Freelance workers may soon be able to find their next gigs through a new LinkedIn service that’s currently under development.  LinkedIn Marketplaces will enable users on the Microsoft-owned professional social networking platform to find, connect, hire, and pay freelancers all on the platform itself. LinkedIn spokeswoman Suzi Owens was quoted as saying that the platform has noticed a rise in people searching and requesting services from others during the pandemic. “In the future we'll be building new ways to share more about the services you [could] offer directly through your LinkedIn profile,” Owens told The Information.  LinkedIn’s move isn’t surprising since it is reported that Upwork and Fiverr, the two behemoths in the freelance marketplace field, together generated about $550 million in revenue last year. With over 700 million professionals already on its network, it stands to reason that LinkedIn wants to have a share of the pie as well.  However, what apparently sets Marketplaces apart from the existing functionality is that it’ll be tied to the LinkedIn digital wallet that is also supposedly in the works. The wallet will enable LinkedIn to facilitate transactions between the employers and the freelancers, making the platform an attractive end-to-end solution in the gig economy. If reports are to be believed, LinkedIn has been working on the Marketplaces feature since October 2019, and it’s set to go public later this year in September. Have to ask what will happen to their current product ProFinder> That project marketplace has been out for years but never seemed to become a mainstream product fo rLI...looks like that may fade away in favor of whatever new thing they are building https://www.techradar.com/amp/news/linkedins-new-service-could-be-the-tool-to-book-your-next-freelance-gig iCIMS Adds Slew of New Features Accelerating hiring decisions: iCIMS for Microsoft Teams allows recruiters and hiring managers to provide interview feedback – during or after live video meetings – directly within Microsoft Teams to accelerate the ease and speed of hiring.  Gaining more control with new, native video interview capabilities: Job advertising platform Talroo, has launched a new feature enhancement called Qualifying Questions to enable companies to hire qualified candidates while reducing wasted time and wasted recruitment marketing budget.  https://hrtechfeed.com/new-features-in-hr-tech-icims-talroo-crew/ Bitwise Industries has raised $50M in series B financing led by Kapor Capital, with participation from JPMorgan Chase, Motley Fool Ventures, and ProMedica to support the actions needed to stop the widening wealth gap, end institutional discrimination, and remove the barriers for accessing high-wage, high-growth jobs.  This latest round of funding will support the company’s growth into multiple new markets across the country beginning with Toledo, Ohio.  Bitwise is one of the largest tech apprenticeship providers in the country. https://hrtechfeed.com/tech-apprenticeship-provider-bitwise-lands-50-million/ Phenom, the global leader in Talent Experience Management (TXM), today announced its acquisition of Talentcube, an experience-driven video technology company based in Munich, Germany. Phenom’s third acquisition in five months will accelerate the adoption of video for candidates, employees, recruiters and hiring managers, optimizing support of a post-COVID, remote workforce. The addition of Talentcube’s technology advances Phenom’s ability to provide seamless video functionality at every stage of the talent journey. https://hrtechfeed.com/phenom-acquires-talentcube/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices