InternMatch, a startup that helps students navigate the brave new world of employment, has raised $ 4 million in a Series A round of financing. The round, which brings total amount raised to $ 6 million, was led by Artis Ventures and Subtraction Capital and included previous investors 500 Startups, Kapor Capital, Rudy Gadre and others. In addition to the funding, the company said that Paul Willard, a former marketing executive at Atlassian, Practice Fusion and Coupons.com, will join the company’s board.
Launched in 2009, InternMatch helps job-ready students find potential internships and entry-level jobs, while giving employers a vehicle to showcase their culture and woo candidates. The company says more than 650,000 unique students visit the site each month to watch videos on the companies, search through opportunities and learn about interview etiquette and other job-related topics. For students, the site is free but companies pay to post opportunities and maintain a presence on the site.
With the new funding, the seven-person company plans to build out its engineering team, with the goal of using big data to help students and employers find potential matches.
Already, the site has plenty of data on students’ interests, accomplishments and skills, as well as the kinds of positions that match their profile, said Nathan Parcells, the company’s CMO. Using data-driven algorithms, the startup plans to recommend opportunities to students and help companies find candidates that match their needs or are similar to previous hires.
“There’s a lot of value that can be created by helping students discover new opportunities they haven’t heard of before at companies they haven’t heard of before that might be a good fit,” said Parcells.
Interest in recruiting and job placement has picked up in the past year or so, with more startups aiming to help companies and new college grads connect. Like a Linkedin for beginners, CollegeFeed launched publicly last month to provide students with a social network for learning about and impressing potential employers. MindSumo launched earlier this year, with funding from Google Ventures, as an online marketplace of corporate-sponsored mini competitions meant to give college students a chance to show off their skills while giving companies access to new ideas and talent. And AfterCollege last year updated its career site with a new social layer meant to attract college students.
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