We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nora Moore a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nora , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

The job hiring process is broken. As the first digitally-native generation, Gen Z has unique challenges and job search user habits. Current hiring platforms have been slow to adapt, expecting this innovative generation which 88% believe that Gen Z can change the world, to fit inside a traditional mold. Gen Z is replacing outdated social norms with reimagined creativity and place high value on self expression. GigOut fills this void to provide a job platform where you tell your job history and personal story your way. Our visual resume replaces a text one. We incorporate gender pronouns, zodiac sign (team Aries!), and photo/video storytelling into the process. We say goodbye to things like cover letters and resume bullet points. GigOut’s unofficial motto is “Eff a cover letter.”

The traditional job process which emphasizes things like AI keyword search, being tapped into a robust professional network, or having a fancy degree often leaves some of the most talented people out of the job conversation. GigOut strives to emphasize a creator’s talent and skillset to ensure less bias. GigOut empowers creative professionals to pursue their passion and find fulfilling opportunities that recognize and value their talents.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

As a solo founder new to tech, creating GigOut is a major achievement in my life. This app was born out of a need I saw during the pandemic. My children, both budding creatives, made me realize that one day they would endure the grueling job search process. Determined to change a broken system, I knew traditional job sites would not cater to their needs. As I talked to more creatives, I listened to concerns from countless others like my sons, excited to spark change. I knew I had to build a better pathway for them to find meaningful work.

I spent 10+ years working in social media (shoutout to all my fellow marketing girlies, as TikTok calls us). I had personal frustration with the job process and also on the other end when hiring photographers, video editors, graphic designers, and content creators. I didn’t know where to find these talented unicorns.

Bringing GigOut to market has been an incredible journey, sometimes I still can’t believe I have an app in the app stores. Watching my children tell their peers about GigOut is one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. But more than that, I am proud to have created something that can help others like them. By providing a platform for Gen Z creatives to connect with the work they are passionate about, GigOut is empowering a new generation of creators to make their mark on the world.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

My life has been a conundrum of pivots which in turn has instilled resilience and an immunity to discouragement from being told no. Growing up in a time where being creative was viewed as a hobby and not a career, I struggled with a college major. I lost count how many times I shifted. I went to five schools before I graduated undergrad. I got my MBA in my 40s. As for career paths, I worked in the medical field, was a stay at home mom, a mom blogger, digital influencer, social media strategist, and now tech founder. All of these pivots have taught me valuable skills and life lessons. I have learned to navigate different professional worlds and deal with diverse personalities and demographics. As a forever student, I embrace learning and pivots lead to growth.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

I learned quickly that marketing founders are frowned upon in the teck world. While fundraising for GigOut, one of the first concerns from VCs revolve around my not having a tech background (or being a Stanford grad…ha ha). But marketing is a true passion for me. Marketing minds have skills that are hard to teach like balancing analytics and creativity, understanding people, written and oral communication, and let’s be honest, the marketing crew are usually the funniest people in a business meeting. Before I started GigOut I worked with celebrities and CEOs to help them leverage social media to create a valuable digital footprint. One of my favorite moments was with comedian Earthquake. We were having lunch at Carney’s in Los Angeles to discuss his digital strategy. When we reached the counter to pay Earthquake starts patting himself down and says, “oops I forgot my wallet” and chuckles. We both turn to someone from his camp and he shakes his head and pays. Quake loudly proclaims, “LOOK AT GOD!” From that moment it just got funnier and funnier. Facebook Live had just started and I showed him how to use it to engage with his audience. We did a trial run on my Facebook account and I think one person tapped in, my girl Claudine. He kept asking why I only had one friend. LOL. He seemed skeptical about using Facebook Live but we did a couple more dry runs and I left feeling like he had a good grasp of it.

Later that night, I received a notification that he was live on Facebook, I was so proud and couldn’t wait to hear what he had to say. Turns out that he had somehow butt dialed into starting a Live. He was in the grocery store with his son chewing him out for bagging the groceries too slow. The comments were hilarious and poking fun at him for not knowing he was on Live. Looking back it was pretty on brand for him, he is so naturally funny and was an extreme pleasure to work with.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.gigoutnow.com
• Instagram: https://www.threads.net/@amorenora
• Other: Download GigOut: Apple Store https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gigout-fun-jobs-for-creatives/id1559831927 Google Play https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gigout GigOut playlist for creatives GigOut playlist https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0lXSprs1sj9nAsqdHTSR9c?si=isRh3oDxSbaWAg9hNwdWIQ&utm_source=copy-link&dl_branch=1

Image Credits
Photo by Lanisha Cole