profile updated Mar 17, 2008, 2:42 PM
If you don't know Jobster, where have you been? Or maybe we should have said, "If you don't know Jobster, join the club."
After four years of life and at least three changes of direction, Jobster is something of a chameleon, trying on business models the way most of us try on clothes. The one constant has been publicity and VC funding. (OK, that's two.)
Publicity over becoming the first (and "exclusive" for a few months anyway) job site on Facebook. Publicity over its unfortunate and very public staff layoff last year. Publicity engendered by its founder's blog where you can learn about such things as his Prada shoe dunking. And more publicity about the departure of founder and CEO Jason Goldberg and his successor, Jeff Seely.
Despite, or maybe because of the publicity, Jobster is bankrolled to the tune of some $50 million. That's more than most startups ever see, even when they actually make money, something Jobster was hoping would happen in 2008.
However, that's in doubt now, following the disclosure in March 2008 that Jobster lost $11 million in 2007 and has burned through $45 million of its funding. Another infusion of cash is expected as this is being written.
The cornerstone of the business is a digital employee referral program the company introduced in 2004. Designed to leverage the connections employees have, the Jobster program circulates openings to a target employee list. These openings spread virally to professional friends and acquantainces of the employees and, voila, the candidates appear. Except, of course, it didn't always work that way. So Jobster added a job board and began aggregating jobs by scrapping employer sites. Then it overhauled the whole approach to build a social network around employees and their jobs, adding a job posting network and affiliate program.
Today's Jobster is an amalgamation of parts layered onto the underlying job referral program to create a social media recruitment program. Does it work? Yes, recruitment managers say. It's not a silver bullet, but another arrow in the quiver. Electronic Arts and Expedia are among the 1,000 employers doing business with the company, including more than a dozen of the Fortune 100.
What's the future for Jobster? The company is betting on the supremacy of social networks for sourcing candidates and filling jobs. It has a strong presence on Facebook, it offers job posting and network distribution through a growing affiliate program, and it has the ability to take a job "viral" by virtue of its employee referral program. Then there's the individual worker profiles that Jobster encourages. If these pieces can be made to gel in some comprehensible manner, then watch out.News & Updates 
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Jobster Gets $7 Million Infusion (ere)
Jobster pulled a rabbit out of the hat Thursday, announcing that its investment group has come up with $7 million in a fourth round of financing. Apr 25, 2008, 2:05 AM -
Sumser Out At Recruiting.com (JohnSumser.com)
Jobster cancels its contract with John Sumser to run Recruiting.com a month early. He sounds off about it. Apr 7, 2008, 1:27 PM -
Jobster Burns Through $45 Million in Three Years; Will Get Additional Funding (ERE Media)
In a letter sent to investors, most of whom are employees and former employees holding options, Jobster said that it lost about $11 million in 2007 and has less than $3 million left in the bank. Mar 17, 2008, 11:08 AM
Products & Services
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Job Postings
Usual type of job posting program. The twist is that paid posts (jobs can be posted free) rise to the top of a search. Flat rate or $5 per candidate applying. -
Jobster Professional
Bundled package that includes featured job posting and access to Jobster's database of passive candidates. This list is compiled from multiple sources including LinkedIn, Google, Facebook and others. The service includes a CRM component enabling direct communication with the candidates turned up in the search. -
Team Edition
Intended for larger companies with multiple recruiters and an aggressive hiring program. In addition to job postings and the database searching offered in Jobster Pro, Team Edition includes the referral program that was Jobster's founding product. -
Promote My Brand
Corporate employment branding program that includes banner ads, text ads linked to job search keywords, text ads on Jobster's Facebook application and even home page ads on Jobster. Program is al a carte.