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Meet Owen Shirk

Today we’d like to introduce you to Owen Shirk.

Owen, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
QJumpers started more than a decade ago with the goal of bringing flexibility to the recruitment process for everyone, recruiters and candidates alike. After many years in the recruitment game, we knew there had to be a better solution to the traditional recruitment model – but we couldn’t find anything that ticked all of our boxes so we created it. QJumpers software is designed by recruiters, for recruiters – and that makes all the difference.

Along the way, we’ve built real relationships with our clients based on listening and understanding. For some, we’re just part of the team – and we couldn’t be happier about it. Recruitment is all about getting to the best candidates fast. While you’re reading this the queue is getting longer – so jump it!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
We are a New Zealand based company so breaking into the US market has had its challenges. Like most lesser-known companies, our biggest struggle has been getting our name out and top of mind for decision-makers in the business world.

The business culture, as well as the number of software offerings in the US, is extremely different from that in New Zealand. However, we have found that the New Zealand way of business resonates with people here in Dallas. We are fun, kind, knowledgeable, and able to get down to business. Our US team has done a great job in representing our culture and we couldn’t be more excited for where we will go to the US.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
At QJumpers, we appreciate the small steps but live for the giant leaps. That’s why we are at the forefront of an online recruitment revolution that began more than a decade ago. QJumpers is a state of the art talent search and recruitment management platform with automated AI-based headhunting technology that finds YOU the best talent before your competitors do. Very few sourcing and recruiting solutions in our space have the AI technology we do which is one of the things we are most proud of.

This web-based platform is easy to use facilitating collaboration with hiring managers to get the top quality candidates fast. Automated workflows dramatically reduce administration time, intuitive navigation provides quick set up and exceptional user experience and our ongoing support assures continued client confidence. With our exceptional AI sourcing and recruitment software we’ve taken another leap forward by putting the power of recruitment in the hands of those that can use it most.

We specialize in tracking a candidate from the source of application to hired and all the steps in between. BUT that’s not all. Top talent is in high demand right now and has been for a while and is trending to continue. You need technology to help find talent quickly and then to easily identify the stars. Our Global Search and Match AI automatically scour publicly available data such as networking sites, social media, company websites and blogs, to identify candidates for your job. Criteria, such as credentials, location, skills, education and experience can be prioritized producing a ranked list of highly qualified potential candidates. With one click, top candidates can be added to your talent pool or invited to apply for your job bypassing the need for outside recruiters and head-hunters.

Advertise your jobs on as many job sites and social media platforms as you like with just a click. Invite suitably matched candidates in your talent pool to apply or simply call them to get a jump start to your recruitment process. Your ATS will automatically rank incoming applicants based on the criteria that you have set.

Efficiency is key when dealing with a plethora off candidates. Qjumpers immediately acknowledge all applicants so that you don’t need to screening questionnaires automatically filter out unsuitable applicants and emails can be sent to any number of applicants at the same time using customized templates copy jobs, withdraw jobs, edit jobs…. the list goes on and on. Let’s just say that our software is designed to eliminate all the time-consuming tasks allowing you to focus on hiring top talent easily!.

What sets us apart from others is the extremely intuitive design of the software, smooth functionality, and the genuine care everyone on our team provides to our clients. Our development team has spent countless hours making such a powerful software look simple and it is the first comment out of everyone’s mouth when they see it.

We have won the HRTech Top 10 Recruitment Software for 2019 and also the APAC CIO Outlook Top 25 HR Technology in 2018. But the true awards are from our client’s testimonials.

Last but not least, we are most proud of providing incredible software without charging an exuberant amount of money. We DON’T CHARGE for email templates, screening questionnaires, organizational questionnaires, reporting, users (you have unlimited), or your own talent pool. We want our clients to have full access to tailoring their recruitment needs.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Luck is actually a funny thing, For me, working for QJumpers is a story of luck and blessing. I have known Simon (our President) for about two years and was always interested in talking to him about what he did when he would come to the US. At the time, I was a social media marketing consultant working at another company. We would often pass ideas about the US market across the table over a good cup of coffee or dinner. One day, I realized I was tired of just talking about ideas and I wanted to help…. and I could help so I called him up to explain what I could do for Qjumpers and I ended the call by telling him that I wasn’t asking for a job. Simon is like family to us and I saw a way to help and was willing to do it for free. After he went back to New Zealand we talked back and forth on a regular basis and made a plan to discuss my contributions with the newly hired VP of Sales that Simon was bringing with him on his next trip.

Fast forward two months Simon and the new VP of Sales Jim are in town so they came to visit me at work. Little did I know, Simon had already told Jim about my offer and they were actually interviewing me as I was working without my knowledge! Jim is big into NLP (Natural Language Processing) and mannerisms so he was the one that had the final say on whether I would be a good fit. Two days later, Simon and Jim invited me to breakfast they apparently had discussed how I could benefit QJumpers as a whole and instead of just agreeing to have me do free marketing for them. They offered me a position focused on sales, software demonstrations, and implementation!!! If that’s not lucky enough, I was getting married in two months. If THAT’S not lucky enough the business I was working for closed down a month later (two weeks before my wedding).

We have been very successful in a very short amount of time, signing several new clients in a very competitive market space. I see a bright future for Qjumpers and look forward to watching what we achieve as a company.

That’s my story of the amazing Simon and Jim; they saw something more in me and gave me a chance to prove myself. I only hope I can give back half of what they’ve given me. I am forever grateful for QJumpers.

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