Chat EbT - CV & Interview Tips

Business-focused summary (recruitment platform + job-seeking playbook)

1) Problem & strategic shift (from “interview prep” to “getting interviews”)

• The co-founder began with an interview-prep platform: upload a job spec, practice behavioral/technical questions, and receive feedback.
• They pivoted because the main bottleneck wasn’t interview performance; it was obtaining interviews.
  • Their framing: “People struggle to get interviews more than they struggle in interviews.”
• Core strategy now:
  • Make it easy for candidates to reach hiring managers directly
  • Improve candidate visibility
  • Reduce decision fatigue for hiring teams

2) Market mechanics they target (ATS filtering + volume game)

• Many employers rely on ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) that filter candidates quickly—even potentially strong ones.
• Example feedback loop (B2B):
  • A CEO at a financial engineering company reportedly said their screening criteria reduced 500 CVs to 2.
  • The team believes more than two capable people likely existed in the original pool.
• Their platform positions as a corrective workflow to ATS filtering by enabling direct outreach to hiring managers / real people.

3) Product / platform model (two-sided marketplace)

Business side (employers / recruiters)

• Free to sign up for companies.
• Typical process:
  • Companies upload/view candidate profiles in an open-to-work database
  • They get a dashboard aimed at easing review
  • The platform claims standardized profile layout helps hiring managers compare candidates faster, reducing “decision fatigue”
• Expansion noted:
  • Started in South Africa (small businesses and corporates)
  • Then expanded to recruitment firms in the US and UK

Candidate side (job seekers)

• Candidates upload CV + profile to become open to work.
• “Cold approach” workflow:
  • Search for jobs like on LinkedIn
  • Listings include access to the hiring manager
  • Candidates click send to email the hiring manager from their inbox with:
    • CV
    • Cover letter / explanation of fit
• “Network” feature:
  • When searching for a company/role (e.g., data analyst at Amazon), candidates can find data analysts at that company
  • Access to LinkedIn + emails to reach real employees (not only HR/hiring managers)

4) Candidate CV tooling (content ops + quality control)

• CV upload support includes:
  • A manual section to fill gaps such as notice period, proficiencies, summary
  • A CV builder that can extract information from a “bad” CV and generate a better, reader-friendly CV
• Operational idea:
  • Convert candidate inputs into a more ATS- and human-readable structure, even if automation isn’t perfect.

5) Practical job-search playbook (action routines)

Application strategy (anti “just submit blindly”)

• They caution that “quality vs quantity” is tricky:
  • Some tools enable high-volume applications (e.g., apply to 100 jobs a day), which can create advantage via sheer volume.
• Recommended approach: a balanced minimum activity routine
  • Set a baseline like 5 job-related actions per day
  • Not necessarily 5 applications—example mix:
    • 2 applications (company websites)
    • 2 LinkedIn connections
    • 1 outreach / coffee / chat with someone outside your team/network
  • Suggested horizon:
    • Over ~2 months, the effort compounds into a wider network that generates interviews

LinkedIn networking guidelines (“be direct” + “be interesting”)

• LinkedIn is treated as social media, not just a job board.
• Guidance:
  • Be interesting / be real (avoid overly fake or purely “professional” posting)
  • Network with direction: ask directly for what you want
    • job / advice / mentor / conversation
  • Use short, easy-to-read, direct messages
    • Reduce “beat around the bush” friction
• Framing: reduce effort and friction in outreach during an information overload era

6) Behavioral authenticity as a hiring differentiator (strategy not just advice)

• They argue AI-enabled interviewing and AI-assisted applications increase the need for authenticity.
• Example used to reinforce the idea:
  • The co-founder claims they were previously rejected by the same company, but later got hired after a real-life connection (a dinner meeting) where they told the truth about failing math tests.
• Message:
  • Hiring screens are shifting toward stronger emphasis on team fit and authentic communication

7) “Coffee chats” as an operational growth channel (relationship building)

• Coffee chats are positioned as underrated networking:
  • Message senior people directly (CEOs/leadership may make time)
  • Avoid “begging for a job”
  • Ask about decisions, experiences, and how they arrived at ideas
  • Bring a clear objective (e.g., “what do you want out of it?”)
• Informal cost mentioned:
  • ~150–200 rand (anecdotally tied to a trial conversation, low downside)

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Key metrics / KPIs mentioned (explicit)

• Job search success rate example:
  • 250 applications → 4 interviews
• ATS screening example:
  • 500 CVs → 2 shortlisted
• Job application pacing example:
  • “Minimum” routine: 5 actions/day (spread across applications, connections, and outreach)
• Networking volume example (implied, used to critique undirected mass outreach):
  • “We can send 50 connection requests a day”
• Cost mention:
  • Coffee chat cost: 150–200 rand (approximate, anecdotal)

No explicit revenue, CAC, LTV, churn, or company-level financial KPIs were stated.

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Frameworks / playbooks explicitly or implicitly used

• Problem reframing playbook: shift from “train for interviews” → “fix interview acquisition funnel”
• Two-sided marketplace operating model:
  • Free for employers
  • Value for candidates via direct outreach + open-to-work visibility
• Job-seeking operating cadence:
  • Daily action routine (~5 actions/day)
  • Networking compounding over ~2 months
• ATS mitigation concept:
  • Reduce reliance on old-school filtering via improved direct visibility to hiring managers/real employees
• Decision-fatigue reduction:
  • Standardize candidate profile layout to speed up comparison

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Concrete examples / case studies / recommendations

• ATS case study:
  • Financial engineering CEO reducing 500 → 2 CVs (implied need to redesign selection/filtering criteria)
• Platform feature:
  • Job search like LinkedIn, but each listing includes hiring manager contact
  • CV/cover letter sent via email from the candidate’s inbox
• Recommendation: avoid CV elements that may trigger auto-disqualification:
  • Long CVs (e.g., 4 pages) → may be auto “put aside”
  • Pictures in CV can be auto-disqualified in some orgs due to bias concerns
  • Avoid irrelevant “soft skill” placeholder skills (examples included items like time management, hardworking, attention to detail)
• Recommendation: CV structure:
  • Put Summary first (who you are, what you do, experience top-down)
  • Then Education + skills
  • Keep it one page where possible and be honest
• Recommendation: LinkedIn messaging structure:
  • Be direct about what you want
  • Show authenticity
  • Keep messages easy to read

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Presenters / sources

• Muhammad Ibrahim Deob (host)
• Wasim Gur (co-founder of Hired)