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GoHire’s CEO Jonathan Duarte Talks Chatbots on Total Picture Radio Podcast

GoHire’s CEO and Co-Founder, Jonathan Duarte was recently interviewed by Peter Clayton on Total Picture Radio, about job search chatbots, recruiting, and artificial intelligence.

Getting accurate job search results wasn’t due to some algorithm, or artificial intelligence (Al) or machine learning, it was through a ” conversational job search” with
multiple back-and-forths, short questions, and answers.” Jonathan Duarte, Co-Founder, GoBe- The Job Bot

According to Jonathan Duarte’s January 19, 2016, article posted on Linkedin: “In a short 30 day period, while still in beta testing, GoBe racked up some incredible statistics; GoBe, managed over 100,000 messages with job seekers in over 106 countries, and almost all of the traffic and users came from social
media shares, likes, and comments…”

“When we set out to help job seekers find jobs, we knew that the current job search process wasn’t working for a lot of job seekers. As a 20 year veteran of the Internet
recruiting technology market, and founder of one of the first Internet job boards, I knew there were ways to improve the process, but didn’t know what would work best.”

Welcome to a Talent Acquisition Channel podcast on TotalPicture Radio. I’m your host Peter Clayton. Joining me today is Jonathan Duarte, a founder, and CEO with 20 years of experience in the Internet Recruiting market.

His new company, GoHire was founded by Jonathan and Mike Lam, former Director of Business Intelligence, entrepreneur and investor.

TALKING POINTS:

Tell us about your background, and how you got involved in talent acquisition technology.
During my intro, I quoted from the article you posted on LinkedIn (and of course, listeners, you’ll find a link to this and other resources in Jonathan’s show notes). The headline of the LinkedIn article, “ The Conversational Job Search – 100,000 Messages – from 106 Countries – in 30 Days!”

So first off, you have to define for us what a chatbot is.

Now, tell us the story behind your headline.

So your first chatbot is called GoBe. You’ve explained what a chatbot is, how, specifically does it work. Give us an example.
Let’s return to the headline of your article. 100,000 Messages — as you know as well as anyone, Jonathan, the volume is usually not a problem with any kind of job posting, which typically receive 300 or more responses on a typical job board. Quality is the issue:
Candidates who are actually qualified for the role they’re applying for. How does GoBe, and chatbot technology in general, address candidate qualifications?

Back to your headline Conversational Job Search – who is conducting these conversations? The recruiters I know don’t have the time to sit on Facebook messenger all day responding to chatbot questions.

Why Facebook Messenger?
How do companies enter their jobs into GoBe? Can their job listings be scraped from their career sites?

Does GoBe work with applicant tracking systems?

Are you building custom chatbots?
What is the cost of GoBe?

I realize it’s early days for this technology, but do you have any ROI results?
What haven’t we discussed that’s important for those contemplating using a chatbot for their open job reqs to consider or understand?

Peter Clayton, is an award-winning producer/director of radio, television, documentary, video, interactive and Web-based media. He runs one of the most visited, and most trusted, HR Technology podcasts.

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The Conversational Job Search – 100,000 Messages – 106 Countries – in 30 Days!


GoBe – The Job Bot, a job search chatbot on Facebook Messenger, launched quietly on December 12, 2016, via a single Facebook post.

In a short 30 day period, while still in beta testing, GoBe racked up some incredible statistics; GoBe, managed over 100,000 messages with job seekers in over 106 countries, and almost all of the traffic and users came from social media shares, likes and comments, like the one below.

“Omg I love this thing! 98 jobs found from two words in 4 seconds. Yes please more!!!!”, T. Johnston, Topeka, KS

When we set out to help job seekers find jobs, we knew that the current job search process wasn’t working for a lot of job seekers. As a 20 year veteran of the Internet recruiting technology market, and founder of one of the first Internet job boards, I knew there were ways to improve the process, but didn’t know what would work best.

So, Mike (co-founder) and I we decided to provide free live job search help via online chat, to help job seekers find jobs, and learn what they needed.

