Professional networking site TalentSky raises $7.5 million to tackle Linkedin

TalentSky, a startup that claims to “represent an evolution in the employment search,” announced today that it took in a $7.5 million series A investment from over 100 different angel investors. TalentSky also announced its official launch yesterday.

TalentSky works as a professional network in which users can evaluate their skills and compare those skills to the ones they need in their desired career paths. It partnered with companies like eBay, Equinix, and Coca-Cola to share in their corporate profiles the desired skill set of ideal job candidates.

The Redwood City, California-based startup told VentureBeat it aims to become “a second generation of what Linkedin is” by following an approach similar to Linkedin’s endorsement section. Users share projects they have worked on and the skills they executed in the process. Then, coworkers, peers, and supervisors rate the users’ performance, and an algorithm measures the feedback to assess proficiency.

“Our tech looks at the quality and gives a percentage relative to other people around you,” said cofounder and CEO Rick Devine. “It is  a much more comprehensive method” than simple endorsements.

By using TalentSky, the company said, people get insight into their own skills, allowing them to work on their weaknesses.

Though the startup does not consider itself an employment platform, it does believe that its approach can flip the hiring process to one in which companies directly contact job-seekers who have what they’re looking for.

“If you are looking for a job, we are not the product for you. If you are looking to improve yourself, we are the right product,” said Devine.

TalentSky has raised at least $10 million since its seed round, all of which comes from private investors.