For decades, job hunting has been a solitary and often discouraging process defined by generic advice, impersonal application systems, and a lack of meaningful feedback. But in the middle of the UK’s fast-evolving tech and employability landscape, one founder has found a way to bring humanity back into an increasingly automated experience.
Vardaan Shekhawat, Founder and CEO of UK Jobs Insider, is reimagining how people connect with opportunity. His platform, a community-driven digital ecosystem, uses proprietary GPT-powered technology to guide users through every stage of their job search, from writing a CV and preparing for interviews to negotiating salaries. Yet what makes his approach stand out is not just the technology itself, but how he fuses it with mentorship, peer learning, and emotional support.
“We don’t just build tools,” Shekhawat explains. “We build confidence. Our technology is the framework, but it’s the human connection that brings it to life.”
Building a Tech-First, People-Driven Ecosystem
In under a year, UK Jobs Insider has grown from a small pilot project into a thriving community. Over 100,000 job seekers have used its free digital tools, while more than 200 paying members subscribe to its premium community, a space that blends advanced AI with mentorship-led learning. Its social media reach now exceeds 250,000 followers, reflecting a growing appetite for career development solutions that are personalised and don’t alienate the individual.
At the heart of the platform lies a suite of custom-built GPT tools, each designed for the UK market. The lineup includes “Skills GPT,” which helps users identify and articulate their strengths; “Hiring Manager GPT,” which gives recruiter-style feedback on CVs; and “Salary GPT,” which benchmarks offers using live market data. These tools, Shekhawat says, are not simply imitations of generic AI models; they are domain-specific, data-informed, and deeply localised to reflect real conditions in the UK labour market.
That focus on localisation and empathy has attracted attention from high places. UK Jobs Insider recently partnered with the Department for Education and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, contributing digital engagement for national workforce initiatives, including the government’s recent digital campaign on promoting clean energy jobs. The collaboration highlights the platform’s growing reputation not only as a commercial success but also as a public-interest ally in the country’s evolving tech and employment ecosystem.
Beyond Business: A Mission Rooted in Community Impact
While UK Jobs Insider’s growth metrics now surpass $25,000 in monthly recurring revenue, signaling a successful startup story, Shekhawat insists that impact, not income, is what defines his work. “I came to the UK as an immigrant, and I know how frustrating and isolating the job search can feel,” he says. “Building this platform was about changing that experience for others.”
To date, he has hosted more than 100 free mentorship sessions, often with students, career switchers, and internationals navigating complex entry barriers. These voluntary initiatives, along with his collaborations with the Career Development Institute (CDI) and government campaigns, highlight Shekhawat’s exceptional contribution to the digital sector. They position him not only as a founder but as a community leader advancing digital inclusion.
That leadership extends beyond the screen. Through webinars, podcasts, including our Social Untold podcast that reached more than 500K people, and upcoming talks such as the Life After Arrival event with scholars from the University of Huddersfield, he has shared his insights with thousands of learners and professionals. His talks bridge two worlds often seen as opposites: artificial intelligence and empathy. “Technology can scale efficiency,” he says, “but only people can scale trust.”
Redefining the Future of Work
What Shekhawat has built with UK Jobs Insider marks a subtle but meaningful shift in how people find work. The platform weaves human insight into every AI-driven step, creating an interactive space where users learn and improve together—like a modern apprenticeship for today’s economy.
The results speak for themselves: users experience faster applications, clearer career paths, and higher success rates in interviews. More importantly, the platform sets a new standard for ethical AI in employability — technology that empowers rather than replaces, and systems that balance AI-driven analysis with human insight and intervention.
Industry observers note that Shekhawat’s hybrid model could influence how the UK approaches workforce technology policy in the coming years, particularly as government departments explore AI-assisted guidance tools for public employment services.
Recognition and Future Vision
Shekhawat’s work has earned him a LinkedIn Top Public Affairs Voice (2024) designation, the Young Indian Achievers Award (2020), and academic honours such as the Best Dissertation Award at the London School of Economics, where he completed an MSc in Urbanisation and Policy. His published research on AI-driven policy processes further reflects a long-standing engagement with the ethics and governance of emerging technologies.
Looking ahead, his ambitions remain firmly rooted in career leadership. “AI will keep changing how we work,” he says. “But the future belongs to platforms that make that change human.”
In a digital landscape crowded with automation, Vardaan Shekhawat is proving that the most powerful algorithms are still written with a human connection. Through a blend of proprietary AI, mentorship, and mission-driven community building, he’s not just helping people find jobs, he’s helping them find confidence, purpose, and belonging in the future of work.
