In this document, we take a look at the current structure, key players, funnel metrics and recent deals of the job search industry. We then dive into a thought experiment designed to help reimagine the job search industry and generate great ideas for a startup in this space! This is a weekly issue of Sparrk (https://sparrk.co), a community where entrepreneurs work together to reinvent major industries, value chains, iconic products, and key processes and functions, because working at full speed on a mediocre business idea is perhaps the worst form of waste!

1. ISSUE #2
REINVENTING THE JOB SEARCH
S P A R R K
sparrk.co

2. Our mission is simple: we want to save the
world from wasting their energy on poor
startup ideas!
Working at full speed on a mediocre idea is
perhaps the worst possible waste of energy.
We want to help by ensuring you work on an
awesome idea right from the start!
Here’s how it works:
WHO ARE WE?
MARKET KNOWLEDGE
Every week we break down an industry for
you, explaining how it works, who the key
players are, and where the industry is heading
IDEATION METHODOLOGY
Using the newly acquired knowledge, you
complete a 45 minute thought experiment
designed to help you reimagine the space in an
innovative way
EXPERT FEEDBACK
Once you have several ideas fleshed out, you
then refine them in real-time together with
your peers, and get live feedback from VCs
and industry experts on our Slack community

3. KNOWLEDGE
Job Search

4. Looking For A Job?
Searching for the needle in the job postings stack
the average time a
recruiter looks at a
resume
of applicants are not
qualified to apply in the
first place
Tapping into the social
networks of employees
for candidate referrals
Video recruiting is
seeing a lot of hype
lately as a means to cut
interview time
Education is a good way
to improve your odds,
but do companies place
enough value on e.g.
Udemy or Coursera?
Success Factors
A not-so-surprising finding of academic research is that the key
drivers of success are job search intensity and career planning,
while the key hindering factor is procrastination.
Given the abysmal statistics of the job search funnel (more on
the next slide), it is no wonder that procrastination plays such a
large role. It is a game of rising above the noise, and in this
market there is a LOT of noise.
Overview
There aren’t that many markets out there as broken and in need of
reimagining than the labor market. If you’re looking for a job in
2015, you’ re probably going about it in pretty much the same way
as in, say, 1915.
Find a job ad, send in your resume, and wait. Or you know
somebody and send them the resume directly. Or, you’re a star,
and they approach you. Sure, you have LinkedIn and Monster and
Indeed now, but the process is pretty much the same.
Then, based on a 1-page synthesis of your entire life, and 2-3 hours
of interviews, both you and the employer must make a decision
which will affect your life for years to come. Now, you wouldn’t get
married based on this process, would you?
01 02
03 046 sec. 50%
44444
IMAGINE
Rules
Magic Wand
Systems
Big Picture
Score
BUILD
Feedback
One Pager
Office Hours
Next Steps
4
LEARN
Overview
Funnel
Process
Key Players
Recent Deals
Holy Grail
Overview
Leverage social graphs
to generate warm
introductions for job
seekers

5. Job Application Funnel
5
FIND
On average, an online job
posting gets about 1,000
views.
START
Out of these, about 200
start the application
process.
SUBMIT
Surprisingly, only half the
applicants who start
applying actually end up
submitting their
application.
OFFER
After an average of two
interview rounds, 1
applicant will get the offer,
and only 80% of those
receiving the offer will
actually accept it.
start applying
gets the offer
finish applying
see the job posting
55555
LEARN
Overview
Funnel
Process
Key Players
Recent Deals
Holy Grail
IMAGINE
Rules
Magic Wand
Systems
Big Picture
Score
BUILD
Feedback
One Pager
Office Hours
Next Steps
5
Funnel
INTERVIEW
This is the biggest drop in
the funnel. About 75
applications will be
automatically screened out
based on e.g. keywords.
The remaining 25 will be
manually reviewed, and
about 4 people will be
invited for an interview.
get an interview
1,000
200
100
4
1

