necessary details, they will then only see the jobs they qualify for and they can thumbs-up the jobs they are interested in.

"MrEmploy is an advanced smart matching system that speeds up recruiting. For employers, it saves time and reduces the risk of hiring the wrong person, while for employees, it links them to the kinds of jobs they are best suited to. Using MrEmploy, a job seeker creates a profile which includes a standardised micro CV, a photograph and a 15-second video. Creating a profile is quick and intuitive. The prospective employer receives a notification and can scan the job seeker’s profile and view the candidate’s video in just a few seconds.” said Ryan Oettle, Managing Director at MrEmploy.

Demo screenshots of the MrEmploy app.

South Africa's unemployment problem

South Africa has a reported official unemployment rate of 27,1%. When you look at youth, the number gets more worrying. For South Africans under 35 years old, the unemployment rate is approximately 53% - one the highest in the world.

Oettle says MrEmploy is ideal for businesses of any size in retail, services, food, sales and entertainment environments. It also targets young South African job seekers.

“The short intro video is incredibly powerful because it gives employers a real sense of whether the candidate will fit the culture and nature of their business. It’s an opportunity to make a great first impression. MrEmploy provides enough information for employers to decide whether or not they want to meet a candidate. We save employers’ time that they would have spent sifting through CVs and doing telephonic interviews, as well as those unnecessary early face-to-face meetings,” said Oettle.