Our Story
A person, not just a resume
There is a person behind every application.
I'm just a dude, flying solo, trying to do some good for humanity with whatever tools I have available. This won't be for everyone, and it won't cover every kind of job. But if I can help even one person get a job, this has been successful.
Why I started
Over 23 months, I submitted hundreds of applications. I applied for roles at my experience level, a little above it and well below it. It became daunting, and I've been in your shoes. There are recruiters who ghost, candidates who aren't clear enough in their resumes, and interviews that are lackluster reviews of exactly what's written on your resume. When you still cannot get a clear answer about where you stand, sometimes you step back and wait for a new batch of opportunities before trying again.
More than a resume
A resume can list skills, job titles, and certifications. A conversation can reveal how someone thinks, what they have learned and where their experience could transfer. That human touch matters: a useful explanation, a mentor who sees a connection, or an employer willing to give someone a fair look. We're trying to boil a human being down to a one- or two-page piece of paper, then relying on multiple interviews to understand if they are a good fit.
I'm building Panoptes so we can show what we can do, understand where we stand, and have useful conversations about the work. I want people to receive constructive feedback that helps them take a next step.
Starting here in Spokane
I'm building Panoptes from lived experience and data-driven analytics, with community support in mind. In Spokane County, there were a reported 8,480 unemployed residents in September 2026. Separately, the 2024 Census estimates show 63,838 county residents ages 25–64 outside the labor force, including 25,405 in Spokane city. Not everyone outside the labor force wants a job, but the unemployment headline does not describe every person who could use support. (See the charts below.)
Starting locally gives us a chance to build those relationships here in Spokane, with people who can meet, learn from one another and connect around real opportunities, instead of making travel the price of being considered. I want to help build a path back into work through human connection, not another pile of unanswered applications.
Help, connection and growth
I also wanted to highlight military service and create a system of tools within Panoptes that will aid in individual growth through mentoring and help people learn about data trends through reports and analysis, getting them used to a business-style review and how we use data.
I want a system where you can ask for help, provide help with resumes or interview prep, and give back to your community. Build your network. Track everything for your applications in one area. Get help with your resume without having it be the same AI output everyone else is using.
Free to participate. Human at heart.
I want core access to stay free. Looking for work should not require $39.99/month per platform to be seen or find roles that fit. My hope is that this helps people find work and helps employers recognize the capabilities a résumé alone can miss. Taking extra time up front saves effort and improves the efficiency of the hiring process for everyone.
— JC
Why the Greek font?
I chose Greek-inspired lettering as an artistic nod to sharing knowledge, preserving history and caring for one another, ideas I value in Greek teachings. The lettering is a modern interpretation, not a historical reconstruction. And it's a free program, so I get to make it look cool in my own eyes. :)
Why Panoptes?
No ads, ever. No sponsored placements, paid ranking or third-party advertising trackers. Free tools, clear sources and human choices.
Panoptes (pan-OP-teez) means “all-seeing.” The name comes from Argus Panoptes, the many-eyed watchman of Greek mythology, often described as having a hundred eyes.
I use the eye to represent the uniqueness of every individual. Humans are unique, and each of us has more of a story than a résumé can tell. Each eye represents an individual person. Across the site, eye colors also show different stages in the process.
Here, that inspiration means paying attention to the whole person and making hiring commitments visible, so people do not get overlooked. It is a modern interpretation of the name, not a promise to watch everything. In today's age, I want this commitment to be heartfelt: no surveillance of your personal life. This is your show. People choose what they share, and hiring decisions stay with humans. Our commitment is to separate the information needed to run accounts and applications from product-improvement analytics, removing direct personal identifiers and using aggregated data to improve the product, help people find jobs, and remove barriers to hiring.
This site is being built with AI assistance. As soon as funding allows, the goal is to transition to human-led development, employing people who need work to build for others who need it. Helping people find jobs, without charging them. Every time.
See the complete engraving
Using the tools available
Keeping with mythology, because I’m a nerd at heart: in Book 5 of the Iliad, Athena helps Diomedes, who wounds Aphrodite and Ares. He acts with divine help. For me, the modern analogy is challenging a frustrating system with the tools available and trying to build a better path.
