Named in Arabic for the lemon to convey the concept of freshness, the job portal Laimoon was the first business to get off the ground with backing from Honeybee Tech, a venture capital firm in Dubai.
Laimon has attracted 200 employers advertising on the portal since it went live in July last year but has shrunk its presence in certain Gulf countries since its launch.
Jacob Lebo, the company's chief market developer, and Ramy Assaf, its marketing and communications manager, discuss the start-up and its plans to expand.
Laimoon asks a job seeker several questions upfront, such as about experience, areas of expertise and fluency in English. Do you think the portal is more friendly to employers than to job seekers?
Mr Lebo: Actually, we are friendly to both parties. The average job post in the Middle East gets 700 applicants. If a qualified job seeker applies for that job, you're fighting 699 others. We have upfront questions for you so that we can profile you better. Some employers, too, have questions for the candidates. Now you have a better opportunity to stand out. Also, employers get fewer applicants but more-qualified candidates.
How does Laimoon plan to stand out in the crowd of job portals in Dubai?
Mr Assaf: There's a lot of competition; the market is super-saturated. But when people use it one time, they will stick to it. It's a great tool for small and new entrepreneurs [as] we charge per job post [advertised].
Mr Lebo: We have also developed a new, free talent pool that allows an employer to come in and identify talent. We want to help fast-growing companies, and grow awareness [about Laimoon]. The top three countries outside the UAE from where people look up Laimoon are India, Jordan and Pakistan. Most of our jobs are in sales and marketing now.
Why did you scale back your presence in other Gulf countries after you launched last year?
Mr Lebo: Because we were not being efficient for job seekers. There were fewer jobs from Saudi Arabia, for instance. We now have 26,000 registered job seekers and 200 employers in the UAE and Qatar.
What are the other developments at Laimoon?
Mr Lebo: Engineering and finance are two important roles for us, but we want to add all job roles. We hope to be in all roles in the next month and across the region in two months. Right now we have more jobs for experienced and managerial positions than entry-level positions, and we don't plan on having entry-level jobs. We are focused on experience-based matching, and, of course, experience is very limited when you are entry level.
* Sananda Sahoo