Pymetrics, Jobbatical, and cringey LinkedIn posts: the latest job board news

As we get deeper into September, we’re seeing continued positive revenue growth from most – not all – job boards and recruitment sites, just like last time. Yes, of course companies are still raising money, and buying each other, and occasionally getting in trouble with the law (ahem, Google!).  The feeling I keep getting from talking to clients, though, is: when will the other shoe drop – if in fact there is another shoe? Well…I don’t know! But I am happy to tell you about what’s happened in the past month:

• Glints gets some major cash: Glints, one of Southeast Asia’s largest talent development and recruitment platforms, announced today it has raised $50 million in an oversubscribed Series D.  Glints’ platform currently has three million professionals in five markets (Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan), and 50,000 companies that are seeking workers. The new capital will be used to expand Glints’ talent supply base in the Philippines and employer demand globally, as well as hiring for its product and tech teams. Congrats!
• Polywork is a different kind of network: Polywork is a venture-backed startup that is building a professional network to help people express their multihyphenated work lives. In other words, if you’re a reporter, who also podcasts, wants to write a book and would love to one day help teach at a university, Polywork wants to give you a place to express that. The company announced that it has raised a $28 million in Series B funding. The company’s early users are mostly people who work in tech full time, looking to broaden their part-time jobs as angel investors, podcasters or newsletter writers. Very interesting.
• Pymetrics is acquired: Digital recruitment company Harver has acquired Pymetrics, a provider of unbiased soft-skill work assessments.  Harver uses behavioral science and deep-data insights to help recruiters achieve better hiring outcomes. Pymetrics uses AI behavioral soft-skill assessments to help companies build diverse teams. Intriguing.
• Jobbatical raises funds: Jobbatical — which specializes in relocating workers and whose business has seen an uplift in the post-pandemic work environments as so many workers become “digital nomads” — has raised an €11.6 million funding round. The company manages employee relocations, in particular for high-growth tech and fintech companies. Founded by Estonian entrepreneurs and siblings Karoli and Ronald Hindriks, and Ankur Agarwal, Jobbatical pivoted from recruitment toward streamlining employee relocation and immigration processes. Congrats!
• nPloy raises cash: Bulgarian HR tech company nPloy has raised €2 million in funding to streamline the process and develop an online platform that works like a dating app for job seekers and recruitment teams. Currently, the startup counts over 85,000 users and over 500 employers, including BIC, SAP, Lidl and Postbank. The company plans to expand to new markets in Central and Eastern Europe with the new funding, and aims to be active in about 10 more countries by the end of 2023. Good luck!
• DHI feeling optimistic: DHI Group Inc., the firm behind jobs websites Dice and ClearanceJobs, raised its revenue guidance for full-year 2022 and announced revenue trends for 2023. “Based on our continued strong bookings growth across both Dice and CJ, we are increasing our full-year 2022 revenue guidance and now expect total revenue to be in the range of $148 million to $149 million, representing growth of between 23% and 24% year over year,” CFO Kevin Bostick said. This is up from the company’s previous forecast for full-year revenue growth of between 21% and 23%. Things must be looking good, eh?
• Joonko raises funds: Diversity-focused rectech company Joonko has announced the raising of a $25 million Series B round, which it will use to fuel expansion, grow its team and open a U.S.-based co-headquarters. Described by Forbes as “the only automated sourcing platform focused solely on underrepresented candidates,” Joonko builds complex algorithms, drawing on NLP (natural language processing) models developed in-house. Intriguing.
• Boss Zhipin revenue drops:  Boss Zhipin, also known as Kanzhun Limited, posted a 4.8% year-over-year decline in revenue in the second quarter of 2022, due to pandemic-related challenges. Despite falling revenue, China-based Boss Zhipin recorded RMB 107 million ($15.7 million U.S.) in net income in Q2, compared with a net loss in the same period of last year. Offering guidance for the third quarter, Boss Zhipin expects revenue to fall by up to 5.9% year over year, as resurgent Covid-19 subdues hiring demand. Interesting.
• An AI That Writes Mega-Cringe LinkedIn Posts: Marketer Tom Orbach absolutely delighted Twitter when he unveiled his LinkedIn Viral Post Generator, a website that uses AI to ape viral LinkedIn posts, cringe and all. Then he announced that his  Viral Post Generator had been acquired by Taplio, a Wyoming-based advertising agency specialized in LinkedIn content. Orbach didn’t disclose how much he had been paid for his tool. Well, I included this info because I know every one of my readers needs viral, cringey LI content – so have at it!
• Diversity nudges, anyone?:  LinkedIn has added a tool to its hiring platform that provides recruiters with metrics and recommendations that help them target more gender-balanced candidate pools. “Diversity Nudges” pop up when a candidate search produces results that are less than 45% male or female, according to a LinkedIn explainer. The feature shows the percentage of the minority gender and recommends location, skill, or company filters that help balance the search. Hmm.
• Sense acquires Skillate: Sense, an artificial intelligence-powered platform for talent engagement, acquired Skillate, an AI recruitment platform. Skillate’s functionality includes an AI-powered matching engine, chatbot screening, resume parsing and automatic interview scheduling. Last December, Sense announced a $50 million Series D funding round. The deal brought total funding at the San Francisco-based company to $90 million. Interesting.
• Awign raises funds: India-based gig platform Awign has raised $15 million U.S. in a Series B funding round. The platform has partnered with over 100 companies to connect gig workers for work order fulfilment. The companies operate in industries and niche verticals such as auditing, diligence, proctoring, content and data operations, invigilation, last-mile delivery, new business development, and telecalling. Congrats!
• OfferUp adds job listings: OfferUp, the Seattle-area startup has added job listings to its popular peer-to-peer marketplace with the launch of OfferUp Jobs in the company’s mobile app. OfferUp Jobs allows job seekers to search by keyword, filter jobs by location, or browse jobs in the feed. Users can apply directly from their mobile device and all interaction or status of applications is handled by the employer. Interesting.
• Gojob also raises funds: French recruitment site GoJob has raised €23 million ($23 million U.S.). Founded in 2015, GoJob specializes in the temporary-employment market and currently has 500,000 users and 1,000 clients in France and the USA. The company, which is based in Aix and has 150 employees, had revenue of €60 million in 2021 and is aiming to break €100 million this year, although it is not yet profitable. Hmm.

Whew! Apparently it’s still ok for job boards to ask for money, right? Until next time – be sure to write at least one cringey LinkedIn post for the Doctor!

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