Opportunities

An Australian website that matches job-seekers with
employers has launched in New Zealand today.
The website, called OneShift, focuses on filling casual, temporary
or contract positions and 23,000 businesses use the service to find
staff across the Tasman.
OneShift's founder and chief executive, 23-year-old entrepreneur
Genevieve George, said no jobs website had really taken on the
"niche market" of part-time and casual work.
Job seekers upload information like their education, skills and
experience to the OneShift website and a matching algorithm then
links those workers to businesses looking for those type of staff.
Businesses post ads for free but pay for reviewing candidate
profiles which OneShift has matched to the job.
Employers can then contact candidates directly.
"It's giving the business a lot more visibility and it's a low-risk
model rather than paying up front [for a job ad] and getting no
people applying for their jobs," George said.
George said the business model was "causing major headaches for
traditional recruiters and job-boards who are failing to move with
the times".
"It makes finding a suitable candidate much easier, and more
affordable," she said.
Both small and large companies are using the service across the
Tasman, including franchised businesses like Subway and Red
Rooster.
George said the service offers opportunities for people who are
moving around the country or students moving home from
university during the holidays.
The idea for the website came from George's own experience while
on a working holiday overseas.
"I was in a situation myself where I wanted to pick up some casual
work in a short amount of time and to quickly get some money
because I was running out of it...I guess being in the situation and
having that problem myself and along with people around you, you
kind of go 'where's the solution, why is there not something out
there?'," she said.
OneShift launched across the Tasman in 2012 and employs 35
people in Australia.
George said the start-up could eventually hire staff in New Zealand
but wanted to gauge the market here first.
The company secured a $5 million investment from an Australian
recruitment firm in October and George said the relationship was
already proving lucrative with sales this month up 400 per cent on
the previous 30 days.