Omar Khalifa, CEO at Shaghalni recruitment website, said that the website seeks to add 150,000 job seekers and 15,000 companies to its database by the end of 2017 through advertising, increasing search engine optimised keywords, and organising employment forums. Shaghalni is also set to launch a new mobile application in the coming days, which will make it easier for its customers to create accounts.
How many job seekers are registered on the Shaghalni website?
The labour market is comprised of 23 million individuals, and Shaghalni currently services 40,000 job seekers. The website is still far from where we want it to be, and so we seek to attract 150,000 job seekers by the end of 2017.
How do you plan to reach this number?
We plan on utilising various forms of advertisement, from the traditional metro and social media advertisements to the organisation of job fairs. We also seek to employ roughly 4,000 people as cashiers, call centre advisors, sales representatives, drivers, and technicians.
The aim of the job fair will be to allow job seekers and companies to build up trust with one another by fostering an environment which allows for dialogue. If the first fair is successful, we will hold another one before the end of this month.
How can people sign up for the website?
People can create an account, in which they enter all the information pertinent to the job they are trying to find, along with a required salary. Companies for their part create their own account which allows them to browse the job seekers’ profiles and contact any potential candidate.
Does the site obtain money from job seekers?
No, it doesn’t obtain any money from job seekers, but it allows companies to only browse three accounts free of charge, which is suitable for small businesses. If companies wish to browse more accounts, they will be required to pay EGP 600-7,000 annually.
How many companies are currently signed up on the website?
There are roughly 3,200 companies currently subscribed with Shaghalni, and we want to include a further 15,000 companies into our database by the end of 2017. This will mainly be done by reaching out to a company’s administrative department. Currently, we register at least 10 new companies every day.
Are there any large companies registered with Shaghalni?
Yes, 5% of registered companies are large companies, the most notable of which are Americana and Unilever.
Does the website provide training opportunities for job seekers?
No, the website doesn’t currently provide training opportunities for job seekers; however, we are looking into signing contracts with human rights organisations that could provide training to our customers.
The website doesn’t create our customers’ accounts for them either. They are free to write whatever enables them to get the job as fast as possible.
What are the main challenges facing the website?
The main challenges Shaghalni faces revolve around complaints from job seekers about the lack of commitment by companies in regards to providing the agreed upon salaries. We also receive complaints from companies who say only 10% of job seekers show up for interviews.
How many phone calls between companies and job seekers have you had?
There have been 20,000 phone calls between job seekers and companies since the launch of the site, and I expect that 10% of the contacts will result in employment.
Does the website plan to display advertisements to increase profits?
No. The focus of the website is its database, and there is no intention to display advertisements. We plan on building the largest database for job seekers and companies in Egypt.
What distinguishes Shaghalni from other sites?
What sets us apart from other recruitment websites is that we care about the often overlooked employment categories. We provide opportunities for a wide range of people with various degrees of qualifications.
How does the site help job seekers create personal accounts?
The website doesn’t interfere in creating personal accounts, in order to avoid losing its credibility with companies.
We will launch a mobile application within the coming days that aims to facilitate the account creation process. The application will allow its users to create profiles using audio and text.
The application will be available for all mobile devices, and we aim to have 20,000 downloads in the first year.
What will the benefits of the mobile application be?
The application will notify job seekers when companies view their account, and will remind them that it is important to pick up the phone when a potential employer calls. We hope this will help ameliorate the fact that companies often are unable to make contact with prospective employees.
Does the website require job seekers to specify an expected salary?
Yes, it does. Salaries start from EGP 1,200, which is the minimum wage, and go up to EGP 3,000. The minimum salary depends on the minimum wage specified by the government.
What is the extent of communication between the website and the Ministry of Manpower and Immigration regarding employing Egyptians abroad?
The website includes 15 companies from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Kuwait; however, Shaghalni doesn’t communicate with the ministry about employing Egyptians abroad. The company’s role ends at connecting companies with job seekers.
Are there plans to expand the company overseas?
We plan on expanding into Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait in mid-2017, through e-marketing on the website; however, we will not be opening offices there. The company also has plans to expand into Sudan, Iraq, and Syria once their situations improve.
How much traffic does the website receive every day?
We receive 7,000 visits a day and we aim to increase it to 150,000 visitors a month through increasing advertisements and keyword searches.
Does the website provide jobs for disabled people?
We plan on launching a new section on our website for disabled people, as many of them are looking for jobs. We will include all qualifications and education degrees to benefit all job seekers.
What about Naguib Sawiris’ share in the site at the current time?
The company had been in negotiations with Sawiris since December 2015. Through his sponsorship, we managed to organise the job fair, which is in line with Sawiris’ plan to combat unemployment. Immediately after receiving his endorsement and involvement in the company, the number of job seekers jumped from 500 to 40,000.
Does the company plan to reach out to other businesspeople?
We are currently not looking for other businesspeople to sign with, but we are looking to sign contracts with human rights organisations.
Does the website seek to help Syrian refugees?
Of course. We want to be able to provide jobs for Syrians in Egypt by working with human rights organisations. We have a special section on our website being launched this month dedicated to Syrians, and will allow companies to browse their profiles free of charge.
