Expand your mind: lotsa new and unusual recruiting sites and services

Theoretically, I shouldn’t be doing another roundup of unusual recruiting sites so quickly after the last one – but you know what? There is so much happening in our industry right now, I thought, to heck with that! I’m gonna do another one anyway! So join me as I take a look at some of the most interesting new-ish services and sites I’ve seen in the past couple of months:

• Workshape.io: The brainchild of Hung Lee, a friend from the UK recruiting biz, Workshape.io takes a visual approach to matching tech candidates to jobs. You take a minute or so to enter what you do (and how much you like what you do); the site builds a shape that is superimposed over the ‘shapes’ of various jobs. Hard to describe, but pretty intuitive when you use it. Worth a look.
• LearnUp: Interesting take on an online learning platform: candidates take various training courses (3-10 minutes). Then LearnUp takes the results and connects candidates to specific employers. It’s been around a couple of years, has managed to attracted funding, and thus seems to have a chance of making it, IMO.
• TalkPush: This is an automated phone screening service – which seems like it would be a good fit with pretty much any ATS or job board. When candidates apply to a job, they’re sent to the TalkPush platform, where they answer a set of questions created by the employer; their answers can be screened by HR, recruiting, and hiring managers. Similar to video interviewing products I’ve seen, but perhaps more efficient because it’s phone-based.
• TenLegs: Another entry in the freelancer/design category, TenLegs is interesting because it focuses on how artists and schools can build specific communities for their work (as well as the usual portfolios, etc.). And yes, it has a job board.
• Boon: It’s another referral network! Boon includes the ability to reward referrals with cold, hard cash, and points out that it can be used for not only hiring but affiliate marketing, non-profits, and charities. Intriguing.
• MindSumo: I don’t why, but there seems to be a mini-boom in sites targeting college students and recent grads. MindSumo is a good example: employers can pose ‘problems’ that students must solve; based on the results, either internships or hiring can result.
• Poachee: No, it’s not an app for hiring eggs, but instead a way that recruiters can ‘poach’ currently employed candidates. Candidates are anonymous. Catch? It’s based in Germany and most of the action seems to be there as well.
• GraduateLand: Did someone say college students? Another European startup (Denmark), GraduateLand follows the model of profiles, jobs, and matching. Nothing unusual – but they’ve been continuously expanding since inception, so something must be working.
• Jobfully: Let’s end with a service that is focused on the candidate. Jobfully provides the candidate with a job search roadmap, video coaching, and other tools to make the job hunt more focused and effective. It’s not cheap ($499 for the Premium package) but it may be just what some candidates need.

Interesting stuff, eh? I can guarantee that in another few months I’ll be able to bring you even more cool startups. Our industry seems to be thriving!

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