Outwiths
Outwiths[edit]
Outwiths is a portfolio showcase platform for STEM talents in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore, it provides a user-friendly platform for STEM talents, especially young professionals, to display their portfolio of projects and credentials. The company plans to open the community for all professions.
The website was launched in June 2021 and was started to be used by interns as a job application by July that same year.
Outwiths was made to support up to 100+ file formats and allows users to upload any type of file --Document or CAD files, photo or video. Furthermore, it enables the talents to connect and view a summary of each other’s skill sets supplemented by his/her portfolio on one single page. Members can also invite their teammates and colleagues to become their connection.
Through Outwiths, an applicant can showcase their skill sets to help their application be remarkable. By developing features other than portfolio display, the team continues to update the platform to cater to different functionalities to support STEM students.
History[edit]
Outwiths is a Singapore-based project started in March 2020. After noticing that 73% of students do not keep their past projects for their job application[1], and with 77% of employers thinking that past projects affect a candidate’s hiring, the Outwiths founders thought of addressing this gap.[2] The beta-version was launched in June 2021 and made early partnerships with Singaporean and Malaysian universities, such as Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Mara, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Asia-Pacific University of Technology and Innovation.
It was chosen as one of the 11 startups selected by National University of Singapore (NUS) Enterprise to join the Hangar Booster program and gain first-hand entrepreneurial guidance.[3] The positive reviews from users and universities jump started their expansion with young professionals all over Southeast Asia.
Features and Trends[edit]
With the tagline “Let your works speak for you,” Outwiths assists STEM talents with their job hunting by assisting them to create a one-page profile that consists of a 1-minute video resume, accompanied by a portfolio of skills and projects. In the past few years, requests for video resumes were gen erally not that common yet, with only 3 percent of employers reportedly asking for them.[4] Since then, video resumes and interviews have been a big part of online hiring. This made Outwiths an emerging player in the job hunting of the digital-era towards the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. While online hiring captured a mere 12-15% of overall hiring pre-pandemic, it has gone up to 80-90% in the latter year.[5] Although a portfolio is not required by every hiring manager or position, a vivid and organised display of work made them stand out from other candidates.
Recent Developments[edit]
After it was well-received by Malaysian and Singaporean users, Outwiths began their expansion to the Philippines and Indonesia. Targeting the two most populated Southeast Asian countries, much is to be said about Outwiths’ reception in those locations with rich human resource and talents.
They also provide support for STEM graduates with career advice from industry leaders and career counselors. It aims to solve the problems of 56% of employers in Singapore, especially in hiring talents for engineering and IT sectors. Perhaps one of the key reasons is that the soft skills of those in IT and engineering, such as problem-solving and critical thinking, are extremely sought after by other industries. Because of its long screening time, deficit in STEM major students, and miscommunicated skills in the resume, those professions remain the two of the top 10 most difficult sectors to fill.[6]
Outwiths is looking to organise events with employers to help them attract talents to join their team. The main event would be an online innovation challenge. As the late Steve Jobs of Apple advised, when it comes to talent, “Go after the cream of the cream. A small team of A+ players can run circles around a giant team of B and C players.” Unfortunately, a whopping 82 percent of companies don’t believe they recruit highly talented people.[7] Furthermore, the pressure to reduce HR costs made it harder to identify and attract the most talented people. Everything suggests that the war for talent will continue. “Failure to attract and retain top talent” was the number-one issue in the Conference Board’s 2016 survey of global CEOs.[8] By exposing the candidate’s skills through online innovation challenges, companies can easily spot the cream of the crop in their respective industries. Outwiths is on its way to help companies get it right selecting the best talent for their needs.
References[edit]
- ↑ Outwiths survey with 122 NUS students & 223 oversea students as subject
- ↑ "Study: Will Quality of Portfolio Site Influence Hiring Decisions?". Hover Blog. 2017-02-16. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
- ↑ enterprise.nus.edu.sg https://enterprise.nus.edu.sg/supporting-entrepreneurs/nus-start-up-runway/early-stage/the-hangar/. Retrieved 2021-07-22. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ "A Video Resume: Do You Need One?". Retrieved 2021-07-26.
- ↑ "Will video resume become a new trend". www.educationtimes.com. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
- ↑ "Singapore must guard against a dearth of engineering talent". TODAYonline. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
- ↑ “McKinsey Global Survey: War for talent 2000,” extensive research conducted 1997 to 2000; survey of more than 12,000 executives at 125 midsize and large companies.
- ↑ "Attracting and retaining the right talent | McKinsey". www.mckinsey.com. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
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