myinterview Raises $5 Million to Revolutionize Job Recruitment

The process of creating a resume can be a significant challenge for those seeking employment. While video content is prevalent across social media, its use remains uncommon on job platforms, despite the difficulty of conveying one’s personality through a traditional resume. myInterview, a company based in Sydney, Australia, aims to establish video as a core component of the recruitment process, offering a platform where applicants can submit video responses to interview questions. Furthermore, recruiters can utilize myInterview Intelligence, a suite of machine learning tools designed to streamline the creation of shortlists for highly competitive positions.

The company recently announced the completion of a $5 million seed funding round, spearheaded by Israeli early-stage venture firm Aleph, with additional investment from Entrée Capital and SeedIL Ventures, who previously invested in the company. MyInterview had previously secured $1.6 million in pre-seed funding, including contributions from Cliff Rosenberg, formerly the managing director of LinkedIn’s operations in Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.

Currently, myInterview is utilized by over 2,000 companies, primarily located in the United States and the United Kingdom. Notable clients include online supermarket Ocado, retailer B&M, and P&O Ferries. The company also collaborates with Facebook Career Connections and maintains a strategic partnership with reed.co.uk, the leading job search website in the U.K. To date, more than two million candidates have leveraged the myInterview platform, and the company is focused on expanding its reach to encompass tens of millions of job seekers.

The newly acquired funding will be allocated to the expansion of its sales, product development, and research and development teams.

Founded in 2016 by Guy Abelsohn and Ben Gillman, MyInterview originated from their personal frustration with the challenges of making their resumes stand out during their own job searches. Initially, MyInterview provided products designed for integration into existing recruitment systems, but it subsequently launched a standalone platform in early 2019, prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We were already experiencing positive momentum throughout 2019 and into early 2020,” Gillman explained to TechCrunch. “I believe our success is largely independent of the pandemic; however, there’s no doubt that the need for technology like myInterview has increased as companies adapt to remote hiring practices, manage a higher volume of applicants, and embrace video communication more broadly.”

Gillman indicated that the myInterview platform is adaptable to a wide range of job types, but it is particularly effective for roles that attract a large number of applications, such as entry-level positions, often receiving hundreds or even thousands of submissions.

Companies using myInterview establish a portal containing a series of questions and prompts that applicants address via video. Applicants are given the opportunity to review and re-record their responses multiple times before submitting. Upon submission, myInterview automatically generates a transcript, complete with tags to facilitate recruiter review.

Other companies that have recently received funding to incorporate video into the recruitment process include VCV.AI, JobUFO, and Willo.

A key differentiator for myInterview is its myInterview Intelligence feature. When utilized, this tool analyzes video responses for keywords, phrases, and overall tone.

myInterview Intelligence screenshot

The AI tools employed by MyInterview are grounded in the Big Five Personality Model, a widely recognized framework used in personality research. While personality assessments, particularly those based on the “Big 5” model, have long been used by recruiters, myInterview automates this process by analyzing video transcripts rather than relying on traditional questionnaires.

The founders of MyInterview believe that their machine learning-based tools, by automatically generating candidate shortlists based on cultural compatibility, can help recruiters identify applicants who might otherwise be overlooked. Gillman also stated that the platform aims to reduce bias in hiring by utilizing a diverse dataset for algorithm training and collaborating with behavioral psychologists to evaluate video content. (RippleMatch, another startup focused on mitigating bias in hiring, has also recently secured funding.)

Determining the factors that contribute to successful team dynamics can be complex. Gillman explained that the myInterview team comprises behavioral psychologists, machine learning engineers, and general engineers, all working collaboratively to understand the elements of effective team building.

For instance, some candidates may thrive in the structured environment of a large corporation, while others may be better suited to the more intimate setting of a small company. He stated, “These characteristics are often readily apparent, and we aim to identify these elements for both the candidate and the employer.”