Jobvite, the company that helps recruiters tap the referral power of employees’ social networks, got a $15 million injection of new capital that it will use to accelerate its already rapid growth.
Announced this morning, the Series C funding round brings to just over $30 million the company has received in investor financing since its founding in 2007.
Jobvite has been on a tear since introducing its first product, the eponymous Jobvite Hire. The first iteration of Hire sent job announcements to a company’s employees, encouraging them to pass on the notice to their qualified friends and associates. No matter how far along a Jobvite was forwarded, a recruiter always knew who the original employee was whose chain of contacts resulted in a successful referral.
Almost as soon as the first Jobvite was sent, the company upped the value by connecting with Facebook and LinkedIn. Now, recipients of a Jobvite can tell who among their contacts is a good match for the position.
In the two years since introducing the apps, Jobvite has continued to release features — market-driven features, not simply more bells and whistles. Today, the company has two major product lines: Jobvite Hire, which is an ATS with a strong social media sourcing focus and useful, user-friendly metrics; and Jobvite Source, a social media sourcing and candidate contact tool that automates such routine tasks as job posting and profile matching.
The company also offers a free, stripped-down version of its sourcing service, called Jobvite Share.
Already claiming a growth rate of 600 percent in two years, it’s hard to see how Jobvite can kick it up even another notch. The announcement of the new financing says Jobvite now has about 500 clients, including Whole Foods Market, Starbucks, Zappos.com, Inc., Yelp, and Twitter.
However, social media itself is still growing, and recruiter interest in leveraging connections shows no sign of abating. LinkedIn is a clear case in point. It’s market valuation, when it IPOs Thursday, is anticipated to end up around $3.3 billion, much of it based on the expectation that its recruitment revenue will continue to power the company.
No wonder then, that Jobvite’s funding announcement quotes its president and CEO Dan Finnigan saying, “The widespread adoption of social media is changing how people find jobs.
“We are leading the way to provide the new technologies companies need to find and engage quality employees where they socialize. This investment will allow us to accelerate the reshaping of the multi-billion dollar online recruitment market.”
The series C funding was led by Trident Capital and joined by previous investors CMEA Capital and ATA Ventures. John Moragne, senior managing director and co-founder of Trident Capital, will join the Jobvite board.