What do You Aspire to Be?

"It's not about who you know, it's about who you are. KODA is all about your personal quest to find the right opportunities for you." - Jeff Berger

Jeff Berger

Welcome to an Online Savvy Channel podcast on TotalPicture Radio with Peter Clayton Reporting. Joining me today is Jeff Berger, Co-Founder and CEO of KODA, based in San Francisco, CA. I met Jeff at the recent Social Recruiting Summit in New York -- KODA provides an interesting platform for connecting universities, young professionals, and companies.

According to their web site, KODA launched its beta site on May 27, 2009. The initial release included a platform that allows emerging talent and smart companies to go beyond the resume or traditional job posting. More professional than Facebook but more personal than LinkedIn, KODA showcases talent profiles and employer profiles that allow both sides of the hiring equation to get to know each other.

Since then, KODA has continued to evolve and launch new features, including:

An Explorer page to help you find new jobs and internships, popular companies, non-profits, and even jobs that you never imagined existed
Easy sharing of any page of KODA via Facebook & Twitter
A simple way to download your profile in PDF format for emailing or applying to jobs
Compatibility with international locations, which you can now add to your profile's "Locations of Interest"
Smarter logic to suggest companies that are likely to be right for you as you explore KODA

15 Min:

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Questions for Jeff Berger

Okay - the elevator pitch Jeff: What is KODA and what problem does your service solve?
How does KODA help young professionals connect with companies to find jobs?
How is this different from Linkedin, or Facebook?
From your perspective, how has Linkedin and Facebook impacted the traditional job boards?
Is KODA a direct competitor with the Monsters and CareerBuilders out there?
The term Social Recruiting is the new buzz with recruiters. How do you define it?
You talk to most recruiters and they'll tell you the passive candidates -- the A players they're looking to recruit are not hanging out on Twitter or Facebook looking for jobs.
How are you helping universities and colleges connect their students with potential employers?
Will KODA replace traditional college job fairs in your opinion?
You launched KODA in the middle of the worst recession since the great depression. Unemployment, as you know, is at a 26 year high. -- What impact has the current economy had on the entry-level and early career professionals you focus on?
Am I correct to describe KODA as a network?
How are you attracting Universities like URI to partner with you? What do they find attractive about the KODA concept?
What were your impressions /takeaways from Social Recruiting Summit in NYC?
What did you learn at the Summit?
Why did you choose to sponsor the event?
I thought your SuperBowl promotion was very clever. Can you tell the audience the concept, and how it related to KODA?
Your company is based in SF, with an office in NOLA... why New Orleans?