Revl Comes Out Of Beta, Promises To Help Students And Other Job Seekers Get Noticed

Dennis Albinus recently told me that it’s time for a new kind of job site, which is what the CEO is trying to build with Revl.

Albinus wants job seekers to build their profiles on Revl, which is coming out of beta today. Obviously, many people already do that on LinkedIn, but Albinus argued that the existing site mostly serves older, white-collar workers. He pointed to a Royal Pingdom report which found that 79 percent of LinkedIn users are 35 or older (compared to 65 percent for Facebook and 55 for Twitter). At the same time, unemployment/underemployment numbers remain high for people under 25. So Revl is aiming for that younger crowd, as well other folks who may be reentering the job market, such as military veterans.

So what makes Revl different from LinkedIn? Well, one of the main ideas is to go beyond the resume and present a more complete picture of a job applicant. So users can start out by connecting their Facebook and Twitter profiles, but they expand on that information by adding projects they’ve worked on, relevant photos and videos, and a section for “things I like.” (You can get a better sense of what’s included by checking out Albinus’ profile.) The profile design also feels less stuffy and professional, and more social network-y. And as you update your profile on other sites, Revl is automatically updated, too.

revl screenshot

While many job sites have to build up supply and demand, recruiting both job seekers and recruiters, Revl is focused almost exclusively on the first part of the equation. The job listings actually come from partner sites, starting with 5 million listings from Indeed and SimplyHired, and Revl notifies users of recommended openings based on their skills and interests. When someone applies for a job, they can include a link to their Revl profile, and those profiles can also be made completely public and visible — not just to other Revl users, but also to anyone (namely, recruiters) searching on Google and elsewhere.

Moving forward, Albinus said he wants to add an “app store” that offers more help for job seekers, for example, by recommending classes and skills that will help them get the jobs they want. He’s also looking to integrate directly with company hiring systems.

Revl is part of the AamigoO Group, a publicly traded company in Europe.