There’s an adage in business: If you’re early, you’re on time, and if you’re on time, you’re late. But to land a job in the first place, you’ll need to beat the clock as well as other applicants to the punch––which is where Proven, the job search platform for desktop and mobile, races in.
“Proven is changing the way people apply and experience the job hunt, making it easier and more accessible by unchaining job seekers from their computers,” writes CEO and Proven co-founder Pablo Fuentes in an email.
Loosening the shackles binding people to their desktops lets users apply for jobs pretty much anytime, anywhere. That’s especially helpful when getting to a listing first could mean a leg up.
“Most people, especially millennials, are never further than about 5 feet from their phones and they can use this to their advantage,” Fuentes writes. “From a recent study we conducted, we found that people that applied for a new job listing within the first day of it being listed were 70% more likely to be noticed by recruiters and they also received more positive responses as well.”
Applying to jobs via mobile makes the process flexible, convenient and almost pleasant (it is still job hunting, after all). Résumés are reachable via email then download code, and cover letters get copy-pasted into the app. Otherwise you can just write new ones in Proven itself; there’s even a résumé template.
The whole thing takes a very few minutes and screen taps if you’re already set on content, though some listings do require applicants jump through additional hoops. The short time it takes to apply is perfect for users casting a wide net.
“In this job market, people have to apply for more jobs and this especially applies to millennials trying to land their first job,” Fuentes writes. “Proven makes it easier to not only monitor new postings, but also create a resume and apply right away so millennials can be that much closer to being first in line to be considered for an open position.”
Earlier this week, the 2009 startup received an extra push from investors by way of $1 million in seed funding. Capital behind Proven now totals $3.8 million, with Andreessen Horowitz, Kapor Capital, Founder Collective, Greylock Partners, and other angels contributing to Wednesday’s million-dollar round.
“Our goal is to continuously improve the job hunting experience and today’s funding bump takes us so much closer to achieving just that,” Fuentes writes. “The funding will help us further develop our mobile and backend technology, expand the platform and broaden our growing scope of partners.”