Goodly debuts wiki-style database of employers offering student loan benefits

With student loan repayments set to start up again in January after almost two years of COVID federal relief, the 42 million borrowers in the U.S. are anxiously searching for solutions.

Sixty-seven percent of borrowers say they are unprepared to resume student loan payments, according to Pew research. And with just 8% of employers offering student loan repayment benefits, workers are increasingly interested in those organizations that do, and are willing to compete for available positions.

To help employees navigate their options, Goodly, a student loan repayment benefits provider, has debuted the Goodly Jobs Board, a wiki-style database where prospective employees can browse job postings across thousands of companies that offer student loan benefits.

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“Because the Department of Education has been pretty clear that the moratorium on federal student loan forgiveness is not going to be extended, we've had a lot of job seekers reach out and ask for help connecting with a company that will help to repay their student loans,” says Greg Poulin, CEO of Goodly. “So we built out a broader database of all the companies in the U.S. that are providing student loan benefits. Our number one goal is to create awareness that these benefits exist.”

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The platform is free to use and provides prospective employees with a list of employers offering student loan benefits and links to their open job positions. The platform lists companies that offer Goodly as a benefit — including healthcare tech company ConsejoSano and TrustCo Bank, among others — as well as those who utilize other vendors.   

While the tool is meant as a resource for job seekers, employers can benefit from the knowledge that employees are more likely to accept a job from an organization that offers full-spectrum support, Poulin says.

“This is a product that is really helpful both for jobseekers to find employers that will help pay down their student loans, but it can also be really beneficial for employers,” Poulin says. “Companies can use it from a benchmarking perspective to see the other companies that they might be competing with for talent and for hiring purposes, to see what benefits they offer and they can remain competitive for recruiting and retention as well.”