This lead to a lot of short back-and-forth messages with job seekers. We’d ask them a couple questions about their job search. Then, we’d perform the job search for them and send them a link to the results. Then, we’d ask more questions, like “Are these the types of jobs you were looking for?”.

In many cases, the first search results were close, by not perfect. So, we’d ask more short answer questions, continuing this back-and-forth of messages several times, until we got closer to what the job seeker was looking for. (Of course, we tracked every single click, and could watch every user interaction in real-time.)

“Getting accurate job search results wasn’t due to some algorithm, or artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning, it was through a “conversational job search” with multiple back-and-forth, short questions and answers.” Jonathan Duarte, Co-Founder, GoBe- The Job Bot

The “Conversational Job Search” is consistent with how most people might help a friend look for a job, essentially, through a series of short conversations and responses.

Messaging applications, like Facebook Messenger, are perfect facilitators for a Conversational Job Search, because the engagement and response rates are near real-time. It also helps that Messenger has over 1 Billion monthly active users, which if you put it in perspective, is at least 10 times the monthly active users of LinkedIn.

GoBe is gaining loyal followers, because it’s unique, fun, and worth sharing.

Users say GoBe feels like they’re messaging an actual career coach, or recruiter, who is helping them with their job search.

That’s what seems to be getting the users to come back and share GoBe with their friends. It’s not an accident, it’s by design.

In the first 30 days, GoBe is attracting large followings from the US, UK, India, Philippines, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.

Mobile-first job seekers seem to be the first primary users, which makes sense because they already have Messenger installed, don’t need to download another app, and are the largest segment of the 2.3 billion global workforce. The first set of users are searching for jobs in all disciplines, but retail, sales, driving, manufacturing, and other “non-desktop” type of jobs, seem to be getting a lot of views and applications.

If you’re interested in attracting mobile-first candidates, please email me, jd@gohire.com, or call (949) 287-4154.

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Will GoBe- the job bot, help you find your next job, or employee?


San Jose, CA, December 12th, 2016, Today, GoHire, Inc., a recruiting solutions provider, launched GoBe, a conversational chatbot that helps job seekers find, view, and apply for jobs directly within Facebook Messenger. Chat with GoBe on Facebook Messenger here!

Employers can create customized pre-screening questions, for each job, making it easy for recruiters to prioritize candidates. Additionally, job applications can be routed to specific recruiters, or have their profiles “pushed” to an employer’s applicant tracking system.

“GoBe is a potential ground-breaking solution for both employers and job seekers,” states Jonathan Duarte, Co-Founder and CEO of GoHire, Inc.

Facebook Messenger is the fastest growing messaging app, with over 1 billion monthly active users—ten times the monthly active users on LinkedIn. “It’s clear! The global workforce is already using messaging to communicate, but employers aren’t. GoHire is going to change that,” says Duarte, a 20 year veteran of the HR technology market, and Founder of one of the first Internet job boards, GOJobs.com, in 1996.

“Messaging has one of the highest engagement and response rates, making it a perfect platform for employers who recruit in high-volume, time-dependent, and mobile-first environments,” proclaims Duarte. “What’s missing are the tools for employers and recruiters to leverage messaging platforms.”

GoBe will soon be available in cross-platform versions, for text/SMS, Slack, Skype, and others. GoBe can also be customized for individual brands for employer corporate career sites.

To see what GoBe can do, visit https://www.facebook.com/GoBeBot/ and click “Message,” or visit Messenger @GoBeBot http://m.me/GoBeBot.

About GoHire, Inc.:
GoHire was founded by Jonathan “JD” Duarte, a Founder and CEO with 20 years of experience in the Internet Recruiting market, and Michael Lam, an entrepreneur, investor, and former Director of Business Intelligence. GoHire creates recruiting solutions that help employers find, engage, and recruit their workforce, including developing chatbot solutions that allow employers to engage and communicate with job seekers in the mobile-first workforce. GoBe, the job search bot, engages candidates in a “Conversational Job Search,” via an automated bot that helps job seekers find, view, and apply for jobs all from within Messenger.

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