Not just about a CV - how this GCC startup is championing cultural and personality-based job matching
BAHRAIN | Mostafa Adel
For Bahraini youth, this became less of a problem when Majra emerged to offer their cultural- and personality-based job matching.
The company, launched in 2017, was created as the result of two young Bahrainis going through the job search grind. Co-Founder Najma Ghuloom, 29, shares: “We started having conversations about job hunting and how a lot of the platforms and resources we were using were not very transparent. We couldn’t find a lot of information about the job itself or whether or not the company would be a great match for us. A lot of jobs wouldn’t put the company name, for instance, or it would be confidential.
“Talking to other people, we realised that this is a common issue, and it didn’t feel that the process catered to young people who have an understanding of what they’re looking for and have certain values going into their professions,” Ghuloom adds.
PERSONALISING THE EXPERIENCE
Launching as a web-based platform, Majra emphasises personalising the experience for both employers and job seekers. Those on the hiring side are encouraged to showcase their workplace culture, what it is like to work for their company and what they seek in candidates.
“We also provide services where we would go to their offices, take pictures of the place, interview current employees, and understand their workplace and create content around that,” Ghuloom elaborates.
With job seekers, the stress is on the same cultural and personality-based aspects that would facilitate the matching experience.
“We (strongly) emphasise personalising profiles and not just having the same template for CVs that (would make all) job seekers look alike. We have certain questions (pertinent) to particular jobs, including why they want to apply with a specific company or for a job role and how it aligns with their personal goals,” Ghuloom says.
True to its transparency ethic, Majra also makes sure that candidates receive job status updates, and it encourages employers to keep job seekers apprised of the different phases of the selection process.
Majra works closely with both parties. This includes offering workshops and one-on-one coaching to those who request it and things as simple as having job seekers’ resumes reviewed if they ask for it.
“We constantly engage with our job seekers and make sure they are heard,” Ghuloom says. “As for employers, we work very closely if they need support when it comes to building content for their profiles or if they need someone to help them on-board their employees.”
Majra does not charge job seekers to create profiles and apply for jobs. For employers, it has two options to choose from. The pay-as-you-go model is suitable for smaller companies with modest hiring needs, allowing them to pay per post and offering limited access to the company’s database. The subscription packages are for larger companies that might have multiple branches across GCC or startups looking to expand. These packages come with premium features and grant access to the database and statistics.
“Everything from day one has been a learning curve,” Ghuloom shares. “The beginning was the hardest, with very limited resources to get everything up and running. As a founding team, everyone had to be involved in everything. We wouldn’t have been where we are today if it wasn’t for those hurdles.”
EXPANDING
Majra has quite a few exciting things lined up, starting with a sister platform called Gigs. Catering 100% to freelancers in the region, it launched in beta in early September. Gigs will allow employers to access freelancers’ profiles and connect with them directly, and it already has hundreds of freelancers signed up and ready to work. Through this platform, Majra aims to change the local perception that freelance work is not a viable career path.