6. What Makes A Good Application Process?
The steps are obvious, but few people consistently do them for long stretches of time
APPLY
This is where an
applicant will
spend most of her
time, and where
procrastination is
most likely to
occur. Many job
seekers tend to
underestimate how
long this step
normally takes.
INTERVIEW
It’s interesting that
a high interview
rate does not
correlate with a
high offer rate.
Great resumes
don’t necessarily
mean great
interviews.
PREPARE
Having a well
written resume, a
clear letter of
intent and a career
plan is the
foundation of a
successful job
search.
ONBOARD
Once you’ve
accepted the offer,
it is critical to hit
the ground running
and position
yourself early as a
high performer.
NEGOTIATE
It is sometimes
overlooked that
negotiating
compensation can
be easier at this
stage than when
already employed.
0201
66666
LEARN
Overview
Process
Key Players
Power Map
Recent Deals
Holy Grail
IMAGINE
Rules
Magic Wand
Systems
Big Picture
Score
BUILD
Feedback
One Pager
Office Hours
Next Steps
6
Process
LEARN
Overview
Funnel
Process
Key Players
Recent Deals
Holy Grail
Process

7. Key Players
EMPLOYERS
These guys just want to fill their vacancies.
At 20% turnover rate, on average, there’s
always demand for talent. Their main
problem is sifting through all the noise to
find someone that can get the job done. For
all the uplifting corporate rhetoric about
hiring stars, most hiring managers care
much more about risk avoidance rather than
about taking a chance on a star.
APPLICANTS
Job seeking is a marathon, and those
applicants that treat it as such are the most
successful ones. Consistency and drive in
job search goes a long way to secure an
interview. Also, most start looking for a new
job way too late, underestimating the time it
takes to clear the noise and land a job.
ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE PROVIDERS
These are big players, (e.g. Oracle), who sell
HR management software to big companies
for lots of money and multi-year
implementations. Their systems help clients
to manage their HR process (e.g.
applications, performance evaluations,
payroll).
RECRUITMENT FIRMS
There are two types of firms here. One type
is executive search, aka matchmaking
companies.
The second one is placement services.
These guys basically provide temporary
capacity (administrative, mostly) when
needed.
PROFESSIONAL SOCIAL NETWORKS
We mean LinkedIn. We’re not bashing its
game changing potential, but for now, it still
mostly acts as a job board. Whether it can
turn its massive social graph into a more
meaningful service remains to be seen.
JOB SEARCH ENGINES
Monster.com and Indeed.com are two
examples of companies which aim to be a
one-stop-shop for all your employment
needs. Monster, for example, aims to
differentiate by offering resume writing
services, career advice, interview prep, etc.
77777
LEARN
Overview
Funnel
Key Players
Power Map
Recent Deals
Holy Grail
IMAGINE
Rules
Magic Wand
Systems
Big Picture
Score
BUILD
Feedback
One Pager
Office Hours
Next Steps
7
Key Players
LEARN
Overview
Funnel
Process
Key Players
Recent Deals
Holy Grail
Key Players

8. Recent Deals
YesGraph (http://yesgraph.com)
YesGraph simplifies the process of finding new workers by asking existing employees
to refer people in their social networks. They just raised a $1M seed funding round in
February this year, led by Bloomberg Beta L.P.
$1M
Nimble (http://nimble.hr)
Nimble (or Breezy, as they have just rebranded themselves) is like Trello for hiring.
Candidates move through states as cards move through lists in Trello. They raised
$250k in a pre-seed round from Real Ventures in January this year.
Hussle
500 Startups invested $75k in of Hussle, a self-serve staffing company, in return for a
7% stake. Hussle brings Uber-like ease and logistics to any type of task you need
done.
Hired (http://hired.com)
In an example of later round financing, Hired has recently raised a Series B round from
Crosslink Capital, SVB and others, to fund their expansion into new verticals and
markets.
$250k
$75k
$15M
88888
LEARN
Overview
Process
Key Players
Power Map
Recent Deals
Holy Grail
IMAGINE
Rules
Magic Wand
Systems
Big Picture
Score
BUILD
Feedback
One Pager
Office Hours
Next Steps
8
Recent Deals
LEARN
Overview
Funnel
Process
Key Players
Recent Deals
Holy Grail
Recent Deals

