Jibe: The Newest Player in Social Recruiting
March 23, 2010
Earlier this week, the founders of localbacon (a job board targeted to recent college grads which charged them $.99 to apply to a job) relaunched with a new idea centered around social recruiting. Their new site, Jibe (still in a private beta), is targeted at the 24-and-under crowd, and ties into Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to help people find jobs through their social networks. I found out about Jibe initially through TechCrunch, as they recently closed an $875,000 seed round led by Polaris Venture Partners, which is a Boston Venture Capital firm. OpenView Venture Partners invests in expansion stage companies, so this is not a company we would have considered for a potential venture capital investment, but since I provide recruiting support, I wanted to learn more about this new tool.
Once Jibe’s site is launched, users will sign in using Facebook Connect, which will pull their work and education history from their Facebook profile to start their Jibe profile. They will have the ability to link to their LinkedIn and Twitter accounts as well, and for every job posting on Jibe, they will be able to see if they have Friends (or Friends of Friends) who work at that company. They can then send messages to that person to ask for a recommendation or job advice.
Like localbacon, Jibe will charge applicants to apply for jobs, but it will use a credit system where applicants can earn credits by linking their Jibe account to their other social networks, broadcasting their job search, sending private messages through Jibe, or updating their work history on their profile. Credits can also be purchased for $5 for 500 credits. Job listings will be listed based on popularity (number of views, saves, and applications), and although employers will be able to post jobs for free, they will have to pay $15 to see an applicant’s profile.
A few weeks ago I discussed the shifting internet job board, and I am excited to learn more about Jibe’s new approach to social recruiting, and to try it for myself!
For additional information on how you can use social media to improve your business, check out this blog on using Facebook for your business’ social media, and this post on social media sites that can be useful for sales recruitment. Happy Hiring! 🙂