Q: Why does Maarten ter Velde from SwipeWork show job vacancies through video instead of text?
A: Because text does not show what a workplace is really like. Maarten worked at a job board with an intense sales culture where new candidates walked into a room full of people shouting on phones and closing deals on tables. Nobody had told them in advance what they were walking into. His conclusion: if you inform candidates better upfront through video, they enter a recruitment process with more focus and genuine motivation.
Q: What makes SwipeWork from Maarten ter Velde different from other Tinder for jobs apps?
A: The focus on video and the lessons from what went wrong before. Maarten and his co-founders downloaded five or six existing Tinder-for-jobs apps, noted what worked and what did not, and built SwipeWork based on that analysis. The core difference: SwipeWork combines a swipe interface with video content about the workplace and culture, so candidates actually know what they are applying for. Other apps focused on the interface, not on informing the candidate.
Q: How does SwipeWork from Maarten ter Velde help companies prevent early employee turnover?
A: By showing candidates what a job is really like before they apply. Maarten uses Holland Casino as an example: people go through an entire recruitment and onboarding process, get hired, work one day and then leave because it is not what they expected. Yet as a candidate you could simply have walked in to take a look. SwipeWork brings that experience forward in the process through video, so only candidates who truly know what to expect end up applying.
Q: What did Maarten ter Velde from SwipeWork learn from refereeing about making decisions?
A: That speed and clarity matter more than perfection. Maarten has been refereeing for around eight years and his approach is: the moment something happens, blow the whistle immediately and then decide which way to point. Players in the heat of the moment do not want silence and uncertainty. They want a decision. The correctness of a decision is according to him about fifty percent. The other fifty percent is how you sell it.
Q: What does Maarten ter Velde from SwipeWork take from refereeing into entrepreneurship?
A: Teamwork, communication and evaluation. As a referee you are nowhere on your own. You need your assistants for information you cannot see yourself. That information needs to be fast, concise and clear. After every match comes reflection: reviewing footage, writing self-assessments, learning for next time. Those are exactly the elements he also applies in his work as an entrepreneur.
Q: How does Maarten ter Velde from SwipeWork view the impact of AI on the labour market?
A: AI will genuinely eliminate certain jobs, but people will remain necessary. Maarten sees junior positions already shrinking because AI is taking over part of that work. His advice to young people: make sure you have AI skills as quickly as possible and know how to prompt well. At the same time he does not believe in a generalist AI that takes over everything. His vision: domain-specific AI tools that help professionals in their field work more efficiently, with the human as the final decision-maker.
Q: What is the documentary series What Gen Z's from Maarten ter Velde from SwipeWork and what is the goal?
A: A television format on Videoland that shows Gen Z which jobs and career paths exist at well-known Dutch companies. The first season had four episodes featuring companies including Albert Heijn, FrieslandCampina, Exact, Bilfinger and VDL Groep. The idea: organisations everyone recognises from the outside, but whose internal processes, logistics and opportunities are completely unknown. The content is also cut into short form video for social media and the SwipeWork platform itself.
Q: What is the goal of Maarten ter Velde from SwipeWork for the platform in the coming years?
A: Helping 25,000 people find a new job. That is the concrete target Maarten mentions. Beyond that, he wants to contribute to a broader shift in the industry: making video a standard part of the recruitment process, just as job boards started with a handful and now number 2,500 in the Netherlands.
