Stevie: the new recruitment platform for new ways of working

Stevie is a new Australian start up created from within the retail industry with new ways of working in mind. By ditching CVs in favour of unique, detailed profiles, it aims to revolutionise the way talent gets heard and supported to make successful career changes. 

Last year, Australians lost over $8.7 million to recruitment scams, with traditional job hunting platforms rife with data mining and fake listings, Stevie has come along at the perfect time. 

The company has organic origins, voted by Australia’s top retailers as the solution to future proof and fuel industry growth in the first ever MI Academy Hack Games in 2020 led by team mentor Peter Knock and team leader Jo Harris. Two team members Tim Harrison and Alex Handrian also continued on the startup journey as the team reformed after the event to make their idea a reality. Stevie co-founder Peter Knock said “The Stevie story is unique in that we were formed during the pandemic by a group of experienced retailers to make the hiring process easier and quicker. Stevie’s benefits now reach further than our industry alone as we allow talent to move with ease across industries where their skills transfer.”

Built by Efront, Stevie showcases unique profiles to not only match aligned talent and businesses but to showcase more about who they are as a person. “We cut out the noise and simply shortlist and introduce talent to businesses based on aligned requirements. This ensures our community saves time and everyone is making more informed decisions,” Stevie co-founder Jo Harris said. Stevie’s Training Hub is a directory of training opportunities offered by Shippit, Afterpay, ShopifyPlus, Slack, Trust Pilot, Gorgias, Deputy, and Neurocapability. 

So far, Stevie has supported the hiring for a range of businesses including New Balance, Bared Footwear, Snuggle Hunny, Three By One, DISSH & Habbot,

“One of our biggest challenges was building our unique & holistic profiles. This is our ability to listen, understand, showcase and match talent to businesses,” said Harris. “Like dating, we realised it was all about asking the right questions to ensure we were introducing and showcasing our community. Capturing data to support our community is key, so we continue to listen and learn from our community to evolve Stevie.”

When a job listing is posted, Stevie sorts through its “talent community” to present the business with a shortlist of aligned talent. These individuals have the skills, strengths and preferences that the business is looking for. From there, businesses review the profiles to get to know each talent and send a connection request if they would like to connect for a call. Talent will then accept or politely decline the offer to catch up, depending if the job is of interest to them.

Currently, Stevie is focused on WFH or hybrid roles for now with a particular focus on marketing, design, P&C, tech, finance, sales or ops talent and jobs, with the goal to expand. 

Stevie co-founder Jo Harris, former co-founder of e-commerce brand Hunting For George, Says Stevie creates a solution that supports both businesses and talent. “We realised that many businesses and talent want the same thing: a happy, engaged and productive workplace. But everyone faces the same challenge — finding the right fit and minimising the guesswork. This is where Stevie steps up to the plate,” Harris says.

“We know the power of a great introduction, so we designed Stevie to showcase, advocate and introduce our talent to aligned opportunities. Because just like dating, it’s all about asking the right questions.”

“There is a wealth of hard to find talent with transferable skills out there. Talent need the chance to show what they have to offer and businesses need to be supported to look outside the box.”