Would You Trust an AI Career Agent to Find Your Next Job?

Finding a new job can be overwhelming, from filling out countless applications to waiting weeks for a response that may never come. Now, one AI-powered career platform says it is changing the way people search for work by giving job seekers their own AI career assistant.

Refer, a Palo Alto-based company, says its platform is designed to connect candidates directly with employers by using AI to help identify potential opportunities and make introductions.

"The way it works is in the same way that an athlete has their agent or a celebrity has their agent," said Refer CEO Andre Hamra. "We give any person their agent, their career agent, and that's Lia."

Lia is Refer's AI career agent, which the company says works on behalf of job seekers by learning about their skills, experience and career goals before identifying possible job matches.

In a demonstration video, Refer showed how Lia helped a Stanford Ph.D. engineer who was struggling with her job search by finding potential contacts and making introductions with employers.

Hamra says the goal is to help candidates stand out in a crowded hiring market, where employers can receive hundreds of applications for a single position while job seekers often struggle to get noticed.

"Most of the people that sign up, they get an interview, like an introduction for an interview in the first 24 hours," Hamra said. "Some people in as fast as two minutes."

Unlike traditional job boards, Refer requires both employers and candidates to register on the platform. The company says that allows it to create a network of verified job seekers and companies.

If a candidate is hired through Refer, the company charges employers a success fee equal to 20% of the person's first month's paycheck.

Hamra says the platform is currently focused largely on the technology industry but hopes to expand into more fields, including industries like fast food and other hourly jobs.

Refer says it has already helped facilitate between 5,000 and 10,000 interview opportunities. The company also says more than 2,000 companies and about 7,000 job seekers are registered on the platform.

But as AI tools become more common in the workplace, some workforce experts say technology should be viewed as a supplement, not a replacement, for human guidance.

Blake Konczal, executive director of the Fresno Regional Workforce Development Board, says AI will likely impact nearly every industry, similar to how the internet changed the way people work.

"I think AI will eventually touch on all jobs," Konczal said. "The internet didn't replace jobs, but definitely affected how jobs are done."

Konczal says personal connections and one-on-one conversations still play an important role in helping people find the right career path.

"For most people, being able to sit across from a live person and have that person ask you questions about what you know, what you'd like to know, what you'd like to do, would probably be an easier way to go about putting your toe in the water about looking for a new or better job," he said.