Barry Jones, Founder & CEO, First String, A DotCom Magazine Interview

The DotCom Magazine Entrepreneur Spotlight Series

About Barry Jones and First String:

Innovation is progress and progress is change. But we all know that changing a system is never easy. That's what makes this exciting! My name is Barry Jones. I'm the Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FirstString. I started my career as a military officer and then transitioned into the Pharma, Biotech and finally the Recruitment industries to cultivate over 30 years of high-performance experience & expertise. What I experienced from both the hiring and recruiting side of corporate America was a systematically flawed process towards the higher potential but 'inexperienced' individual. So, my son, a recently graduated college athlete, and I developed a recruitment system that works better for everyone. As AI dominates the corporate recruiting world, the system becomes inherently biased, especially towards proven, high performing but 'inexperienced' young adults. We created a system that helps level the playing field through science, education, and networking with extreme time and cost savings to employers.

First, the system had to be grounded in science. It also had to conduct ongoing research and collaborate with each client to explore, publish, and bring cutting-edge information to the process.

It also had to have advanced security to protect the candidates' lifelong profiles and the institutions' and employers' information. This system would make the static resume obsolete and change the recruiting industry for new college graduates, specifically college athletes; thus, FirstString was born.

The difference between making a living and making a difference is what drives us. I believe these exceptional young people who represent every ethnicity and socioeconomic background and bring large amounts of revenue to universities across our country deserve some enhanced assistance.

The FirstString platform is the ultimate tool to complement your internal talent acquisition team if you are a company. It will enable you to access the most sought-after, diverse, team-oriented, high-performing individuals without exhaustive sourcing, vetting, and expensive contract negotiations with recruiters.

So, college athletes, what does this mean to you? FirstString will no longer allow you to be judged by an antiquated system where a static resume, found by a computer conducting a search determines if you qualify for a job. You will be trained in enhanced business communication skills and allowed to represent YOURSELF in front of potential employers. This will open the door to opportunities you never thought existed.

FirstString is the leading career technology platform committed to connecting graduating college athletes across the country to employers- making it the first National Registry for college student athletes.

It is the first app to educate, prepare and connect graduating collegiate athletes for success in meaningful, career-oriented jobs.

FirstString empowers both the employer and high intensity student athlete to make well-informed career decisions in a rapidly changing and competitive workforce.

The key features of the proprietary app include: a confidential two way portal for athletes to share information and employers to review. This innovative portal gives the students control to choose which employers they want to have interviews with based on the employer’s profile and facilitates employers to select the best candidates to interview. The app also features easy video resume uploading tools and video reference capabilities.

FirstString brings humanity and authentic transparency to the job search, selection, and hiring processes - giving the next generation of leaders the confidence and tools to successfully kick-off their careers.