Swipe your way toward your dream job with this app made in the TopDutch region

The current job-hunting process can be quite stressful. Job seekers have to sift through several pages of LinkedIn job listings, filtering through spam, low-ball offers, and other positions that aren’t a right fit. Swipe4Work is a Groningen-based start-up that wants to revolutionise the job application experience. The premise is simple: you create a free profile on their app and swipe your way towards your dream job.

The Northern Times spoke with Eliza van der Werf, performance marketeer at Swipe4Work, about the company, being located in the TopDutch region, and their future here.

What is the company about and what are your main goals?

Swipe4Work is a startup from Groningen and the job app of the moment. The app is aimed at young professionals with zero to seven years of work experience. Swipe4Work stands for applying for jobs in a different way that’s fun, honest, and fast.

The unique algorithm matches vacancies to your criteria. As a job seeker, you are anonymous until the match, which combats inequality in the labour market. In the app, you can literally swipe to your dream job without a cover letter or CV.

Our app is free for job seekers so it’s even more accessible. The main goal is to conquer the labour market in the Netherlands and later on internationally. We want to make the job application process more fun, fairer, and faster while tackling discrimination with help from our matching algorithm and skills-first approach. 

Ultimately we want to make as many successful matches as possible between employers and job seekers.

How does the company contribute to sustainable development in the TopDutch region?

At Swipe4Work, we strive to improve and speed up the job application process.

Our matching algorithm creates the best possible match between job seekers and employers. We also want to give a platform to companies that are creating a positive impact here in the North, as well as the rest of the Netherlands.

Is there a connection between Swipe4Work and the TopDutch region?

I myself grew up in Friesland and studied at the Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen. When I got my degree, I stayed in Groningen and first gained marketing experience at an online marketing agency in the city.

After working there for two and a half years, I decided it was time for something different and made a switch to become an in-house marketer at Swipe4Work.

The company itself was founded in Groningen and is still based here in the city. Its founders are also from the North. So its roots run deep throughout the North of the Netherlands. I think it’s very nice that the startup has grown from here because there is so much talent in the North. We have developers, a marketeer, sales and someone doing the whole organic content – everything works pretty amazingly together. 

Many students come to study in Groningen but then leave to work in the Randstad and I find that quite sad. The North is such a beautiful place with many lovely companies to work at. It’s a pity that so much good talent is lost from the North. We should do our best to retain talent over here.

The North is booming with hip and impactful companies and is continuing to grow. Hopefully, Swipe4Work can help to continue making that possible.

What has Swipe4Work’s growth looked like? 

The company was started in 2022 and went live last year in March. I joined the team in February this year and even in these last few months I’ve seen the company continue to grow.

It started as a startup and is growing towards Amsterdam and the rest of the Randstad. But we are very proud that we started in the Northern Netherlands.

Our goal is to first become big in the Netherlands and from there we’d want to roll out our platform internationally.

The Northern business climate and network have provided the first group of pilot customers and investments from Northern funds. This has accelerated our growth and traction.

Was it harder to grow in the North? Would it have been easier in the Randstad? 

I’m not sure it was harder but I think that with the right mindset, you can accomplish a lot. Swipe4Work’s owners are very strong people with an overarching goal. They want to change the recruitment market. They want to make the job application process better. Regardless of where they might have been located, when there is a will, someone will step up and make the most of it.

And I think that is really how I can describe Lotte, Hans, Bram and Mattheüs, the owners. Overall we are very straightforward and I think that has helped us start up the company and make it to where we are today. 

And how have you personally found working in Groningen to be?

Even though I’m from Friesland I’ve fallen in love with Groningen.

So it’s very nice for me to have a place to live here and a very nice place to work that is also centred in the North. The atmosphere and the like-minded people all make it great. People in the North want to work but also have good vibes and good energy.

At Swipe4Work specifically, we have a small team and I feel that I’m seen as a person within the company rather than just a number in a factory-type setting. This also helps.

Returning back to Swipe4Work, were there any particular challenges you’ve had to overcome?

From a marketing perspective, it’s sometimes hard to make noise as a startup working in a large market such as job recruitment. So it’s about finding the sweet spots. That can be very challenging.

Sometimes it can be hard, but in the last couple of months, we’ve gotten even better at accomplishing this and getting new people to try out our app. One secret is testing. A lot of testing.

And when you find something, for example, TikTok or Instagram advertising, and you think, oh, it’s a sweet spot, then you continue. And sometimes you think, no, it’s not what I had imagined it to be. And then you just throw it in the trash and go find something else.

Is there anything interesting you’ve learnt along the way?

For me, it’s mainly been that no idea is too crazy in a startup.

From a marketing perspective, you can do a lot. There’s always something to change. There’s already something new to learn like AI, automation, campaigns, and so on. So it’s always that learning process and learning by doing. So that’s really nice for me.

And for the company, a big lesson was to always keep going. Now for example we’re incorporating AI into the app. So when there’s something new in the market we ask ourselves: How can we use this for ourselves? There’s of course a lot of trial and error involved.

Are there any exciting future plans at Swipe4Work?

A lot! We currently have a few thousand vacancies. That must be multiplied by hundreds in the coming years. We’re doing this by expanding our sales team and making smart growth hacking choices. In addition, we will become an AI-first company.

We are currently developing a very cool AI model to help companies improve their vacancy texts. Employers can upload key tasks and requirements and an AI generator will create the job ad text for you. The main parameters you need to select are the target group, work experience, and personality.

The next step is an AI model which helps set job titles and salary benchmarks.

So those are the biggest future plans, mostly AI.

The interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
This article was produced in collaboration with the Northern Times.