I worked for 15 years in small and large business environments and the one thing that always brought most relief to my high-pressured roles was trusted team support. I was acutely aware of this especially at times when I could desperately use extra help but simply did not have the time or know-how to recruit support.

This saddened me, especially knowing that there were millions of unemployed, talented individuals out there that would jump at such an opportunity. When I spoke to friends, colleagues and clients, I heard the same frustration and it motivated me to do something about connecting youth with these great opportunities one day.

One day, after leaving my corporate job, I bumped into an old school friend at a coffee shop. Marguerite had also recently left the corporate life and within brief moments of sharing our passion for youth, tech innovation and social change we saw the potential to work together to impact large scale employment globally.

We decided to get our hands dirty and understand the real intricacies of why millions of youth are unemployed. Aside from the economic factors stifling job creation, we gained some other fascinating insights:

Attitude trumps aptitude: Traditionally, we recruit people by education and experience. However, when looking at fresh talent, all this does is bias those with privileged access to proper education and job networks. We have to kick that mindset out of the door or we’ll never find the people we need and thousands of positions will remain vacant. What matters most is whether the person has the relevant skill potential and sheer drive to grow. A great way to give the person a chance to prove themselves is to contract them for a specific short project or period. It’s like a mutual ‘date’ before either side commits.

Millennials’ need for meaning over money: Traditionally, we used to find satisfaction in job security and income. Not the youngest job seekers though. Those factors still count but it’s not sufficient to retain them – they want to understand the meaning behind their work and feel that they contribute to society. By simply keeping them in the loop with the bigger picture and engaging them in meetings or activities beyond their role will earn you not only their loyalty, but also their fresh, creative insights and energy.

Meet the young where they are at: Traditionally, we expect job seekers to apply for jobs online, liaise via email and come to our offices for interviews. Today we are talking about millions who don’t have access to the internet and hence miss out on opportunities, who communicate via social media not email, and can’t afford to travel into the city for unnecessary interviews because of the recruiters’ lack of proper pre-screening. As a result, recruiters are often left to go with those who turned up and often it is a miss-fit. Real recruitment processes respect where the young job seekers are at – with a tad more mindfulness, you’ll discover the gems among the masses.

With all of this in mind, Mintor developed a scalable matching platform that meets the needs of both young jobseekers and businesses looking for entry-level talent. Our chat-based job application platform allows young talent from underserved and rural communities to apply from anywhere, and we empower them with professional CVs and skill endorsements at no cost. As a result, businesses love our offering of quick, quality shortlists which removes the recruitment headache and provides the talent they need to help them thrive.

Finally, finding the right talent has been made easy. We are on a mission to impact the lives of millions by connecting young talent with businesses. This is how our youth and our economy will thrive.