Curated Intel from the Talent Tech Industry
March 21-27, 2022:
• Making hay big time: German AI recruiting solution HeyJobs raises $47M in Series B funding;
• Pinpointing recruitment’s weak link: The process is broken due to lousy interviewing practices;
• Exercising caution but still playing: VC startup funding down in Feb but still near 12 mo. average;
• Shaking up the freelancer market: Malt acquires management consultant network Comatch;
• Score one for individual privacy: US & EU reach trans-Atlantic data-sharing agreement.
PLUS
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German AI recruiting solution HeyJobs grabs $47M in Series B funding
With the ‘boomer’ generation nearing retirement and of course, how can we not talk about the period of the Great Resignation, European employers are facing steep declines in the available workforce. Germany alone is losing 500,000 workers annually. As German CEOs rank the ‘labor shortage’ their No. 1 concern for growth, Berlin-based HeyJobs is rising to the challenge. To take on Europe’s dramatically changing labor demographics, it has now raised $47 million funding. The Series B round was led by Digital+ and FMZ Ventures, with participation from existing investors, including Notion Capital, Heartcore Capital and Creathor Ventures. The startup will use the funding to push the application of AI in talent acquisition and expand its data and business team in Germany.
Recruitment is broken, especially the way interviewing is done
In today's candidate-driven jobs market, recruiters are under more pressure than ever to identify talent that can help companies overcome shortfalls in digital skills and remain competitive. And with software developers increasingly fielding multiple job offers at once, employers are starting to realize that they no longer hold all the power – and are having to work much harder to woo the tech staff they desperately need. Many employers are focusing on reviewing perks, benefits and salaries in their efforts to gain an edge. But comparatively few are examining whether the reason they are struggling to get the talent they need is due to shortcomings in their own hiring processes. "Interviewing is this thing that is an absolutely critical piece of the hiring process, but it tends to get overlooked and it's treated as a side job," says Jeff Spector, co-founder and president of interviewing platform Karat.
February Startup Funding Dips As Investors Show New Caution
Global venture funding in February 2022 fell by $10 billion month over month, clocking in at $52 billion, based on an analysis of Crunchbase data, as startup investors seem to be coming off last year’s highs and assessing the impact of the Ukrainian conflict, record inflation and public-market turmoil. It’s also worth keeping in mind that startup funding last month was still up year over year compared to February 2021 by $10 billion—a 24 percent increase. And funding in the past month was not far below the 12-month average of $55 billion we saw in 2021, a period in which annual venture funding soared 100 percent compared to 2020.
Freelance marketplace Malt acquires management consultant network Comatch
French freelancer marketplace Malt has acquired Berlin-based Comatch. The latter specialises in connecting management consultants and industry experts with companies in need of external support. The acquisition will strengthen Malt’s product offering by providing a network of top-tier guns for hire. The financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed. Founded in 2014 by McKinsey alumni Dr. Christoph Hardt and Dr. Jan Schächtele and launched in March of 2015, Comatch has drawn over 15,000 independent management consultants to the table across nine markets, who will now join Malt’s 320,000+ member freelancer community.
‘Predictable and trustworthy data flows:’ US, EU reach trans-Atlantic sharing agreement
The White House has hammered out a new agreement with the EU that could again allow businesses to transfer data and personal information across the Atlantic, a highly-anticipated move that could provide assurance to thousands of companies after Europe’s top court struck down the deal’s predecessor in 2020. In joint remarks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, US President Joe Biden said Friday that the new partnership will “once again authorize transatlantic data flows that help facilitate $7.1 trillion in economic relationships with the EU.” “This will enable predictable and trustworthy data flows between the EU and U.S., safeguarding privacy and civil liberties,” von der Leyen said. The announcement signals the possible end of nearly two years of uncertainty after the European Court of Justice invalidated Privacy Shield, an earlier version of the agreement. The US-EU agreement seeks to ensure that the personal information of EU citizens can be moved to US data centers while maintaining EU-level privacy protections.
Meet the Analysts Who Make a Difference in Talent Technology Sales
Industry analysts are important for two reasons: they heavily influence employers’ purchases of technology, and VCs and private equity companies often rely on their views when making investment decisions. Whether you’re a new version of a job board or job marketplace or a recruitment marketing solution with a new feature, whether you’re advancing the capabilities of conversational AI or pushing the envelope in programmatic ad buying or candidate management systems, you’ve got a story to tell to analysts in the HR/TA field … and now you’ll get your chance at TAtech North America & The World Job Board Forum. The conference will be held on May 31-June 2 in Austin and feature a Who’s Who of industry analysts. Join us!