9. What is the Holy Grail in this market?
It’s probably got to do with the noise
START WITH THE APPLICANT
This is recurring theme here; we strongly believe that any major game changing
innovation has to start with the consumer, in this case with the applicant.
Improving the process for job seekers will likely make everyone better off. See
below.
01
REDUCE THE NOISE
In our view, the noise polluting this space is the worst problem for everyone. For
example, if over 50% of applicants to the average job shouldn’t be applying in the
first place, then this only serves to overload recruiters, reducing the time they can
realistically spend looking at a resume to under 10 seconds. And everyone is
worst off. Good applicants get overlooked by automated filters, vacancies don’t
get filled, and costs shoot up.
02
REDESIGN THE PROCESS
It is unlikely that ‘more’ of anything will improve this space, e.g. more
applications, more candidates, more resumes, more job postings. The thought
experiment you’re about to engage in is about reimagining this space in a
different way, not in a ‘more of the same’ way. Good luck! :)
03
99999
LEARN
Overview
Process
Key Players
Power Map
Recent Deals
Holy Grail
IMAGINE
Rules
Magic Wand
Systems
Big Picture
Score
BUILD
Feedback
One Pager
Office Hours
Next Steps
9
Holy Grail
LEARN
Overview
Funnel
Process
Key Players
Recent Deals
Holy GrailHoly Grail

10. METHOD
Ready to Play?

11. The Rules
Just have fun! :)
11
Follow the Instructions
Try to resist the impulse to skip
ahead; follow the steps in the
order they have been given. In
this exercise we will be wearing
the hat of the end-user, the
customer.
01
Keep the Time
Use a timer to keep you on track;
if you finish the task earlier, don’t
skip ahead, use the time to play
with the concepts a bit more.
Don’t stress out too much over
time though, it’s just a guideline
02
Have Fun
It’s just a game! :) It’s simply a fun
way to spend a bit of time, not the
SAT!
03
You may come up with an awesome idea now, or you may not – what
matters is that you are exercising your business creativity.
That is a skill, not a genetic trait – as with any learned skill, just relax
and expect it to become better with practice.
REMEMBER
1111111111
LEARN
Overview
Funnel
Process
Key Players
Recent Deals
Holy Grail
IMAGINE
Rules
Magic Wand
Systems
Big Picture
Score
BUILD
Feedback
One Pager
Office Hours
Next Steps
11
Rules

12. Your VersionOur Version 
A. The Ideal System
We define the target of our thought experiment as the job search process, from the point of view of the job seeker.
The question that we are trying to answer is simple: how does the ideal job search look like? What does it do? We found it useful,
albeit slightly embarrassing, to imagine ourselves as almighty wizards with unlimited powers (e.g. Gandalf + Magneto) :)
In other words, how does a magic job search look like?
Ready? Set the timer and go! :)
12
Instructions
05
MINUTES
1. A magic job search process, by itself,
2. A magic job search process, by itself,
3. A magic job search process, by itself,
4. A magic job search process, by itself,
1. A magic job search process, by itself, applies to the jobs where I
would be most happy
2. A magic job search process, by itself, finds me a job before I
even need one
3. A magic job search process, by itself, ensures I get the highest
possible salary
4. A magic job search process, by itself, maintains my resume up
to date
5. A magic job search process, by itself, ensures I get to work with
a great team
12
1212121212
LEARN
Overview
Funnel
Process
Key Players
Recent Deals
Holy Grail
IMAGINE
Rules
Magic Wand
Systems
Big Picture
Score
BUILD
Feedback
One Pager
Office Hours
Next Steps
12
Magic Wand

13. B. The Anti System
Now, we negate the propositions we created in the previous step. Just go through each and write it’s negative. Try to play around
with different negations, and try to come up with as many versions as possible.
If upon reflection, you come up with more ideas for the previous step, go ahead and add them, no problem.
Start the timer when ready.
13
Instructions
10
MINUTES
1313
1313131313
LEARN
Overview
Funnel
Process
Key Players
Recent Deals
Holy Grail
IMAGINE
Rules
Magic Wand
Systems
Big Picture
Score
BUILD
Feedback
One Pager
Office Hours
Next Steps
13
Magic Wand
Your VersionOur Version 
1. A magic job search process, by itself,
2. A magic job search process, by itself,
3. A magic job search process, by itself,
4. A magic job search process, by itself,
1. A magic job search process, by itself, applies to the jobs where
I would be LEAST happy
2. A magic job search process, by itself, does NOT find me a job
even when I need one
3. A magic job search process, by itself, does NOT ensure I get the
highest possible salary
4. A magic job search process, by itself, does NOT maintain my
resume up to date
5. A magic job search process, by itself, does NOT ensure I get to
work with a great team

