2014: the job board year in review

It feels like 2014 was the year that VC money returned to the job board industry. Each month brought more news of investments and funding (not to mention some pretty substantial growth by existing players). So let’s take a journey back and look at the job board year in review:

January

• Dice buys back stock: Dice Holdings, Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program that permits the purchase of up to $50 million of its common stock.
• LinkedIn in the courts: LinkedIn users who are suing the company for “hacking” into their email actually gave the service their permission to access their email contacts and send them invitations, the company argued in papers filed with a federal judge.
• Thumbzz launches: Thumbzz.com promised to give college students a few extra dollars and workplace experience, by way of what it dubbed microjobs.

February & March

• Indeed’s traffic grows: Indeed took the top spot for Career Resources category traffic in the US according to 2013 year-end desktop data released by comScore.
• Evenbase sells OilCareers: Evenbase, dmg media’s digital recruitment business, has sold its specialist recruitment job board, OilCareers, to Dice Holdings, Inc. for US$26m.
• Monster buys Gozaik, TalentBin: Monster announced it bought recruiting startups TalentBin and Gozaik. The terms were not disclosed, but whatever the deal, it wasn’t large enough to trigger a disclosure filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
• Identified is acquired: After releasing earnings, Workday announced that it acquired Identified, a company that offered predictive analytics human resources software.

April & May

• Work4 gets funding: Work4, the Facebook-oriented recruiting platform, picked up $7 million in Series B funding.
• TheGoodJobs gets some cash: TheGoodJobs, a tool that spotlights employer culture, nabbed $300K in funding and loans.
• Doximity raises funding:  Doximity, the semi-closed social network for doctors, closed $54 million in Series C funding.
• CareerBuilder acquires Broadbean: DMGT sold the job distribution company Broadbean – to CareerBuilder.

June

• Gild raises new funding: Gild raised another $13.5 million in funding, bringing its total funding to $27M.
• Boxwood is acquired: Naylor, LLC acquired Boxwood Technology for an undisclosed amount.
• Jibe raises $20M: Jibe , Inc.has raised $20 million in a Series C financing round led by new investor, SAP Ventures.
• Jobaline gets funding: Jobaline raised $7 million in Series B funding for a nationwide expansion of its mobile, bi-lingual marketplace for recruiting hourly workers.

July

• Indeed makes an acquisition: Indeed bought MoBolt to try and make it easier for employers to accept job applications from smart phones.
• JobAndTalent raises funds:  Spain and U.K.-based recruitment site JobAndTalent raised $14 million U.S. in a Series A round of funding.
• TalentInc buys RezBiz: Talent Inc., formerly Nova Global Inc., the parent company of Doostang and TopResume acquired the assets of RezBiz, a provider of resume writing and LinkedIn makeover services.
• SimplyHired picks up $12M: Aggregator SimplyHired raised $12 million in additional funding, on top of $22M in previous funding.

August

• ZipRecruiter lands big bucks: ZipRecruiter announced a Series A for $63M; this represents the first outside money the company has taken since its founding 4 years ago.
• LinkedIn acquires Bizo: LinkedIn planned to acquire the marketing company Bizo, which is used  to target prospects within professional segments, and nurture them at every stage of their sales and marketing funnel.
• Emprego Ligado raises funds: Emprego Ligado, a job marketplace that competes with local job sites and staffing agencies for blue-collar Brazilians by using the cellphone to full effect, raised $7 million in Series A funding.

September & October

• Recruit plans an IPO:  Japan’s largest recruitment company Recruit Holdings is planning an initial public offering worth $1.8 billion.
• SpareHire gets funding: SpareHire, the New York City-based startup that puts finance and consulting professionals with firms who need their services on a short-term basis, landed $750,000 from undisclosed angel investors.
• College-focused sites dominate news: Campus Job raised $968k in seed investment led by Box Group. 10 Minutes With, a London-headquartered startup that offers a career matchmaking platform for graduates, raised $4 million to accelerate growth worldwide. Lynxsy, which aims to connect recent college graduates with companies in part-time positions so that job-seekers and employers can try before they commit to applicants for a full-time position, has launched as well.

November & December

• Dice does well: Dice Holdings had a pleasant Q3, with year over year growth of 29% and results well above the market forecasts.
• ShiftGig lands funding: Shiftgig secured $10 million in its first institutional financing.
• Monster has changes: Monster saw a revenue drop of 2.8% year over year for Q3, although it did beat market predictions for earnings per share. Tim Yates, formerly CFO, is now CEO.
• LinkedIn revenue is up: LinkedIn revenue grew by 45% in Q3 2014, and it also upped its forecast for the 4th quarter.

That’s all for now – but it certainly looks promising for 2015!

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