We caught up with Casey Welch, Co-founder and CEO of Tallo to discuss all things Tallo; why the business was founded, what makes Tallo different and lastly, what we can see from Tallo in the future…
Why did you start your business?
I grew up in a small town, where I experienced firsthand the challenges companies and colleges face in connecting with talented students and job seekers from rural areas. I played American football, and was fortunate enough to be recruited to Purdue University. Many of the students I graduated high school with, however, weren’t afforded similar opportunities. This experience got me thinking: what if we recruited for careers the same way we recruit for athletics? That’s why I created Tallo, an online platform and app that connects over 1,300,000 students and young professionals to jobs, internships, apprenticeships, university programs, scholarships, career guidance, and more.
What makes Tallo different?
Tallo levels the playing field for all talent. Users create a free Tallo profile to showcase their skills, experience, and goals. Companies, universities, and organizations can then reach out to the talent who are the right fit for them. Tallo is more than just a job board or a social networking site. Users come to Tallo to discover the career options that align with their passion, lifestyle, and skills. Tallo users can keep track of their accomplishments, discover different career and educational pathways, and interact with mentors in their field. Students and professionals are able to showcase what they’ve done in the past, and what they hope to do moving forward.
Ping by Tallo, our latest development, is a web-based app that allows universities and companies to host or join virtual events and match with interested and qualified students and job seekers. Participants answer a few short questions about their interests and qualifications to get started, and are then presented with a possible list of “matches” based off of a match score of 1 to 100, with higher scores indicating a better fit. Over the past few months, there have been over 13,000 conversations initiated between students/job seekers and universities/companies on Ping. Over 3,500 talent participants and 100+ universities, companies, and organizations have attended the events from around the country. As the global economy continues its recovery and social distancing remains a necessity, Ping is a vital tool to keep employers, educational institutions, job seekers, and students connected.
What is next at Tallo?
At Tallo, we believe that a happy workforce fuels innovation, growth, and ultimately, prosperity. Generation Z, which is comprised of those born after 1996, is positioned to take the workforce by storm, and we know that a critical piece to developing a healthy talent pipeline is understanding this future generation. Over the past year, we have run a series of surveys with thousands of Gen Z students to gauge their thoughts on diversity and inclusion, politics, how COVID-19 has impacted them, and most recently, how they’re developing soft skills and career plans. Their insights continue to surprise and impress me — did you know that 92% already have a career plan, but the pandemic has caused more than one third to reconsider their career choice? It’s exciting to be building the Tallo platform with this future generation, and I’m looking forward to all the exciting next steps in 2021.
