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3 On Your Side: Job Hunting Apps That Are Similar To Dating Apps

By Jim Donovan

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Looking for a new job?  It can be time consuming and you probably don't want your current boss to find out.  But the latest recruiting tools claim to make it easier and keep it secret.  3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan explains how.

Recently, Erick McCloe decided to research career moves.  He says, "Making sure that wasn't sabotaging my current career, at least before knowing what my next step was going to be was very important."  So Erick used an app that, he says, helped him avoid being "found out" by his boss.

The latest job-hunting tech tools are aimed at "passive candidates"- people currently employed, but open to new opportunities.  Similar to dating sites, these services use algorithms and assessment tools to match candidates to potential employers - and promise to get the job done privately and anonymously.

Recruitment Expert Tony Beshara says, "The candidate doesn't run the risk of looking for a job, or go to the trouble of having to interview very often, or put his resume out on job boards, or things like that, so in other words, the jobs come to them."

Users create a custom profile.  Most tools allow you to import credentials from linked-in, which are then disguised and abbreviated.   When a match is made, and a company wants to chat, you decide whether or not to move forward and reveal your identity.

Some mobile apps, like Switch, let you do that by swiping the screen, Tinder style.  Yarden Tadmor of Switch says, "Then the two sides can go into a direct chat-communication, and can start sending messages to one other.  It's a very efficient and quick way to directly talk to companies."

Erick works in sales, and says his very first match on Switch led to where he works now.

These kinds of sites and apps target people whose experience and background are in very high demand.  Areas like tech, digital media, and finance.  While each site works a bit differently, all of them promise never to match you to your current employer.

For more information visit:

Switch (mobile app): http://www.switchapp.com/

Poacht (mobile app): http://poachtapp.com/

Poachable (web site): https://poachable.co/

Whitetruffle (web site): https://www.whitetruffle.com/

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