(ECNS) -- Boss Zhipin, an online recruitment app, admitted "there is a big problem" with its review process following the death of a job applicant in the northern coastal city of Tianjin, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported Thursday.
Li Wenxing, who had applied for a position via Boss Zhipin, might have fallen victim to a fraudulent pyramid scheme disguised as an internet company, according to Chinese media reports.
In a written reply to the paper, Zhao Peng, CEO of Boss Zhipin, a part of the Beijing Huapin Borui Network Technology Co, said the problem lay with a company policy enacted at the beginning of 2015.
According to the policy, when an employer wanted to advertise one position, it could do so without preview by Boss Zhipin -- if the employer's name could be found in the national enterprise credit data bank and there were no issues with the position being advertised. The employer was also allowed to go ahead with the recruitment process if no negative feedback was received from users.
However, previews were compulsory for employers hoping to publish more than one job vacancy. Boss Zhipin encouraged and guided employers to become accredited on the platform, Zhao said.
The policy was designed to facilitate employers to publish job vacancies on the platform when the site had a small number of users, Zhao explained.
"We failed to update the policy in a timely fashion, and the problem lay with us. We've learned a painful lesson. The company management team has reached a decision that they have now implemented, making the scrutiny of employers' authenticity a priority for the business."
Since early Thursday morning, Boss Zhipin has made an all-round adjustment, subjecting all employers to preview and accreditation procedures. In addition to checking materials, the company has also taken measures such as ID and facial recognition.
Boss Zhaipin was founded in July 2014, and concluded its latest round of fundraising in September 2016. It aims to put both employers and job applicants on a fast recruitment track by enabling job applicants to have one-on-one chats with senior executives.
