PRESS RELEASE! JobCrystal

New job site turns recruitment on its head
Stop wasting your time sifting through CVs – and get the candidates you want

8 March 2010 – According to the 2010 Grant Thornton International Business Report, lack of availability of a skilled workforce is South African business owners’ largest (34%) constraint to growth, for the fourth year in a row. Yet, employers have been trying to chase down these scarce skills using the same ineffective recruitment tactics for years.

The founders of JobCrystal, the only interactive talent management portal in South Africa, decided that there had to be a better, faster and cheaper way to recruit than the way they had always done it. When they couldn’t find one, they decided to invent it, and the outcome was JobCrystal.

JobCrystal changes the way companies recruit by putting employers directly in touch with a 60,000-strong pool of top tier candidates. It then gives them the in-depth analytical tools to quickly identify the most appropriate candidate for the position and their organisation. A scientific combination of some clever analytics and a sophisticated referral network is used to match candidates and employers. In addition, candidates are matched to the company’s culture as well as on skills and experience, further improving the hiring success rate.

Because companies can talk directly to candidates themselves via JobCrystal, it bypasses the lengthy, costly and inefficient process involving recruitment agencies. Once logged into JobCrystal, it takes as little as five minutes to be put in touch with suitable candidates.

“I am sure many companies would agree that traditional recruitment is seldom more than a crude game of snap, with employers wasting their time and money interviewing inappropriate candidates unsuitable for the organisation and position. What’s more, they probably had to wait a number of weeks to get their hands on the CVs in the first place,” said Kevin Laithwaite begin_of_the_skype_highlighting     end_of_the_skype_highlighting, Managing Director of JobCrystal.
“We remove the fuzziness in the recruitment process by making the filtering and matching process scientific. Our aim is to deliver employers 10 exceptionally strong candidates, three of whom they interview, and one of whom they hire, in the shortest possible length of time. We’re so confident the system works, that we offer a six-month money back guarantee!”

JobCrystal focusses on candidates looking to earn R150,000 per year and more. It charges a flat fee per successful placement, with no upfront charges. Companies including Protea Hotels, Santam and Foschini are using JobCrystal to source candidates.

Released on behalf of JobCrystal by:
Vanessa Clark
Email: Vanessa.clark@twokats.com

The bigger concern for now is getting back to SA – with Lufthansa on strike, this is now being followed by the airtraffic control at Air France and air cabin crew at British Airways.  We’ll see you when when see you!

Yesterday was a day of shopping at La Roca Vllage (about 45 min out of Barcelona) which is a factory shop village with all the big brands – Tommy Hilfiger, Cafe Coton, Old Ridel, Kipling, Timberland etc…  They are at least 35% cheaper, mostly 50% off and for men at Timberland up to 70% off.  We needed some serious help to get back to Barcelona with all the parcels!

Gabby was buying for Chic Mamas – the charity she’s gotten involved in where the ladies get together, donate some of their own branded clothes and then buy/exchange and all proceeds go to Edutainer – educational container for schools.

I’ve attached pics taken by mobile camera along my run around the city yesterday…  Today is another day of sight-seeing and shopping and then afternoon we start with the official YPO program.   Then radio-silence…

Chat soon

Karl.

I’m in London and Gabby, due to unforeseen circumstances, is still at home…forgot to get a British Visa – an oversight on both our parts.  She is flying out this evening direct to Barcelona, via Paris – I meet her there tomorrow.

I’ve had a wonderful couple of days with my friend Jonathan in London, cruising the restaurants and walking London and Brighton flat.  Check out the twitter stream for recommendations to restaurants and eateries…

Attached are some pics we took – but mainly the most unbelievable graffiti art in Brighton.  Enjoy…

Tomorrow off to Barca!

Ciao.

If you would like to see what it’s all about, log into www.jobcrystal.co.za – will be live on 13 August 2009.

We have an awesome team to complement Kevin as MD, Richard and Graeme as the super developers, Lara looking after us all and a new addition of Alec.  They are incredibly energetic, committed, engaged and best of all highly competent.  With this combination, we can only succeed!

I’ll keep you posted on the progress.

Cheers

Karl.

We have a great lifestyle, great weather, space and organic produce…

Kyle and Meghan have been diligent in catching up schoolwork and have settled into the routine with little fuss.  Gabby has hit the gym after the Italian pasta and I’ve committed myself to two new start-ups.

