Rewards on offer in a job-placing revolution

Ever wondered how the idiot sitting across from you got their job? Ever been shocked by the amount of money the headhunter got paid for placing the idiot? 

A new-style recruitment firm aims to revolutionise the shady world of job placement by rewarding workers who refer good candidates for new posts – and it has received backing from one of the internet’s most successful start-up backers. 

Zubka.com today said it has received a multi-million-pound cash injection backed by Benchmark Capital, the venture capital firm that has been behind some of the internet’s most successful stories, including online auctioneer eBay, gambling exchange Betfair and Bebo, the social networking rival to MySpace. 

Launched in the autumn by recruiter David Shieldhouse, 41, and media professional Armando Ruffini, 38, Zubka aims to take advantage of the ‘referral economy’ in which two-thirds of jobs are placed with candidates who have been recommended – but in which the people referring the candidates are rarely rewarded. 

Zubka aims to turn this on its head by getting the man or woman in the street to register on its site if they believe a friend or colleague would be a good candidate for a new job. If that candidate is successfully placed, the person who made the referral will be paid 6.5% of the basic salary of that position – £3250 on a £50,000 job. 

Benchmark partner Klaus Hommels said: ‘Zubka could transform the traditional job-hunting market.’ 

Shieldhouse says he plans to expand the Zubka name by building awareness on the online social and professional networks that are coming to dominate internet communication.