14. C. Benefits of Anti Systems
Our version
In this step we will figure out what benefits, if any, the anti-cards can have. You can find our thoughts below, feel free to read them
in order to understand the exercise better, there’s no timer on this slide!
14
Instructions
Negation Benefits
A magic job search process, by itself, applies to the jobs where I would
be LEAST happy
Tough one – perhaps it applies to jobs where I would be
CHALLENGED the most, where I likely have to stretch myself to grow
A magic job search process, by itself, does NOT find me a job even
when I need one
Maybe instead of finding me a job, it helps me start my own business
and create jobs for others
A magic job search process, by itself, does NOT ensure I get the
highest possible salary
It may suggest variable compensation schemes, where I don’t get the
highest possible FIXED salary, but overall I stand to earn more based
on certain parameters
A magic job search process, by itself, does NOT maintain my resume
up to date
None
A magic job search process, by itself, does NOT ensure I get to work
with a great team
None
141414
1414141414
LEARN
Overview
Funnel
Process
Key Players
Recent Deals
Holy Grail
IMAGINE
Rules
Magic Wand
Systems
Big Picture
Score
BUILD
Feedback
One Pager
Office Hours
Next Steps
14
Magic Wand

15. C. Benefits of Anti Systems
Your version
Go through each item you came up with in the previous step and reflect upon it. Are there any benefits from the newly defined
functions? Who would find such an item useful? Remember that many times, adding the opposite to something increases its
usefulness (think pencil + eraser).
Start the timer when ready!
15
Instructions
Negation Benefits
05
MINUTES
15151515
1515151515
LEARN
Overview
Funnel
Process
Key Players
Recent Deals
Holy Grail
IMAGINE
Rules
Magic Wand
Systems
Big Picture
Score
BUILD
Feedback
One Pager
Office Hours
Next Steps
15
Magic Wand

16. D. Generate New Systems
Now, take all magic processes you generated in step A, and all the systems you found benefits for in step C. What systems would
accomplish that? What features would they have? Start the timer when ready!
16
Instructions
Magic Job Search System
A magic job search process, by itself, applies to the
jobs where I would be most happy
A “reverse crawler” comes to mind; instead of me searching job postings, the system would
automatically apply to job openings which match my experience and career goals, as soon as they open.
It would ensure my job search intensity remains high, and would reduce the noise for recruiters as well.
A magic job search process, by itself, finds me a job
before I even need one
This system might look at different parameters related to my employer (e.g. news, stock price, implied
volatility, indebtedness) and would proactively tell me that “hey, things are not that great lately, maybe
it’s time to look for something else?”
A magic job search process, by itself, ensures I get
the highest possible salary
As an added feature to the automated application system above, it could employ reverse auction
and/or range matching mechanisms to ensure the salary I get is the best match between my
expectations and the employer’s budget.
A magic job search process, by itself, maintains my
resume up to date
No ideas
A magic job search process, by itself, ensures I get to
work with a great team
Something as simple as a 10 minute Google Hangout with a few members from the team would go a
long way to avoid potential mismatches
A magic job search process, by itself, applies to the
jobs where I would be LEAST happy
The system could take a look at my career goals and my career progression so far, and could raise flags
(e.g. you’re not on the right track, below peers) and suggest actions (e.g. ask for a project to lead, move
to a more demanding role). It’s job would be to tell me the things I don’t want to hear, but I need to.
10
MINUTES
16161616
1616161616
LEARN
Overview
Funnel
Process
Key Players
Recent Deals
Holy Grail
IMAGINE
Rules
Magic Wand
Systems
Big Picture
Score
BUILD
Feedback
One Pager
Office Hours
Next Steps
16
Systems

