A new site developed by a University of Utah graduate brings the advantages of Facebook to the world of resumes and job hunting.
Aaron Ravonsheed, creator of Student Genius, said he hopes allowing students to complete professional profiles equipped with video resumes and interactive portfolios will help employers and employees find the perfect match.
“A personable and dynamic resume has a better chance of quickly informing employers on the individuals they search on the site,” Ravonsheed said.
He said much of the inspiration behind the website comes from Facebook’s ability to transmit a person’s interests and accomplishments in a personable and instantaneous way.
“A lot of people don’t want employers looking on their Facebook page because it’s private,” Ravonsheed said. “We thought, why not create some kind of site that’s professional but similar to Facebook.”
As an immigrant from Norway, Ravonsheed said he always thought it was limiting and strange in English, individuals describe themselves as being their profession.
“Here you say ‘I am a doctor’ or ‘I am an accountant’ when really a person is much more that,” Ravonsheed said. “This website reflects that diversity of self largely stripped from today’s culture of job and employee hunting.”
Recent BYU graduate Marjorie Soares uses the site to reach out to potential employers.
“Student Genius really has the potential to make people look as well-rounded as they really are,” Soares said.
She also warns it will reveal how flat a person can be as well and encourages BYU students to get involved while they can rather than just going through their major’s motions.
“I wish I had at least joined a club,” Soares said.
Because the site is still new and under development, Soares also suggested students interested in using the website email Ravonsheed with those companies they want to see on the list of potential employers.
“Aaron is very well connected,” she said.
Jowanza Joseph, an economics major from New York City, uses the site for freelance work and has found employment and someone to employ from searching the site.
“A professor from a different university needed help on a project,” said Joseph, “and he found me and hired me off of Student Genius. Later, I needed help on a research project I was working on and was able to hire someone I found on the site. Both were really good experiences.”