I’m not a supporter of generative AI replacing human art, video or music. Those are core forms of human creativity and expression. Rather than bringing memes to life or making a brick-figure version of myself at the White House, I’m putting these tools toward something practical: helping my community and people who need more from a job search than another ATS rejection letter.
Iliad, Book 5 · About Argus Panoptes
A transparent note about AI
I've worked on programming AI at scale and seen it generate substantial value for others without those benefits making their way back to the people. That experience is part of why I'm using AI differently here: to build something useful for our community. My goal is to use donations, as funding allows, to bring in human programmers and designers to take over and develop Panoptes further.
I’m using AI to help program this site. I’m not a backend coding specialist. I bring the ideas, practical experience and leadership, and I’m working with the tools available to me.
Hiring skilled human developers, artists and other specialists is built into the platform’s progression plan. As resources allow, I want to move development, security review and maintenance into capable human hands as quickly and responsibly as I can. AI is helping me get the ball rolling. The goal is to create work for people, not keep handing it back to a machine.
The plan is to keep the platform free and community-funded. The $15,000 milestone is a target for pursuing a nonprofit transition, subject to available funds after costs and obligations, qualified advice and required filings. Panoptes is not currently a nonprofit, and contributions are not represented as tax-deductible. Reaching a fundraising target does not automatically change that status.
Privacy and human-access commitments
Human connections, not profile harvesting. We prohibit unauthorized third-party bots, scraping, automated bulk access, and collecting or linking member information to build profiles outside Panoptes. Accounts used for these activities may be suspended or terminated under our enforcement process. We may pursue legal remedies where available under applicable law.
Accessibility and assistive technologies, ordinary links shared by people, and authorized tools needed to operate, secure and support the platform are not prohibited. These exceptions do not permit profile harvesting or automated hiring decisions.
Beta workspaces require a verified account and an active invitation. The planned separation of operational data and analytics must be implemented and independently reviewed before real-data launch. Removing names alone does not guarantee anonymity. Any security or abuse-prevention logging must have disclosed, limited purposes. These commitments are policy, not a claim that bots are technically blocked; production enforcement and legal review are still required.
Human judgment stays human
AI-assisted development is separate from hiring judgment. Our intended code of use keeps candidate assessments, hiring decisions and substantive feedback human-authored, reviewed and intentionally approved.
Candidates start with their own words, experience and examples. Assistance can help standardize terminology and make relevant connections clearer, but it must not invent achievements or write an entire resume in place of the candidate. The intended workflow keeps the candidate’s original input alongside the optimized version for review. Live-interview assistance is outside those rules.
The design requirement is that private candidate profiles, notes and answers are not sent to AI services; this must be verified before real-data launch.
Help from your community
Mentoring and practical assistance belong in this platform, too. I’m bringing together lessons from 22 years of leadership and work across software, ERP, HR, scheduling and project management. The aim is one useful place where people can ask questions, share experience, identify transferable skills and help one another find a way forward.
I’m starting in Spokane. I want to build a free, community-funded and community-run platform with one purpose: keeping human connection in the career world.
Starting in Spokane County and Spokane city
Spokane County
8,480 people unemployed
3.2% · September 2026 · Not seasonally adjusted
Washington ESD monthly estimate; released October 20.
Spokane city
4,670 people unemployed
4.2% · August 2026 · Provisional · Not seasonally adjusted
BLS monthly estimate; October 20 file.
The latest available monthly estimates have different reference months. The city is within the county: do not add them together. Unemployment measures people without work who are actively seeking and available for work, with applicable temporary-layoff exceptions; it is not everyone who could benefit from career support.
Labor-force participation · 2024 annual ACS · Ages 16+
| Status | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| In labor force | 282,617 | 62.4% |
| Outside labor force | 170,042 | 37.6% |
| Total age 16+ | 452,659 | 100% |
Outside-labor-force estimate: 90% margin of error ±5,126.
| Status | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| In labor force | 120,104 | 64.4% |
| Outside labor force | 66,385 | 35.6% |
| Total age 16+ | 186,489 | 100% |
Outside-labor-force estimate: 90% margin of error ±3,923.
