Personic Software Inc, the recruitment software provider, is taking on its sixth and last round of funding before an initial public offering on Nasdaq by the third quarter of next year. The Brisbane, California-based company is making a private share placement and hopes to raise $20m to fuel its drive into internet recruitment.

Personic’s two product ranges – EZ Access for the staffing industry and Personic WorkFlow for corporate hiring – automate the process of hiring from advertising to resume scanning and skills matching, with workflow funneling the paperwork of making offers and counteroffers through to actual job placement. The information is all integrated with the human resources back-ends of PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, and SAP.

In the fourth quarter, the company will release software for the US web-based recruitment market that brings staffing firms into contact with those who need personnel, together with the checking agencies for credit references. This is the breakthrough for Personic, says Simon Roberts, general manager for European operations. He says it means that the company can target a hugely-expanded market, and its sales staff will be helped or replaced by interested parties coming to the ePersonic.com web site.

Personic says a sophisticated internet recruitment site that offers more than simply lists of jobs will pose a threat to established media firms, which derive much of their revenue from employment-related advertising. Personic is also looking to form a partnership to market this software. Ideally, it says, it would be with a company such as AOL, Excite or Yahoo, but application service providers and publishing groups are also an option.

Personic was formed in 1994 and is pursuing an aggressive growth curve, with revenue of $1m in 1996 up to $16m last year, and $30m expected this year. The firm has eight offices in the US as well as branches in Australia and the UK, and expects to move into France and Germany.