If the Naukris, Monsters and Shinejobs are search engines for white-collar professionals, Babajob is the tool to help the blue-collared worker find a job. Started in 2007 by a former Microsoft employee Sean Olin Blagsvedt, the portal today boasts of a registration of 6.5 lakh jobseekers and 60,000 employers.
“There has been a ten-fold increase in job applications since January this year. Now, we get nearly 80,000 applications each month,” says Blagsvedt.
Jobseekers on the site include those searching for jobs as courier and delivery boys, guards, office boys, data entry keepers, housekeepers, drivers, maids and aayahs or those with average salary expectations of `5,000-6,000 per month. Employers primarily comprise organisations, “with 6-7% being households”, says Blagsvedt.
Social networks usually serve as the primary tool to help find jobs for the white-collared class, says Blagsvedt. But since those looking for jobs as drivers, maids or guards often hail from remote locations in interior areas, they lack the privilege of networks, connections and referrals in cities, thereby putting them at a disadvantage.
Ravi Venkatesan, one of the directors on Babajob’s board, says while people have a hard time finding domestic help or drivers, drivers or maids too find it tough to get jobs. “We saw the need where digital solutions could help individuals and organisations hire the unorganised sector workforce and simultaneously link the workforce to better job opportunities,” says Blagsvedt who moved to India from Seattle in 2004 as a member of Microsoft Research India .
“Babajob is like an employment exchange for those at the bottom of the pyramid,” says Venkatesan.
Since most prospective jobseekers for whom Babajob was started lack English and computer skills, they can register themselves by either directly calling the portal’s call centre or by subscribing to SMS alerts. Moreover, those with minimal computer skills can register through the Babajob website, which is available in Kannada, Tamil, Hindi and Telugu, apart from English.
“For jobseekers, it’s free registration,” says Blagsvedt, adding that for employers however, there are certain charges like what other websites have for getting listed at the top.
Though headquartered in Bangalore, metros like New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai are some of the cities carrying a lot of potential for Babajob. “Tier II places like Tumkur, Coimbatore are fast growing,” says Blagsvedt.
Started with initial funding from Blagsvedt, the venture has till date managed to get `9 crore of funds, with the latest round of funding coming this August from social venture investment firm Grey Ghost Ventures.
http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_how-about-a-job-portal-for-maids-drivers-or-aayahs_1772589
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