JobCrystal goes live later this week (www.jobcrystal.co.za) and is being brilliantly run by Kevin, supported by Richard and Lara.  On Monday we have another addition to the team, Graeme.  The other venture is called Redwood Third Party Processing and will be headed up by Andrew Goodrich, starting this Monday.  All in all, it makes for a busy couple of months as we set the businesses up and hire the teams.

Kyle has returned to discover surfing and is loving it.  He is up every time and spends loads of time in cold water…

Meghan is diving into her novels again and when she’s not with her friends, she’s nose in the book.

Cheers

Karl.

The logistics of winding down a trip of 9 weeks is quite something, but it all worked out like a dream!  We checked out of Hotel Royal, Meghan and I collected the car from the local parking garage while Kyle and Gabby brought the luggage out to the sidewalk – we couldn’t park in front of the hotel, so stopping in the bus lane with the hazards had to do.

Then off to the airport and to deliver the leased car…I diligently went onto the Renault Eurodrive website to find the address and also found the GPS coordinates.  So off we went, blindly following the GPS.  When we turned off the freeway and the signage to the airport said straight, things seemed a little weird, but then again – the GPS has always been right so far.  Soon we were heading through the “Voortrekker Road” of Paris and further away from the airport…anyway, after a 30km detour, we found Terminal 3 and TT Cars to deliver the vehicle.

Two months of travelling and all we had to show for it was a scratched wheel rim and a chocolate and ice cream mark on the seats.  Not bad…  I breathed a sigh of relief when I handed over the keys.  Now to see how many fines have found their way home…

I said to Gabby that there are a couple of stress-points – one of them was handing the car over, next was checking in the luggage and finally was clearing customs in CT.  The car is done and the luggage one was a breeze even though a couple of suitcases were slightly (6kg) overweight – not too bad for a long trip.

The flight to London was short and uneventful and the queue to clear passport control was short, so within 20 minutes of landing we met up with Jonathan for coffee, hot chocolate and muffins at The Giraffe.  Kyle and Meghan greeted Jonathan like their long lost friend…  I handed over Jonathan’s GPS (which was an absolute lifesaver) – I’m not sure how people survive with maps nowadays??

Then off to the London – CT flight…

After my last blog, we had a fantastic dinner last night to rival the night before.  Italian again – to suit the fussy family…  This time the restaurant was outside the door of our hotel.  Seems like we need to eat Italian food in France??  Speaking Italian at the restaurant was like coming home again.  It seems after 5 weeks in Italy that we’re all more comfortable in Italian (not that the vocabulary is extensive).

This morning we walked down Boulevard Montparnasse and found a little organic/free trade shop/restaurant and had a lovely breakfast of fruit salad, croissants and coffee.  Nice way to start the day before heading off back home.

We’ll do a couple of blogs when we get home to record what we’ve missed and how we’re adjusting after the absence…

Chat soon

Karl.

Today was a rainy day in Paris, so we avoided the Eiffel Tower and instead headed for the St Germain Market and the Patisserie next door for a decadent breakfast…Kyle chose a Café Macaroon and a Chocolate Pastry while Meghan chose a Café Macaroon and a pastry.  The market only opened after 10am and the fresh produce market only at 4pm, so we went scouting for some coffee for Gabby in the market and then spent the better part of the rest of the morning in Zara Kids.  Kyle and Meghan now have some fashionable outfits to parade in Cape Town.

After the shopping expedition, we decided to take the tube ride to the Science Museum and 16 stops later we made our way to Cite Sciences and were turned away by the security – closed on Mondays!  On our way there, we also did a little detour to the Notre Dame Cathedral – very impressive building and once again a service was on, but that didn’t stop us wandering around – brief respite from the rain…

So back to where we came from and to see the Pompidou Centre – it’s an interesting building but we weren’t too excited about seeing the museum and exhibitions, so we browsed the gadget shop and had lunch.

Kyle wanted to return to a comic and model shop on Boulevard St Germain…so after stopping for crepes at Odeon Metro Station, he searched the shop for Star Wars toys and figurines – he had to come away with something, so he bought a Star Wars model which he has built in around 5 minutes flat.

We’re now back at the hotel and chilling before dinner.  Not sure if we will have time for much tomorrow, but we’ll leave the hotel around 11am and then find out where to leave the car and find the airport.  We’re not looking forward to all the travelling, but Gabby is looking forward to all the movies on the plane!

Till then

Karl.