In labor force includes employed and unemployed residents, plus armed forces; it does not mean employed. Outside the labor force does not mean seeking work. The city is within the county; these are separate distributions, not additive areas. ACS 2024 B23025 source and definitions.
Working-age residents outside the labor force · Ages 25–64
2024 ACS annual estimates, summed across education-specific cells. Combined margin of error not available here. Not all residents outside the labor force want or are available for work. ACS 2024 B23006 source.
People outside the unemployment headline matter too. Some have stepped back from searching, are caring for family, studying, retired or facing other barriers. We should not assume everyone wants a job, but people who do want a way back deserve a human conversation. Fill real roles. Give people a fair chance. We’re people, not machines.
Comparable opening count not verified; jobs deficit not calculable. Postings are not necessarily unique current vacancies, and payroll jobs are not openings. Neither unemployment nor being outside the labor force establishes personal fit or a desire for work. No local NEET estimate is claimed.
Sources and demand context
Source check: October 28, 2026. BLS Washington local-area data (Spokane city area CT5367000000000); Census ACS 2024 B23025 employment status. Census ACS 2024 B23006, ages 25–64 by education and employment status. The broader annual count is not equivalent to youth not in employment, education or training.
Washington ESD: Spokane County profile · Release calendar
For context, ESD’s August 2026 postings report listed 176 customer-service representative postings and 257 hand laborer, freight, stock and material-mover postings in Spokane County. These are advertising counts, not verified open positions or evidence that a particular person qualifies. This is a different month from the unemployment estimate; the figures do not establish an unemployed-to-vacancy ratio.
ESD August 2026 Top 20 postings workbookWhat useful matching could look like — an illustration
In a hypothetical 100-person pilot, 10, 25 or 50 participants might each identify at least one potentially suitable current listing to review with a human. Those would be 10, 25 or 50 people with potential leads—not necessarily that many unique jobs, interviews or hires. These are illustrative scenarios, not a forecast or measured regional match rate.
Each potential lead still needs individual checks for eligibility, skills, licenses, pay, hours, transport and any relevant accommodations.
Optional support and future plans
As funding grows, I intend to prioritize people with the skills or capabilities to contribute who have been looking for work for an extended period.
Panoptes remains free. Support is optional, with no access, priority or hiring advantage. This commitment does not promise a job, compensation or a fixed allocation of every contribution.
Future public-benefit giving
I intend to direct a portion of future contributions toward socially beneficial nonprofit AI work, such as cancer research. The percentage and beneficiary are not yet selected; no allocation, donation or partnership is claimed.
Existing support terms and any restricted funds must be respected, not silently repurposed. This does not make current support tax-deductible or promise that every dollar goes solely to app development.
Proposed nonprofit transition: $15,000
A planning milestone, subject to legal review, ready governance and a sustainable budget. This is not current nonprofit status or an automatic conversion.
Available project funds: Not yet reported.
Roadmap, budget and background
The goal measures funds available for the project after fees, refunds, spending, personal retention, tax reserves and outstanding obligations—not lifetime gross support. No received amount or progress percentage is claimed until reconciled records are available.
- Formation, advice and documented project transfer
- $3,000
- Six months of modest operations and limited paid development
- $9,000
- Contingency
- $3,000
Illustrative estimates, not quotes. The $15,000 plan excludes full-time salaries and promises no salary or fixed allocation.
- Continue optional personal/project support.
- Review Washington fundraising obligations now, including whether registration or an exemption applies.
- If suitable, establish a separate nonprofit and document any intellectual-property and fund transition.
- Put independent governance and a sustainable budget in place, with ongoing reporting.
Current support is not advertised as tax-deductible. Prior personal payments do not automatically become charitable gifts. Formation and any 501(c)(3) approval are separate processes; neither is promised. Free access and no supporter hiring advantage remain unchanged.
Background for review: IRS application fees · Washington registration exemptions · Washington board requirements · IRS charitable contributions. These sources do not establish this project's eligibility.