The whole matchmaking-tool thing — startups developing algorithms to better match job candidates and employers — kicked into high gear a few years ago and has expanded faster than you can say eHarmony, White Truffles, Booyango, TalentBrowser, and if I keep that list going we’ll need to buy an extra server.
Out of Mississippi comes a new site that hopes to capitalize on the matching trend and offer job candidates a little Zyn.
Yes, Zyn — the combination of Zen and synergy.
And, yes, Mississippi. Zyn Careers, in beta, is winning awards and getting grants in the state as it seeks further funding.
With Zyn, candidates fill in a questionnaire about what they want in an employer as well as where they want to work (I tried it and picked California; this hurt me a bit in the results, as Zyn’s employer base right now is pretty southeast-U.S. centric).
About 150 companies have profiles on the Zyn site. Some companies Zyn has talked to are a little nervous about how their employees and ex-employees will fill surveys out, without the company having the ability to change results. For other companies, the culture is what it is.
Anyhow, Zyn’s two full-time employees and two interns are working on signing up more employers, as well as adding more job seeker tools, like a resume-builder and career coaching. And, they’re trying to increase the attention they get on social media, elbowing for space amidst a growing list of vendors in the recruiting-startup community.