The job hunt can be a grueling endeavor. For those that hope to land a job in their chosen field, but lack any experience or connections, the search is exponentially more difficult. Modern recruiters want some kind of quality guarantee, be it in the form of experience or connections. Unfortunately, many groups (such as recent graduates, recent immigrants, or professionals changing fields) simply don’t have the experience or connections they need to get interviews for the jobs they want. HiCounselor co-founders Aditya Sharma and Rani Haroune have experienced this difficulty first hand, and they hope to make things a little easier for their fellow job seekers utilizing AI and networking automation. HiCounselor, a San Francisco Bay Area-based career accelerator for tech professionals, has secured $600k in pre-seed round. The round was led by Palo-alto, California-based Heroic Ventures.
What is HiCounselor?
HiCounselor is a next-generation AI-powered career accelerator for recent graduates and professionals looking for a job in tech. It was created by tech professionals Aditya Sharma and Rani Haroune. They want to make the endless hours of searching for jobs online, sending applications, and waiting for responses a thing of the past. The modern job hunt, according to their vision, is a sleek and efficient process utilizing Artificial Intelligence, automation, and networking to significantly boost the search. Since their start in May 2020, HiCounselor has grown rapidly from a mere 5 candidates to over 150. HiCounselor fellows have landed jobs at FAANG, Fortune 500, and other prestigious tech companies, such as Apple, Amazon, Expedia, Microsoft, and Coinbase. The placement rate at HiCounselor is 100% so far. The best part of the HiCounselor program is that it is free until you land a job. You pay 9% of the first year’s salary in monthly installments only after landing a job.
Most job seekers spend their time searching for jobs online, sending out online applications, and requesting connections on Linkedin. Usually, a candidate spends about 25-30 hours per week on these repetitive tasks. HiCounselor eliminates all of this and cuts 30 hours to just a few minutes using its AI-powered networking tool and network of tech companies. That’s why they call themselves a “career accelerator”; their simple, two-step process can help candidates land a great new job in record time. The first step involves working with instructors from FAANG and other tech giants to prepare candidates for every aspect of the interview, from technical to behavioral to HR, in just four weeks. After that, candidates sit back and watch as the interviews roll in, thanks to HiCounselor’s extensive network of partners and their automated job search tool.
Transforming the Tech Job Search
Some jobs are easier to find than others. As co-founders Sharma and Haroune learned the hard way, the tech field is particularly difficult for industry newcomers to break into, even those targeting entry or mid-level roles. Sharma sees this as a result of two primary factors: a lack of access to industry professionals to guide them through industry-specific interview prep, and a lack of a solid professional network to bring them connections, referrals, and opportunities. Sharma reminds us that “At least 70% of hiring is done via networking and referrals.” Unfortunately, building a professional network is one of the most difficult tasks that industry newcomers face.
As competition for tech roles grows, so does job-seekers’ need for an innovative solution. HiCounselor’s accessible, easy-to-use service was designed to help job-seekers polish their interview skills and connect them with relevant interview opportunities, providing millions of anxious job-seekers with the hope they so desperately need. This is exactly why Sharma and Haroune created HiCounselor. The job-hunt shouldn’t be the worst time in our lives, and it doesn’t have to be. It is a time of growth and opportunity, a chance to explore new paths and show others what we’re made of. HiCounselor wants to take the stress out of the job hunt so you can focus on living up to your potential.
The Future of the Job Hunt with HiCounselor
HiCounselor has big plans for the future. They plan to one day release a tool that utilizes Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing to help candidates prepare for job interviews. Even still, this is just a small part of their grand vision. In the future, HiCounselor aims to help not only people aspiring for software engineers and data science job roles, but for many other tech and management roles.
Don’t let the job hunt get you down. When things aren’t working out, don’t despair; HiCounselor can help! They are always there to assist you with your job-hunting needs. The job search is tough, but with HiCounselor, you don’t have to go it alone.
Published by: Aryan Shukla