I would love to come back and not have to worry about pre-teens who would rather be at Disneyland.  Anyway, that gives me an excuse to come back to Paris and Champagne – maybe I’ll throw in the Paris Marathon for good measure – sounds like a fair 2010 goal…

So, Paris is still as beautiful as ever.   Driving in was a little daunting, but with a Garmin and 9 weeks of driving on the wrong side, it was a breeze.  Our hotel is the Hotel Le Royal on Boulevard Raspail in Montparnasse and was well rated by previous guests (8.6) on www.venere.com.  It has lived up to its rating with comfortable modern rooms and great service.  We’d stay here again if we had the chance.

As far as the touring is concerned, we arrive in Paris at lunchtime in Paris and had a quick baguette sandwich at Pomme Du Pain round the corner and then headed for Place De La Concorde for a view of the Sine and the Champs Elysees and then up Rue Royale for the best confectionary shop/restaurant in the world – Laduree.  I took Gabby and the kids for the first time – they do the best macaroons (flavoured and filled biscuits) and we enjoyed a café noisette (espresso with a little milk) and green tea.  Kyle ordered hot chocolate and couldn’t drink it because it was too rich!!

The off through the shopping streets of the Madeleine – down the road parallel to Rue Royale past the Buddha Bar.  At the bottom (and top) we saw lots of gendarmes and when we reached the bottom, we saw the street was called Rue Gabriel, so I proceeded to take a picture for the scrapbook and was soon marched down by a gendarme wanting to see the picture!  After being very apologetic, showing him the picture and deleting it, I was sent on my way.  Only the realizing it was the American Embassy!

From there, we walked up the Champs Elysees to the Arc De Triomphe, stopping to see the car showrooms with the latest models, the Adidas store and a bunch of others…  The Adidas store was a hit for the kids – they have interactive games – running a 100m race on the spot with a screen to see your progress – also a 110m hurdles race and a bunch of other fitness assessments and the like…  this was the best experience on the Champs Elysees and didn’t cost a cent.  (although Meghan did ask for some customised running shoes, but has hardly seen her cross-country coach in Cape Town).

The Arc De Triomphe is always an impressive building to see…

We caught a cab home to shower and relax before meeting Doug and Nikki at the Eiffel Tower at 7pm.  After a quick drink round the corner, we caught a cab to the Montparnasse area and proceeded to walk around the streets for an hour looking for a suitable restaurant and we ended up settling on Italian.  Bu this stage, Kyle was dead-tired and passed out on the bench.  The asparagus risotto was excellent as was the wine.  Fortunately for us it was close to the hotel and we could carry Kyle home and put him straight to bed.

This morning started off with a leisurely start at 9.30am and we were in Montmarte to visit the Sacre Coeur at 10am.  By this stage the tummies were hungry for breakfast, so we stopped in the square next to the church and found a little sidewalk table and watched the passersby whilst enjoying fried eggs, croissants and coffee/tea.

We hit Sacre Coeur, which is one of the most beautiful churches you could hope to visit.  There was a service going on, but they still allow visitors to walk around and take in all the frescoes and sculptures.

Then down to the metro to Place De La Concorde for a walk up the Seine, crossing the Pont (Bridge) Alexander III, taking in the Invalides and then to a Seine River trip.  By this stage we all had a good view of the city.  The most important trip we needed to do still was to find the “birdman” on the Champs Elysees.  Kyle and Meghan had bought little gadgets to put in their mouth to do birdcalls and Kyle had lost his – so we had to go and find him – fortunately he was there and now we have 2 more birds in the family…

We had a underground trip back to the hotel for a shower then off to Jardin (Garden) Luxembourg before dinner.  This park is fantastic with so much to do – kids play areas with great equipment, tennis courts, boulle courts, refreshment stands, fountains and much more.  Kyle and Meghan spent the last 45 minutes in the play area and showed the European kids how to climb.

I’d been to an undercover market in the St Germain area, but didn’t know where it was, so we walked around the streets looking for a pizzeria and stumbled upon the market which also had a great Italian restaurant serving Pizzas and Pastas.  The consensus around the table was that it was the best pizzas we had ever eaten!!

After a stroll around St Germain and up to the Pantheon, we caught a cab home for bed.

This morning we plan to do a patisserie at the St Germain market, Eiffel Tower, Science Museum and maybe the Pompidou centre…we’ll see if we manage it.

Chat soon

Karl.