Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

A new startup brings the power of AI to job hunters.

Bret Waters
2 min readFeb 17, 2021

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Job hunting is a difficult process. Job hunting during a pandemic is even worse. And the velocity of change in the world today makes it challenging all of us to stay updated with new skills that align with new market demands. Identifying the right job, the right skill set, and career growth awareness is more important than ever.

Meanwhile, most companies today use enterprise software called “Applicant Tracking Systems” (ATS) for handling their job applicants and interview process. When you email your resume the ATS sucks it in, parses all the text, makes an instant decision on whether you seem worth interviewing, and then routes it to the appropriate hiring manager. The hiring manager quickly looks at the display on the ATS and clicks “interview” or “reject”.

That’s right — the fate of your career is now controlled by enterprise software.

Dipika Jain, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, is turning this model around by developing a platform that is on the side of job hunters. Her startup, UpLadderAI, is like your own personal digital job search assistant. A one-stop solution that makes your professional journey more organized, simpler and guided. It helps you to create a resume that is ATS-optimized, and then it’s with you at every step along the process, scheduling interviews, preparing for interviews, tracking follow-ups and more.

Perhaps even more importantly, UpLadderAI helps job seekers to improve their skills and get the next job on their career ladder. Upskilling is one of the most important trends in the country today, according to many management consulting firms. In this way, Dipika’s startup is helping to drive a trend that is crucial to both employers and job seekers.

UpLadderAI is taking registrations now for a beta waiting list, and hopes to have a broader launch later this year.

What I love about Dipika’s startup is that she’s shifting the balance of power. Historically, software has been used to make companies more efficient and more profitable. Dipika is passionate about bringing that same power to individuals.

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Bret Waters

Silicon Valley guy. Teaches at Stanford. Eats fish tacos.