Hi there,
Stefan here, co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Josie. I wanted to take the time to introduce myself and let you know a little bit about my story of developing the product you’re using today from the perspective of a data scientist.
When I started thinking about what Josie could be, the effects of a pandemic had already threatened job security and were contributing to a rising trend in burnout as people tried to find a work-life balance when shifting into remote work full time.
I had friends who lost their jobs in industries that had no idea at the time how to safely resume operations—like hospitality. My first instinct was to use my network to find leads on open positions. But given the major societal shift we were experiencing, I started to question whether I could vouch for these jobs as places where my friends could thrive and be happy.
What does being happy even mean when it comes to work?
As a data scientist, I ground myself in research when big life decisions are on the line. I find comfort in numbers, and one number was particularly important. 100.
That’s the number of years researchers have been studying personnel psychology (Schmidt and Hunter) and what leads to success in job performance. I realized that as a scientist, I have this knowledge at my fingertips, but there was no product or application that could successfully take these findings and help people be happier at work. So a small team of friends and I decided to make one. We would build a product to coach people toward career fulfillment based on the latest data and hard science.
My friend in hospitality was an early user of Josie, who figured out through our tools that her tendency to micromanage (which made her attentive to detail and excellent at customer service) could be an asset in tech, where she – after a bit of upskilling – eventually landed a job as a successful coder.
Even if you’re not looking to change jobs, a lot of people I interview say that Josie has given them an ego boost in knowing that they’re exactly where they should be, with the right tools to talk about their skills or personality traits that lead them to confidently ask for a promotion or a raise. Career happiness is no longer a myth. It’s all in science.
So, where do you see yourself in the next 5 years? Let’s find out.
—Stefan van Tulder
How have you used Josie to refine how you position yourself in your career? Your story is a valuable part of our research process. Let’s get in touch! User interviews will be compensated.
