App lets job hunters use cellphones to search openings in the neighborhood
BY SANDRA GUY Business Reporter sguy@suntimes.com August 8, 2012 8:04AM
Mitch Schneider, CEO of Kauzu, gives training on free mobile-app job-finding application that works on any cell phone at Albany Park Community Center, 4730 N. Kimball Avenue, Tuesday, August 7, 2012. | John H. White~Sun-Times
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Updated: September 9, 2012 6:12AM
Starting Tuesday, Chicagoans standing at CTA bus stops can find job openings nearby by texting information to a phone number from Andersonville neighborhood startup Kauzu.com.
The phone number and application, named Kono, are free to use, but standard messaging rates may apply to the texting.
To sign up, text K to (847) 973-5613. When you see the welcome, reply S to start using the app.
Anyone with a cellphone — even a basic cellphone that has no Internet access — may text the “star” symbol * and the bus or train station’s four-digit ID number to obtain three job listings closest to that location.
If you’re not standing at a bus stop, you can text two stars ** and the first three letters of the two streets at the closest intersection to get the job listings. The streets must be separated by a space, so **fos rav would mean “Foster and Ravenswood.”
A video explaining the service is on YouTube at
The service is aimed at helping the estimated 78 percent of U.S. adults with yearly household incomes below $30,000 who don’t own smartphones.
