Is Monster on the block? and other news from the job board world

March 8, 2012
JobBoardDoctor

Monster on the block Man, time flies when you’re blogging. It’s been a while since the last news roundup, and a few things have happened. Like:

Is Monster on the block? Or not?: Well, I don’t know. But rumor (and Sal Iannuzzi) has it that the big board is not, as they say, ‘maximizing shareholder value’. In other words, the stock exchange wants more, which may be possible only through a sale. Seems like Monster has made some smart moves in the past year (BeKnown, 6Sense), but it’s a big ship, and big ships pivot slowly – sometimes too slowly (as Carnival Cruise Lines well knows). In other news, the company lays off 400 employees.
No apes for Dice: In a stunning rebuke to CareerBuilder, Dice Holdings has pledged to avoid the use of apes in its ads. This is the sort of forward thinking leadership we need in the job board industry!
Video resumes rise again: GetHired, a Palo-Alto based startup, garnered $1.75 million in VC funding to launch its video-centric job board. The site has several twists, including a Facebook-like interface and the ability (like StartWire) for job seekers to track the status of their job applications. Will it succeed where other video-focused sites have failed? The money has to help! (Yep, don’t forget SparkHire…)
CareerBuilder makes more money: Despite problems elsewhere in the Gannett empire, its digital property division – which includes CareerBuilder – saw a 21% rise in sales.
Job boards the top source of hires: A new study by Talent Technology pegs job boards as the top source of hire. This lines up with the recent CareerXroads study, which had job boards bested only by referrals as a source of hire. (insert ‘job boards are dead’ comment here….)
LinkedIn Q4 revenues grow: The social networking job board saw revenues of almost $168 million during Q4 of 2011, and – in anticipation of competition from every direction – doubled their investment in sales and marketing during the same time span. Smart.
Arbita bails: Arbita cancelled its job posting business – but its customers were able to turn to Broadbean for similar services. Technical and financial issues contributed to the decision, according to CEO Don Ramer.
Indeed starts charging for resumes: In a long-expected move, Indeed began charging employers to access its resume database – thus moving it in direct competition with job boards, its erstwhile clients.