Curated Intel from the Talent Tech Industry
July 4-10, 2022:
• Being the boss may not keep you employed: Are former startup founders less hireable;
• Enabling the 4th industrial revolution: Onomondo raises $12M to lower barriers to digitization;
• Powering casual staffing down under: Seek invests $20M in ANZ-based Sidekicker;
• Dealing with deepfakes: FBI warns of criminals operating in remote interviews for tech jobs;
• Recognizing the power of talent technology: Lighthouse Research says employers finally get it.
PLUS
• Early Bird Discounts are about to end for the TAtech Leadership Summit on Technology & the Candidate Experience. To be held at the Harvard Club in NYC on September 28, this unique event is specifically designed to promote information exchange, learning and networking among corporate and industry innovators and thought leaders.
Are Former Startup Founders Less Hireable?
Most companies claim that they want to hire employees who are entrepreneurial and innovative. But when presented with job candidates who have real-world entrepreneurship experience — that is, startup founders — how do employers actually respond? It’s not uncommon for former founders to find themselves on the job market. More than 90% of high-tech startups fail within a few years, and even successful founders often look for traditional jobs after their startup exit. Former founders ostensibly have exactly the kinds of qualifications that should appeal to employers searching for innovative talent. But it can be difficult for a hiring firm to validate their skills and experience, since founders’ track records are often largely self-reported and can’t be verified as easily as for employees leaving an established firm. In addition, recruiters focused on determining candidates’ cultural fit and commitment to the firm may see founder experience as a red flag, since they may assume entrepreneurs will want to “be their own boss” and will be more likely to leave the firm quickly to start another company.
Onomondo raises $21M growth investment
Onomondo is a company that helps customers think about connectivity less. It might seem paradoxical, but we could define success by becoming invisible. However, we definitely want the following news to be seen. We are really pleased to share that we’ve just closed a $21M funding round led by Verdane, along with participation from our existing investors, Maersk Growth, People Ventures, and The Danish Growth Fund. This comes on the back of our rapid evolution over recent years, building new functionalities into our network, hiring incredibly talented people, and picking up exciting customers from a broad range of industries. With this initial growth round, we can take significant steps toward our goal of truly enabling the 4th industrial revolution and lowering the barrier for digitizing the world’s physical industries. It's time to supercharge our unique IoT Connectivity Stack and hire even more talent so we can make a truly lasting impact in the world.
Casual staffing marketplace Sidekicker pockets $20 million from AUS job board SEEK
Nine-year-old Sidekicker, which operates in Australia and New Zealand, has more than 12,000 casual workers on its platform, which is used by more than 5,000 businesses. The funding will be used to accelerate further expansion across ANZ, and platform upgrades to improve the ways businesses and workers interact. Sidekicker has offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Auckland and Wellington, with 133 full-time staff and saw annual gross revenue grow by more than 70% during the pandemic, currently placing an average of 2,500 workers, dubbed sidekicks, into jobs per week. Sidekicker CEO Thomas Amos co-founded the company with Jacqui Bull and said they’re pleased to have the backing of SEEK Investments. “This funding round will allow us to continue to invest in expanding our current categories across ANZ whilst delivering new capabilities to our platform that will benefit both our sidekicks and customers,” he said.
FBI warns of more criminals using deepfakes in remote interviews for tech jobs
WTF?! If you're interviewing someone via video call and notice they sneeze or cough without moving their face, you're probably interacting with a deepfake. The FBI is warning of an increase in the number of criminals using this method, combined with stolen Personally Identifiable Information (PII), in interviews for tech jobs that enable access to sensitive customer data. Deepfakes have been around for a few years now. They were originally used to place celebrities' faces on the bodies of adult actresses to create a type of AI-generated porn, which is banned on most platforms. The process has become increasingly advanced since then, leading to laws designed to protect against political and pornographic deepfakes and companies racing to find ways of identifying them. The warning issued by the FBI states that more complaints are being received about deepfakes being used in interviews for remote or work-from-home positions, including those for information technology and computer programming, database, and software-related jobs.
Employers Rely on More Talent Technology to Address Skills Shortage
More than anything else, employers are looking at technology to help them solve their bigger talent challenges. At least, that’s what new research by Lighthouse Research & Advisory discovered. Lighthouse’s study, “Hiring is more critical than ever: How employers and candidates are evolving in the current market,” was based on a survey of 1,054 employers with headcount ranging from under 250 employees to over 10,000, plus 1,000 candidates and workers. Using new hiring technology to solve the challenges of the tight talent market is the number one action employers are taking right now, Lighthouse said. Some 90% of employers plan to purchase talent acquisition technology to add value for candidates, hiring managers and recruiters. “In the last 12 months, eight in 10 employers said that hiring has risen to the level of a business challenge, not just an HR or talent priority,” Lighthouse said. Nine of 10 companies are actively shopping for some type of talent acquisition technology, the report said. Talent acquisition technology for recruitment marketing, video interviewing and diversity hiring rank top of their technology wish list.
Early Bird Discounts to End for Technology & the Candidate Experience Summit
Early Bird Discounts are about to end for the TAtech Leadership Summit on Technology & the Candidate Experience. To be held at the Harvard Club in NYC on September 28, this unique event is specifically designed to promote information exchange, learning and networking among corporate and industry innovators and thought leaders. The program includes stand-alone presentations, panels, fireside chats, case studies and a Product Palooza to showcase some of the most exciting solutions in the market. Speaking slots and sponsorships are going fast, so contact TAtech CEO Peter Weddle right away if you’re interested (peterweddle@tatech.org).