The CV question
In 2023 a recruitment agency asked if we could read CVs automatically and put them into their own house style. That became the CV Transformer, and it saved half an hour of manual work per profile.
About Spadework
It all starts with the groundwork.
Everyone wants to do something with AI. Almost nobody starts with the data underneath, and that is where it stalls. Spadework is an old English word for the digging that comes before the harvest. That is what we do: keep your data correct and up to date, so everything you build on top of it actually works.
What Spadework means
spade·work/ˈspeɪd.wɜːk/
noun
- 1.
Literal:digging or turning over ground with a spade.
- 2.
Figurative:the preparatory work that has to be done before you can start on a bigger plan or project.
How it started
It started with a question about one CV.
We set out to build the CV Transformer and ran into a much bigger problem we hadn't seen coming.
What was underneath
A CV has to land somewhere: in the agency's database. That's where we really saw it. Thousands of people the agency already knew, with fields half empty or years out of date. The real gain wasn't in the CV, it was in everything around it. So we started cleaning up that database.
What grew from it
Clean data was never the goal, it was the starting point. Clients asked if the clean-up could keep running, and that's how our agents came about. They keep your database up to date and give you a heads-up when something moves: someone updates a profile, a contact changes jobs, a company you know posts a new role.
Where we are today
- 150+
- agencies in the BeneluxStaffing, secondment, permanent placement and search.
- 4
- formal ATS partnershipsOTYS, Carerix, Byner and Mysolution. We connect to other systems too.
- 2 weeks
- from kickoff to liveThe connection already exists, so there is nothing to build.
- EU
- built and hostedYour data stays inside Europe. We do not resell it.
Amsterdam, Oostenburg. Our office is in The Stack, the AI hub where builders, investors and companies work on European AI. You are welcome to drop by.
Over The StackThe team
The people you actually get on the phone.
Small enough that you know everyone, large enough that someone always picks up. Research, engineering and support sit in the same building, so your question never disappears into a queue.
Working at Spadework
Small team, big impact.
There is room here to grow fast. You see the result straight away, and everyone around you is up for it. You pick up real responsibility early, so you learn faster than you are used to.
What I love about Spadework is the vibe and how young the team is. Besides working hard at the office, there is a lot of laughter. We genuinely have fun together and often do nice things outside of work as well.
Salomé WolleswinkelHead of MarketingWhat surprised me most is how close the team is, while still working with a high level of professionalism and drive. That combination is quite special, but at Spadework it comes together very naturally.
Maan ScipioProduct EngineerAmsterdam
Open roles
We are growing steadily in engineering, design and sales. If your role is not listed and you think you would add something here, send us a note anyway.