17. E. Find the Big Picture
Great! You made it this far!
Time to take a step back and look at all the systems you’ve generated. Do you see any pattern emerging from all of them? Is there a
prototypical system or principle which seems to be lurking behind all of them? If any such ‘big picture’ systems emerge, explore
them further. What are they? Apps? Networks? Try to describe them in a few words.
If no ‘big picture’ emerges, no worries, it doesn’t have to! :)
17
Instructions
Your Big PictureOur Big Picture 
…The biggest win throughout the systems we generated so far lies in
improving the factors of a successful job search: consistency in the
search process, starting the search early (e.g. before one becomes
unemployed) and employee due diligence (e.g. do I really want to
work for these guys?).
Doing this through an automated system would help raise the odds
of finding a great job, and it would also reduce the workload of
recruiters, since the system would only apply to those jobs for
which we qualify. That alone should cut the number of applications
in half.
10
MINUTES
1717171717
1717171717
LEARN
Overview
Funnel
Process
Key Players
Recent Deals
Holy Grail
IMAGINE
Rules
Magic Wand
Systems
Big Picture
Score
BUILD
Feedback
One Pager
Office Hours
Next Steps
17
Big Picture

18. F. Scoring
Phew! You’re almost done! Time to rank your ideas and see what is worth pursuing further!
Taking all the systems generated so far (including ‘big picture’ ones if applicable), score them on a scale of 1-10 on the following criteria (it
will be your subjective judgment, of course; it’s fine). Anything that scores over 20 should be pretty interesting! :)
18
Instructions
System Orig. Prob. Exec. Total
A “reversecrawler” comes to mind; instead of me searching job postings, the system would automatically apply
to job openings which match my experience and career goals, as soon as they open. It would ensuremy job
search intensity remains high, and would reduce the noise for recruiters as well.
8 9 7 24
An early warning system that might look at different parameters related to my employer (e.g. news, stock price,
implied volatility, indebtedness) and would proactively tell me that “hey, things are not that great lately, maybe it’s
time to look for something else?”
7 4 5 16
A reverse auction and/or range matching system to ensure the salary I get is the best match between my
expectations and the employer’s budget
6 6 5 17
An on-demand video Hangout system with a few members from the hiring team 4 8 8 20
Personal career performance system -- It’s job would be to tell me the things I don’t want to hear, but I need to 7 8 5 20
05
MINUTES
181818181818
1818181818
LEARN
Overview
Funnel
Process
Key Players
Recent Deals
Holy Grail
IMAGINE
Rules
Magic Wand
Systems
Big Picture
Score
BUILD
Feedback
One Pager
Office Hours
Next Steps
18
Score
Originality: how creative, original or unexpected would you say it is? (1 is completely uncreative, 10 is brilliant)
Problem Solving: is the problem it addresses a significantone? (1 is insignificant, 10 is a huge problem)
Ability to Execute: how would you rate your ability to execute on the idea? Think of industry knowledge, contacts, technical expertise

19. FEEDBACK
Ready to show the world?

20. Show the Community
User feedback shows that ideas improved most during Slack discussions
2020202020202020
2020202020
LEARN
Overview
Funnel
Process
Key Players
Recent Deals
Holy Grail
IMAGINE
Rules
Magic Wand
Systems
Big Picture
Score
BUILD
Feedback
One Pager
Office Hours
Next Steps
20
Feedback
Synthesize Your Idea
Take all ideas which scored
>20, or your top 3 ones if none
scored > 20, and describe
them, for example using this
template:
<Your Product Name>
delivers <main benefit> to
<key customer segment> by
<high-level system
description>
01
Show it on Slack
Join the #imaginarium channel
and show us what you got!
We’re really curious what you
came up with! :)
02
Refine It
Get feedback from your peers,
and find interested people to
refine your ideas further with!
03
You should have received an invite email after you signed up;
just search for “Sparrk Slack”, but if you can’t find it, drop us a
line at hello@sparrk.co and we’ll resend it ASAP!
DID YOU JOIN SLACK?

