A unique website set up to combat the effects of the recession aims to have a far-reaching impact on recruitment practises. TalentTank.ie places jobless professionals with prospective employers for a short-term, unpaid period.

The incentive for jobseekers (Talent Providers) is the opportunity to showcase their skills to employers (Talent Seekers) who cannot afford to hire them as paid members of staff.
If they can use their skills to identify new revenue streams for a company, the idea is that able candidates could potentially create a new role for themselves.

However, even if their voluntary stint does not lead directly to paid employment, they have the opportunity to prove their worth to an employer who may have work to offer further down the road.

As well as candidates’ profiles, TalentTank.ie can also be used by employers to post details of available roles that need filling on a short-term basis, but without an accompanying salary.

Hayes said that about a 1,000 people had advertised on the site since its launch in April. He said that three-quarters of those people were jobseekers, while the remainder were employers. Hayes said the jobseekers who used the site came from a range of professions, including engineering, law, accounting, IT, graphic design, sales, human resources, administration and catering.

Most are available to employers for weekly or fortnightly stints.“The idea really is that somebody can get in front of an employer and keep their CV current, while the employers get to see new concepts for free, and maybe add on new revenue streams,” said Hayes.

“it is going to benefit a small employer who has the option to tap into the talent tank and bring in that experience. The number of candidates using the site demonstrated the need, among those made redundant in the recession, to continue showcasing their skills,” said Hayes.
“The employers who use it are really happy with it – they have the opportunity to test somebody before they employ them,” he said.”Employers in general are a little bit hesitant to do that initially, as they may think they are taking advantage of people. We are trying to get the message out there that individuals are crying out for that opportunity.”

TalentTank.ie is as much a business as it is a recession-busting initiative. Employers pay €30 a month to access jobseekers profiles, contact via email and post upto 3 offers.

Hayes has long-term ambitions for the company, which he believes has the potential to revolutionise the recruitment process. The idea is that employers will have the option to ‘try before they buy’ – into costly long-term employment contracts. Hayes is seeking investment to develop the company and plans to hire a communications director to lead a nationwide marketing campaign.

“We have a five-year plan. We will build up our client base during the recession and, as the figures on the live register go down, we will introduce a minimal cost for employers to post jobs,” said Hayes.
He said that, up to now, “small employers never used online recruitment because is was cost-prohibitive so, as we gradually emerge from this recession, we will be bringing with us those small employers”. “We will be a new format for jobs boards. We have a subscription model that is already paying dividends. There are 150,000 potential employers out there. We are confident we will easily grab 10 per cent of that market. We have only scratched the surface so far, as we have been purely reliant on organic media coverage.”

Hayes said that, in time, he hoped to expand into the British market. A business systems analyst who worked in Britain, Germany and Australia before returning to Ireland four years ago, he believes his new venture has the potential to succeed on the world stage.