CareerFairy, a video recruiting platform for Generation Z, has received a six-figure investment, its largest to date according to the startup. The new financing will be used to expand in the DACH region and the Benelux countries as well as to expand the product portfolio. The main investor is the leading European media group Mediahuis. CareerFairy specializes in the placement of university graduates using elements of social media and works with over 250 well-known clients from various industries as well as over 230 universities and colleges.
Founded in 2019 by Thomas Schulz and Maximilian Voss to offer students guidance in their search for their first real job, CareerFairy now has offices in Zurich, Berlin, Utrecht and Lisbon and works with clients such as KPMG, Beiersdorf, L’Oréal and BMW Group.
With the new financing round, CareerFairy’s CEO Thomas Schulz sees the relevance of the business model confirmed and is placing a particular focus on the German market for further expansion. As a result, the Lufthansa Group and Dr. Oetker, two established major players in the German economy, have joined the company as part of the financing.
Thomas Schulz, CEO and co-founder of CareerFairy, said: “We want to revolutionize the outdated recruiting industry and adapt it to the needs of the well-educated Generation Z, for whom traditional job portals are no longer up to date. Conventional application processes hardly offer any real insight into the job and the corporate culture. There is a great risk of finding yourself in a job that simply doesn’t fit. This not only costs applicants time and nerves, but also a lot of resources and ultimately money for the company. We want to change that with CareerFairy and prevent a rude awakening in the first few days of work with an authentic insight into the company, the position and even future colleagues.”
The product portfolio is also being expanded. The company recently presented its first expansion in the form of short videos based on TikTok (“Sparks”). In addition to the new main investor Mediahuis, CareerFairy is also supported by the investors Swiss Post Ventures, Backbone Ventures as well as business angels from SICITIC, Start Angels and Business Angels Switzerland.
Patrick De Wachter, Business Development Director at Mediahuis Marketplaces, commented: “Companies are looking for the best candidates, and we believe that they will increasingly look for them internationally. At the same time, we see that the younger generation is using modern communication channels with a focus on video, which they also want to use in their professional environment. CareerFairy brings all this together and offers a modern way of communicating with a hard-to-reach target group that is more willing to relocate. CareerFairy’s strong team has shown that they have found a way to enter this market. We are excited to be part of their future growth and will support them with our expertise on this journey.”
CareerFairy’s user interface relies on elements of social media (such as Instagram Reels and TikToks, but also Twitch streams) to bring traditional application processes into the current decade. The tech-savvy Generation Z is thus offered low-threshold, authentic insights into their first job with the user behavior they are familiar with from social media. In the livestreams, interested young graduates can ask companies all the questions they wouldn’t ask in a conventional job interview without any consequences.
CareerFairy not only strengthens companies’ employer branding and establishes early contact with students, but also facilitates the application process, giving companies easy access to the otherwise hard-to-reach pool of university graduates.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2023/12/zurich-based-gen-z-recruiting-startup-carrerfairy-snaps-six-figure-investment-to-further-expand-in-dach-region/
