SEATTLE, WA (August 2, 2022) — Candidate.co, a dual sided tech platform, has launched its app today, enabling users to receive a reward if a candidate they refer to an open position is hired. The Candidate app marries the power of technology with the power of personal referrals to streamline the hiring process. Reminiscent of traditional employee referral programs, Candidate opens the process up and allows professionals to refer their network to positions across the country. Prioritizing more than what’s visible on an applicant’s resume, Candidate supports skills-based hiring over a model that focuses solely on experience. 

“In today’s job market we’re building hybrid work forces around the country and seeing fierce competition for talent,” explains Candidate.co CEO, Ryan Agresta. “Our unique referral app helps candidates land their dream jobs via referrals and allows employers to secure qualified employees. The app offers a broad range of positions and presents candidates to employers leading with a personal referral, as we believe in highlighting more than what’s visible on an applicant’s resume. We created the app in order to make the referral process more convenient and to showcase our expanded open positions ranging from sales and operations to engineering and development.”  

How the App Works:   

1. Sign-up to become an approved referrer. (Note the app is only for referrers at this time.)
2. Once approved, view open jobs and your matches to see which of your connections may be a good fit for open roles. 
3. Candidate will let you know when you have a contact who’s a match for an open role, taking the guesswork out of knowing where to start with your referrals. 
4. Submit a referral statement. 
5. Earn a reward if your connection is hired!

Agresta, having hired and built teams at fast growing companies including Uber and Amazon, was working at Convoy in late 2019 when he began reimagining how employers and talent might connect over the next few years. “Hiring practices,” according to Agresta “have historically been an access game with immense challenges for broader and more diverse entry.” Envisioning an entirely new hiring model, Agresta left Convoy in late 2019 to launch Candidate.co. in January of 2020.  

“So many tech job opportunities are realized by industry-specific networks,” explains Agresta. “This can be detrimental to people who come from non-traditional backgrounds. Creating a platform for people’s skills to be realized and valued - rather than simply relying on experience - is what we’re doing at Candidate. We’re aiming to unlock the power of diverse, trusted networks and influence the tech ecosystem to move toward skills based hiring and thoughtful approaches to building inclusive cultures. I’m proud to say this is only one part of a larger opportunity that we aim to address at Candidate,” concludes Agresta.  

The Candidate.co app is free to use and downloadable for referrers and is now available for iOS devices and can be found exclusively on the App Store.