Jobvite’s new tools sound compelling is because they allow you to integrate a recruitment campaign across so many sites and services. The Facebook and LinkedIn applications are pretty similar. Basically, a company sends a listing to its employees, customers, and anyone else who has installed an application. Then it recommends people in those users’ social networks who might be a good fit for the job. If they decide to refer thats someone for the job, a message gets sent to that user. And if that user decides to apply, their information is sent to the company’s Jobvite campaign. The Twitter integration is a bit more limited — it lets you advertise jobs via general “tweets” or direct messages, and it recommends followers who might be a good fit.
Sequoia-backed startup Appirio recently launched similar integration between Salesforce.com and Facebook, which also uses social connections to spread job listings and viral marketing. But that was just a Facebook app, and didn’t include other social networks.(LinkedIn’s built-in job recruiting tool is similarly limited. Chief executive Dan Finnigan says Jobvite also benefits from being focused on jobs exclusively. That focus has made its recommendation engine particularly intelligent, he says, and it learns from how people use it.
Sounds good, but does anyone care about these kinds of tools in a downturn, with depressingly high unemployment numbers reported nationally? Finnigan says that if you’re still hiring, Jobvite is actually good for your bottom line, because it brings in more applicants through personal referrals. That means employers can rely less on professional recruiters, who charge a lot of money.
“In this economy, at this time, companies are all about how to do things quicker and more easily with fewer resources,” Finnigan says. “This enables them to do it.”
Jobvite raised $7.2 million in 2007, and its customers include TiVo and Zappos.com.
Source: Venturebeat