21. 2121212121212121
2121212121
LEARN
Overview
Funnel
Process
Key Players
Recent Deals
Holy Grail
IMAGINE
Rules
Magic Wand
Systems
Big Picture
Score
BUILD
Feedback
One Pager
Office Hours
Next Steps
21
One Pager
Your Team’s Name Here!
Best advice we can ever give you: DON’T OVERSELL!
Insert latest market
size figures
Estimate market growth
(CAGR) 5 years out
The Early Adopter
Who are the people most likely to use your product as soon as
its out the door?
Think of people who have the problem, who are aware that
they have the problem, are searching for a solution right now
and would gladly pay for it!
The Market
Start by describing, in just a few words, the market you’re in. Be careful not
to be too broad; be as specific as you can as to what segment of the
industry you’re going into. For example, “cross-border payments
processing” is much better than “financial services”.
The Problem
What’s the problem you’re solving? Put on the hat of your customer and
describe her problem, e.g. cross-border payments are much too expensive
and take too long to process.
The Opportunity
Briefly describe your tentative product / service and insert a very
conservative estimate on the market share you believe you can capture
within 3 years. Be extremely conservative. In fact, here’s how to do it: take
your most conservative estimation and divide it by 10. Seriously.
$100b 9.4%
Team Member #1
Short bio of team member;
focus on work experience
relevant to the idea. Mention
what his specific role in the
team will be. Don’t oversell!
Team Member #2
Short bio of team member;
focus on work experience
relevant to the idea. Mention
what his specific role in the
team will be. Don’t oversell!
Team Member #3
Short bio of team member;
focus on work experience
relevant to the idea. Mention
what his specific role in the
team will be. Don’t oversell!
Team Member #4
Short bio of team member;
focus on work experience
relevant to the idea. Mention
what his specific role in the
team will be. Don’t oversell!

22. Office Hours With Esteve
Probably the nicest VC you’ll ever meet :)
22
Esteve joined ACTIVE Venture Partners after obtaining his MBA degree at INSEAD. His career
started co-founding & leading a company that provided consulting services and supply chain
management software for Healthcare centers.
Along this intense executive experience requiring business development, product management
and strong focus on its execution; he gained transaction skills while raising €1m in funds and
negotiating the sale of his venture. This wide exposure was well regarded while working in a
Singaporean M&A Boutique firm, where he participated in Southeast Asian transactions
centered in TMT and commodities.
On top of these assignments, he has consulted several tech start-ups and participated on the
turnaround of a small vending machine company.
Esteve was born in Barcelona and has lived and worked in France, Singapore and Spain. He is
fluent in English, Spanish and Catalan.
Esteve studied Telecommunications Engineering at La Salle, an Entrepreneurship Course at IE
Business School, and holds an MBA degree from INSEAD with concentration in Finance.
Esteve Jane, Investment Associate
ACTIVE Venture Partners
2222222222222222
2222222222
LEARN
Overview
Funnel
Process
Key Players
Recent Deals
Holy Grail
IMAGINE
Rules
Magic Wand
Systems
Big Picture
Score
BUILD
Feedback
One Pager
Office Hours
Next Steps
22
Office Hours
This is where we publish the bio of the VC or industry
expert who will hold the weekly office hours for our
members.
This bio slide is censored, however, since we don’t
have permission to release this person’s details into
the public domain.

23. What’s Next?
You have a team, a market, and VC feedback on your awesome idea. Now, launch it!
23
Research
You’ve already done your
one pager, so you’re in pretty
good shape already!
If you’re going the Lean way,
you have your early adopter
and problem definition done!
Test
Well, go ahead, talk to
people, test your idea in the
real world!
Remember, if it turns out to
be a bad idea, just dump it!
You deserve better! :)
Launch
Time for your MVP! Launch,
learn, refine, repeat.
Don’t forget to give us a wink
when you ring that NASDAQ
bell, alright? :)
Good luck!
2323232323232323
2323232323
LEARN
Overview
Funnel
Process
Key Players
Recent Deals
Holy Grail
IMAGINE
Rules
Magic Wand
Systems
Big Picture
Score
BUILD
Feedback
One Pager
Office Hours
Next Steps
23
Next Steps

24. WE WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR FEEDBACK!
IT ONLY TAKES 2 MINUTES!
https://sparrk.co/feedback