A Platform Apt for Hiring Tech Talent

TalentPad connects individuals with employers in tech, internet and analytics

Mayank Jain was actively involved in hiring premium tech talent at Smile Group (Fashion & You, a popular e-commerce website), where he was an Entrepreneur in Residence (a position that is usually temporary and not formal), and realised that not only was finding the right tech talent difficult in India, there was no exclusive online tech hiring platform. The amount of time and effort invested in the recruitment process did not yield the desired results at times. This drove him to start TalentPad in 2014, with friends Nikhil Vij and Raghav Jain.

TalentPad is a skill marketplace that connects quality talent with employers in the technology, internet and analytics space. It curates entries based on supply and demand to ensure the right match of skills and job profile, and aims to enter the premium hiring market by offering candidates a platform to showcase their abilities to hundreds of employers. Employers can use TalentPad to connect with active candidates efficiently, using analytical tools.

“Our first client was Zoomcar, India’s first membership-based self drive car rental service, which happened through our personal network. They were impressed with our service, especially with the fact that there is no upfront cost incurred by clients,” recalls Mayank. The recruitment fee of 10 per cent of the gross CTC of a candidate is payable only if they join the company and remain there for a minimum of 90 days.

About 40,000 tech professionals have registered on TalentPad, and more than 250 companies are actively using TalentPad for their tech hiring needs. Major clients include Makemytrip.com, Zomato.com, Housing.com, Flipkart, Amazon, InMobi, Snapdeal, Myntra, Zoomcar.com and Bookmyshow.com. Going forward, TalentPad plans to cater to more roles like sales and business development.

“We recently organised an online startup job fair for engineering graduates where more than 200 tech companies participated. Through these job fairs, we wanted to gauge the fresher hiring ecosystem and gradually open the TalentPad platform to freshers as well. Apart from this, TalentPad also plans to expand its reach to newer geographies,” says Mayank about his future plans. TalentPad won the Tech HR award for most innovative HR startup last year.

Prior to founding TalentPad, he worked in various sectors like Marketing, Analytics, Customer Relationship Management, Operations and Business Planning at Accenture and Smile Group. He was head of Marketing and CRM at Deals & You. He is an alumnus of IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad. Nikhil Vij, the Chief Technology Officer, is a Computer Science graduate from IIT Bombay and worked at Google in the past. Raghav, a graduate from IIT BHU, Varanasi, who previously worked at JP Morgan and Deloitte, is the Chief Operating Officer.

Mayank has a keen interest in playing Counter Strike and Poker. “Counter Strike has taught me the art of strategising, leadership and how to act under pressure, while Poker helped me understand human psychology and management skills. When I started, we went through a phase of uncertainty and intense struggle. It prepared me for future hardships and taught me to be humble in all my endeavours,” he adds.

rohit@learnbizsimulations.com

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The New Indian Express
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