SonicJobs gain pre-Series A funding to develop their recruitment app

A mobile app revolutionising how candidates search and apply for jobs has achieved a major investment boost which will dramatically help accelerate its growth. SonicJobs secured its pre-Series A financing from Ufi Ventures, Velocity Capital and the Future Fund, as well as existing angels in a process which saw them supported at each stage by Harper James Solicitors. 

Mikhil Raja, CEO of SonicJobs, said the company was aiming to transform the way people apply for jobs. He said: 'Job search on mobile is broken. It's just a page with a bunch of links which redirects you. Uploading a CV, landing on old-school career pages and answering lots of screener questions. The whole process is dehumanising and, particularly for candidates in blue-collar sectors, extremely lonely. We do it together with the candidate. We automatically read and understand the questions that employers need through their career pages, and we guide the candidate on the SonicJobs app to answer each question alongside our AI chatbot Julie.'

‘When people are looking for a position, they are often having to deal with many other stressful situations. They may be under pressure to pay the mortgage or the rent and will have bills need to pay. It is vital then that we guide them and help them to showcase their talents to potential employers. This is even more important as we come out of the pandemic and many people will be looking to find new jobs. These factors are at the heart of SonicJobs.’

Mikhil explained that a key part of his app’s toolkit is the ability to offer candidate careers advice and support as they tackle the process of finding a job. Candidates can create a CV by exchanging messages with AI chatbot Julie, who then recommends the most appropriate jobs. And while Mikhil’s app is helping transform the lives of over 270,000 candidates and counting, he says the support from Harper James has been instrumental in their success. 

‘Many start-ups tend to avoid legal services because they can be put off by the cost. It is often a significant payment and a sizeable chunk of a start-up’s cashflow. What attracted me to Harper James was the pricing model they have in place. It means we get access to top legal professionals at prices we can afford. In our most recent funding round, the support we received was vital. Towards the end, there was some quite complex advice we needed. Our solicitor Jas Bhogal was always on hand to navigate us through the process. Having Harper James as our provider is almost like having your own in-house counsel. I’d recommend them to others.’

Corporate solicitor Jas Boghal added: ‘I was delighted to assist Mikhil and the team at Sonic in this exciting new stage in the business journey.’

SonicJobs, based in London, launched in 2017 and currently employs 13 people. Over the past three years, it has grown rapidly and is now the leading app for people looking for jobs in blue-collar sectors like hospitality and retail across the UK. Since forming, Sonic Jobs has raised around £2.5m in funding and has ambitious plans for the future. 

‘We want to have one million candidates on board within two years,’ Mikhil adds. ‘It is an ambitious target, but we are determined to achieve it.’