As astonishing as it may seem, the Luxembourgish startup whose teams are based in the capital does not operate, or at least did not operate, in the Grand Duchy. As a strategic choice, the founders set their sights on Spain at the outset, followed by UK before France, Germany and the United States. Why the launch of an app now? Here’s our conversation with its co-founder Polina Montano.
by: Charles-Louis Machuron
photo: Olivier Minaire
featured: Polina Montano co-founded Job Today with Eugene Mizin
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The least that can be said is that Luxembourgish startups have had a heightened spirit of solidarity over the recent weeks. This is the case of one of the players in the ecosystem that has made headlines in recent years with its meteoric rise, Job Today.
In the past month, Covid-19 has brutally changed our existence: taking lives, ravaging economies, and locking us down at home. “We have all been painfully reminded of exactly what our vital needs are: health, safety, food, and shelter. And there is one more vital need that is missing from that list : work,” says Polina Montano.
The impact of this crisis on employment is unprecedented. The crisis has also had a tremendous impact on the economy. However, in today’s society, having a job remains a necessity to live and provide for one’s own needs and those of one’s family and friends. All work deserves a salary, but it is still necessary to have a job or not to lose it, or to have state aid when required.
“We will be launching Job Today in Luxembourg really soon with the promise to connect businesses with available candidates around them instantly, leveraging our built-in chat feature,” says Polina Montano.
“How we can help: we make hiring fast and easy. We deliver immediacy of communication through our built-in chat feature.”
For many companies, getting their business operations back on track will be challenging enough. The HRTech startup aims to help by making sure that hiring is not something businesses need to worry about.
“Our idea to help Luxembourg through the crisis is very simple: offer our services to local businesses and job seekers for free for a number of months, till things get back to a new normal”, continues Montano. “How we can help: we make hiring fast and easy. We deliver immediacy of communication through our built-in chat feature and unprecedented ease of use i.e. posting a job or applying to a vacancy takes less than a minute”.
The startup has proven its effectiveness with several million contacts made over the five years of its existence and its ability to fill last-minute vacancies. With a special focus on the horeca, the company subsequently extended its services to several industries that have now been hit hard by the crisis: delivery, retail, hospitality, construction, and cleaning. Having the right team at the right time and above all allowing companies and traders who need an immediate workforce is the key aim of the startup.
Job Today is actively preparing the lifting of the lockdown and is looking for its early adopters for its official launch in a few weeks in Luxembourg.
