MentOlim networking event revolutionizes job hunting for new olim

The event drew in 130+ olim, over 30 industry professionals, and recruiters from leading companies (like Monday, SimilarWeb, Artlist, GeoEdge, WSC Sports, HiBob, KPMG, and more). After some informal mingling, where refreshments were served, the evening opened with remarks from the program’s founder, Meygan Aflalo, followed by several talks from participants whose careers were jump-started through her guidance.

The space then transformed into various zones, marked by departments within the hi-tech world, such as research and development, marketing, and product design. This format allowed job seekers to sit face-to-face with mentors and recruiters who work in the fields that interest them.

The atmosphere was warm and inviting, making it conducive to networking and conversation. Overall the event was a success and received excellent praise and feedback from the attendees.

While there, I spoke with Meygan, the founder of Olim Matslihim, whose own aliyah journey and entrepreneurship sparked an initiative that is transforming the trajectory of olim across the Israeli job market.

“I was very lucky to find my first job without really having to look for one. Someone introduced me to someone, we went for a coffee, and I left with a job on the table. ”It was then, she says, that she understood the true power of networking in Israel.

She began working at a small Israeli cosmetics start-up, an industry familiar to her from her time in France, where she had worked for LVMH, one of the biggest luxury cosmetic companies in the world. She was happy to work in her field and was grateful for the opportunity to practice and improve her Hebrew. But she soon realized that the cosmetics world in Israel was very different from France and that she wanted a change.

Soon, they were reporting back to her that they had received more interviews and even job offers. Meygan realized that there was a serious gap in preparing olim for the Israeli job market and that she could really make a difference.

First, she kept hearing about olim leaving Israel because they couldn’t find work or they couldn't make it financially. This was especially tough for her, as an olah herself, because it felt hypocritical. “We encourage people to make aliyah, but when they are finally ready and actually get here, they don’t always get the help that they need,” she said.

Upon seeing the disturbing reactions of the Western world following the massacre and the sharp rise in antisemitism, Meygan understood that her program was not only helpful but critical.

After the war, the job market became even more unstable, more people were being fired, and more companies shut down. It became increasingly harder for people to find jobs.

“I thought to myself that we might be facing a period of time where all Jews will have to come to Israel because it will be too dangerous to live abroad and if this is what is going to happen, I want to help, because I know the challenges and struggle of being an olah, and  when I first looked for a job in Israel, I always that I would be able to find a service like mine.’”

And so, in January 2024, Olim Matslihim was founded.

In its first months, she ran the project alongside her job at SimilarWeb. But by the end of March 2025, she made the leap and left hi-tech to focus on the program full-time. The organization grew rapidly and continues to expand.

It also helps olim to prepare for interviews and to understand the Israeli workplace culture. “There’s a big cultural gap. Here it is much more informal than abroad. Olim need to be prepared for this,” says Meygan.

“If you’re an oleh with amazing experience, but you are asking for the salary of a junior, employers will think you’re pretending to have this experience, but that you don’t have it, otherwise you would ask for a higher salary, so they doubt about it too.” Meygan has seen this many times.

But her job does not end the moment a client signs a contract. The final step of the program is what Meygan calls the “success meeting.” This is where she helps olim to implement a success plan once they are in the company, to make sure that they continue to grow in the way that they want.

Here, she relates a powerful anecdote, emphasizing why this step is so critical.

The day she was promoted at SimilarWeb, someone else got fired. This is what she tells people: “You want to be the one who gets promoted, not fired.” This is why the success plan is so important.

This networking gap, explains Meygan, becomes an employment gap. “If you don’t have a network you will struggle a lot more to get a job. That is a proven fact.”

The program mainly focuses on the tech world, as this is Meygan’s specialty and where she has extensive experience and a strong network. But it also supports olim seeking jobs in other fields to make this transition. Meygan has helped people secure positions in finance, sales, marketing, and even nonprofit work.

She even helped one woman get a job at a nonprofit called Latet. Although this isn’t a tech job, the woman still needed help leaving her old position and growing in her new role in her new company.

Some people get their first job out of luck, says Megan, like she did. But when they are ready to move on or try out a different career path, they feel stuck.

This is where Olim Matslihim steps in.

Meygan also assists reservists and wives of reservists at a reduced cost, as it is very important for her to pay back “because of everything they do for us.”

Since its founding, Olim Matslihim has helped more than 60 people from the UK, US, South Africa, France, Russia, and Ukraine to find jobs, and it continues to grow. Every month, an average of three olim a month land jobs through the program.

“Without a network in Israel, you cannot make it. Companies consider referrals as the top source in terms of recruitment efficiency/cost-benefit so connections is the first way to find a job,” she says.

Her own early experiences taught her this. She used to go to networking events, but they often felt like a waste of time. She would go, listen to other people speak, but never made any good connections. This frustration is what drove her to start MentOlim and what shaped the concept behind it - a deliberately structured networking space.

“Here, I wanted to build an initiative that will make it easy for people to talk to each other. It’s like a professional speed-dating. You don’t have a choice. You have to go and speak with mentors. You have to mingle… You cannot stay in your corner. If you do, I will come to you and will ask you who you are looking for and introduce you to the right mentor.”

Her goal at these events is always to create a warm, welcoming environment. “We’re all here sharing the same goal. Mentors want to help, and olim want to be helped. At the end of the day, that’s the whole point.”

She has a 360 vision of what is going on in a company, which is why she is able to help people in so many fields. She is also a people person who likes to connect with people.

As an entrepreneur, she says, this is her job and her mission (to help people). She knows that it’s easy for her to get the information that she needs to help olim in new fields- and this is what is needed to help them - information and connections.

Success stories are what drive her passion to continue, as they highlight just how life-changing Olim Matslihim can be.

One example is a young oleh, who was ready to settle for a position at a company far below his expertise and far below his expected salary. With Meygan’s guidance, he was able to negotiate his offers strategically and eventually secured a managerial role earning triple the salary.

Another client, a father of three who had been fired, told Meygan he had a few months to find a job or he would have to consider leaving Israel. She helped him to secure a job he wanted in an amazing company.

The grateful father told Meygan that her program was life-saving and that it had made all the difference. He told her that in the UK, he had good networks; it was easy to find work through his connections. But in Israel he didn’t have this and was struggling because everything was different here.

Another client, Dan from France, secured a job before even making aliyah, enabling him to immigrate with confidence, knowing that he had a job waiting for him. Now, he works in one of the country’s best hi-tech companies. Recently, he got engaged - because now he has the stability that he needs to start a life and build a family in Israel.

Now, after helping more than 60 people build careers in Israel, Meygan continues expanding her network, her program, and her vision. Because she knows how difficult the Israeli job market can be for Olim, she is determined to make sure that they don’t have to face that journey alone.