A conversation with Joseph Williams, CEO and co-founder of the recruitment platform: Clu

Clu is a UK-focused recruitment platform that makes the world of work accessible to all.

Every day, “find and apply” recruitment platforms encourage job seekers to apply for millions of jobs they never get hired for. This universal process wastes significant organizational resources, but also entrenches systemic monitoring of the time and expense it takes a job seeker to apply for a job.

Clu solves this global business problem with a social solution. Our platform uniquely eschews resumes and focuses on learning job seekers’ skills, behaviors, aspirations and expectations, and uses that data to present them with meaningful and relevant job opportunities – using a match-scoring algorithm.

Clu is inherently inclusive, accessible and impact-driven. We’re a B Corp, which means we’ve verified our commitment to environmental and social impact. Our users have often faced barriers to entry elsewhere, either because the systems they were dealing with did not support their needs, or because they were developing their skills in non-traditional paths that are precluded by CV sighting technology. Clu anchors proof of demonstrable value outside of years of experience and education, creating equal opportunity in the job market for those who benefit most.

Enabling economic inclusion and social mobility at scale, we offer a unique solution in a broken £419bn market currently operating at 50% efficiency.

How did you come up with the idea for the company?

When I met my friend and co-founder, Cayelan Mendoza, we were both facing challenges in the UK job market. Although I have a natural aptitude for numbers and strategy, I found doors closed because of my neurodiversity and non-traditional educational roots.

Cayelan had a similar experience and couldn’t find jobs, although he came to the UK with great experience and set up his own gaming studio, lacking a university degree and so-called ‘proper’ experience. We, like so many people, were tired of being overlooked at jobs we knew we’d be great at.

We found each other’s support and the more we searched, the more outdated systems we found blocking great talent and soon found that the biggest challenges companies face are underpinned by failed recruitment practices and the current resume process that favors more traditional backgrounds — and basically all current Rec-Tech solutions anchor these challenges, not solve them. We found renewed confidence in each other’s abilities and this prompted us to start Clu from a place of empathy to do something about the barriers to entry we and so many others like us face on a daily basis.

How has the company developed in recent years?

We founded the company in 2021 and have packed a lot into it in the last twelve months – thanks to lockdown(s). We’ve analyzed over 100,000 job ads to understand what skills companies are really looking for the most. We spoke to over 20,000 job seekers to understand what their biggest challenges were and how we can help them overcome them. In our beta pilots we have worked with top companies such as BBC Studios, Stryker and UKTV.

We found that not only did our platform enable shifts in demographic representation, but hiring managers found value in our datasets and candidates felt empowered during the hiring process, and even unsuccessful candidates found a positive experience. We created our Clu v1.0 platform which we launched in February this year.

What can we expect from Clu in the future?

Our vision is a working world that works for everyone. This means that every single person who is able to participate in the world of work is illuminated by their talents and given equitable opportunities to use them. But what does that mean? We collect amounts of data on skills, behaviors, salaries, demographics and geographies.

We use the insights from our analysis of this data to create more features specifically aimed at mobilizing the most marginalized groups in society. We are already running dedicated programs for refugee, neurodiverse and economically disadvantaged young people and aim to scale this impact well beyond the UK.

Clu is at the forefront of the social mobility revolution. And we will not stop breaking down barriers to entry and participation until we have achieved our vision of a democratic labor market.