Inspiration
My inspiration for this software/technology was born from my experience growing up with ADD, the frustrations of the job search, and the realization that no one should feel like they can't add value to this world. I am creating a system where inclusivity is the norm where stigmas around nuerodiversity and racial bias no longer exist in the hiring process. There are three examples that stick out when it comes to sharing what inspires me to create this software/technology. The first is my own experience with finding a job in my field.
When I first moved to LA I wanted to work in stage management but couldn't figure out how to get my foot in the door. I had spent the last 6 years as a stage manager in the Gospel world and at Church. I tried networking, sending Linkedin messages and resumes but nothing worked. It got to the point where I had to get a job to keep the lights on, so I worked as a brand ambassador part-time, while still applying online to stage management roles. 2 years flew by and I still wasn't able to find a job in my field of interest. I learned over the course of those years that the industry is very cliquish. This is where I started to see people look at my messages and then not respond. I became depressed, food was my dopamine fix, and the anxiety of not being able to pay my rent was always sitting on my shoulders. I turned to entrepreneurship to cover my expenses. I drove Lyft, became a catering waitress, bartended at EDC festivals, and worked odd end tech jobs to get by. I became a master in all the roles, moving up the ladder quickly but still was never really where I wanted to be. At one point I was working for 18 different freelance companies, which got so hectic I had to track each one on an excel spreadsheet with time, location, dates, and rate of pay, it was exhausting. On top of that, I was dealing with my own internal dialogue of being a black woman, with locs in America and just realizing that racism really does exist. Yep, you read that correctly.
I applied for a role at a well-known market research firm, to manage their film screenings, something I had a lot of experience doing. The VP of the department was a sista, so I reached directly out to her. She immediately connected with me and coached me through the process. The day before my interview she called me and told me that the company likes to hire white young males and that "we" (black women) don't make it past the interview process often. She then informed me that the hiring manager would be intimidated by me and that I probably won't get the job, so she was going to help me get another job. I was heartbroken and was at a loss of words. This kind of bias does NOT belong in the workplace.
The third example would be what I have seen in the market. Bill Gross the Founder of IdeaLab, shared in a TED talk that timing is the single most important factor in the launch of a new company. From what I have observed both HR and job seekers are tired of the old application system. Companies will need a way to better track productivity and remote work. Companies talking about racial equality, are trending. Today 30 million people are unemployed and are all looking for work at the same time, in the same broken system where only 20% of jobs are posted online, high turnover is inevitable, and very few have figured out how to effectively track the productivity of their team. Therapy apps like Talkspace have reported a 65% jump in clients since February (Washington Post). California just shut down restaurants, bars, movie theaters, museums, and other indoor venues in most of the state again today.
Before this Hackathon, I observed a trend from applicants and HR professionals voicing their complaints about the broken hiring and application systems and decided to screenshot them to keep records of the language used, for this very purpose. I knew that the lack of empathy from HR professionals was a huge problem to solve but what I didn't know until after attending this Hackathon, was where the issues were coming from. What I discovered is that HR seems to be doing more work, because many companies have yet to find a way to measure the productivity of their staff.
From what I learned in the Harvard Business Review, HR is overworked because there is no way to track the productivity of their current staff and so instead of promoting staff from within, the hiring managers ask for referrals and the referrals get the job instead. The result is high turnover and constant staffing.
Being the problem solver that I am I asked myself, "what if I could create neuroscience, machine learning-driven tools that effectively track each person's productivity, measures stress, and suggests training for their current staff based on how well they work together remotely and in the office? What if hiring was ACTUALLY based on the data produced from a wearable that tracks stress levels, keystrokes, and skillsets? What if applicants are placed in the work environment based on real company productivity data that not only meets the companies financial needs but one's emotional needs? What if this environment encouraged promotions from within, saw an increase in entry-level jobs, and more importantly a nonbias culture? What kind of solutions could each company now create, knowing that their own mental health is being positively impacted in the place they spend most of their time? If we place people in roles based on data, then bias can not exits, company culture will thrive, mental health issues like depression, binge eating, and anxiety will decrease, and statistically the companies bottom line increases, which makes room for raises and promotions.
Challenges
A few of the challenges I ran into was filling out this form, due to my overstimulated brain and putting together a user research group in time. I used Facebook and Quora to speed up the research I needed since I joined the group late.
What Are You, Most Proud Of
I am proud that I didn't give up on my submission, even though I didn't think I had enough time. I am writing my story in the final moments that my project can be submitted. I am also proud that despite, me struggling to find a job right now, I am still active in founders groups, that inspire me.
What Did You Learn
What I learned was how to form a UX Design group, the importance of sharing your ideas to get feedback, that other people really do want to help you win and that we are all connected by the idea of helping others succeed. I also learned about Neurodiversity, which companies hire Neruodiverse talent and got a more in-depth study around the HR world.
What's next for Power Your Productivity
What's next is to partner with a professional in HR, Urvi (one of my Mentors in Neuroscience), and continue to build and grow my user research group, to flush out my idea more. I have also connected with Brain Power Institute to talk about their work with tech and autism.
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