Ruben Harris
This year has produced unemployment rates comparable to those during The Great Depression. With people out of work and close to 100,000 small businesses permanently closed, the idea of switching gears to a whole new career field is difficult to navigate without guidance. What if you could gain a skill that placed you in a job you never thought attainable?
Ruben Harris, CEO of Career Karma, is helping people obtain higher-paying jobs through his platform by connecting people with a job training program online that meets the specific needs of each individual considering earning the skills needed for technology-related careers.
Harris and the team have identified what is required to transition people from low-paying careers to high-paying careers in as little as several months. In addition to being matched with rapid reskilling programs, they are also given support and guidance from peers, coaches and mentors who can help them as they transition out of their reskilling program, begin looking for jobs, and get started in their new careers. In the last 12 months alone, Career Karma placed 3,000 people in training programs which have resulted in job opportunities at companies such as Tesla, StitchFix, and others.
In an initiative to hire a world-class team that is committed to creating the best career navigation software of all time, Career Karma has raised $10 million in their Series A lead by Initialized Capital. They have also gained support from investment firms like Softbank's Opportunity Fund, Emerson Collective, Imaginable Futures, Kapor Capital, 4S Bay Capital, and Unshackled Ventures, who all agree that rapid reskilling combined with the diverse talents that each new technology professionals bring with them, is needed to address one of the most critical issues facing the world right now.
Harris feels Career Karma was made for this moment in time.
“The ability to use computer software and its capacity to provide even more refined tools that millions of people can access easily in order to continue to do their jobs in spite of worldwide restrictions in terms of travel, has rapidly become essential for everyone,” said Harris.
“What has become clear now is that the need to produce even more products that improve upon what we already had is critical.” continued Harris. “As a result, what has been largely limited to an elite career field for the last few decades has rapidly become a skill that everyone needs to know to be able to navigate modern jobs and careers.”
While Harris does not believe the demand for higher education will diminish, Career Karma recognizes the need for employers to hire people with specialized skill sets as opposed to their degree. The company has the opportunity to reach 3.7 high schoolers annually who are open to exploring the possibility of job training programs. Furthermore, Harris hopes to help job seekers throughout the span of their entire careers.
“The majority of the post-secondary education system is focused on preparing youth for their first career, leaving that person to navigate the remaining 40+ years of their professional life alone,” Harris said.
Harris’s vision for Career Karma is to help at least one billion people in the next 10 years. With the hopes of going public with the company and the rapid expansion of Career Karma both being on the horizon, Career Karma looks to be the leading force in the future of career navigation software.
