Appcast’s Molinari Takes the Helm and Data Takeaways from TA Tech Europe

Another big week in TA/HR Tech news!

Yesterday, Appcast announced that Matt Molinari, currently the Chief Operating Officer, will become the Chief Executive Officer on January 1, 2025. He succeeds Chris Forman, the founder and CEO, who will retire after more than a decade of leadership. Molinari, a respected industry veteran, steps into the role during a tenuous time for Appcast, marked by last week’s layoffs, rumors of major client departures, and ongoing frustrations among agencies and job boards regarding transparency and technology limitations.

How will Appcast evolve under Molinari’s thoughtful leadership? We’ll have to wait and see. And since I lost my Federal Reserve interest rate bet last week—my Magic 8 Ball is staying locked in the desk!

But seriously…As an Appcast user, niche job board owner, and, well, Job Board Doctor, I hope Appcast will seize the opportunity to rebuild relationships with the job board community. The newly appointed leadership team is gender-diverse, reflecting Matt’s commitment to growing and promoting from within. We hope this engagement and talent focus will strengthen and be reflected in their approach with the job board community.

As Ethan Bloomfield, CEO of the vitalfew, commenting on Alexander Chukovski’s LinkedIn post, wrote, “one thing that hasn’t changed in our digital world is COMMUNITY—I think the future is to lean even more into niche communities.”

And Alexander’s post puts an exclamation point on what is a vibrant and thriving job board community. “I am always surprised by how many successful niche job boards still exist. Last week at TA Tech in Paris, I met the founder of a niche job board in the US generating mid-seven figures in revenue from job postings. It’s a team of two founders, three salespeople, and about three external developers.

Don’t count job boards out just yet.”

Speaking of TA Tech, a standout discussion came from Lana Shumyn, Director at Aspen Tech Labs and a fellow woman in TA tech. Lana and the Aspen Tech Labs team graciously shared their insights with the Job Board Doctor team, allowing us to pass some of the highlights along to you.

Some Eye Catchers: 

Downward CPC Pressure – Aspen is closely tracking US wholesale cost per click (CPC) rates. They have observed significant changes in these rates, particularly in the retail and food service sectors. Currently, wholesale CPC rates are at a three-year low, with no signs of recovery in the near future. A particularly painful and pertinent fact for job boards overly dependent on programmatic revenue. An opportunity to revisit your monetization strategy, definitely. 

State of the Job Market

• Jobs are down across the board year-over-year for both the US and Europe. US jobs are down 5.2% year-over-year, but UK jobs are down the most at 14.4%. However, all markets seem to be gradually recovering since the start of 2024.
• A global slowdown in hiring across various regions, driven by factors like economic uncertainty, hiring freezes, and evolving workforce needs. Importantly, this trend isn’t confined to a single industry—it cuts across multiple sectors, signaling broader shifts in the economy. However, some areas are bucking the trend, particularly AI-related jobs, which continue to rise.

Hiring in Tech

• A particularly interesting area is the rise in AI-related vacancies. Globally, they’ve seen a 43.7% increase year-over-year in roles requiring AI skills. This surge aligns with the growing integration of AI across industries, from finance to healthcare. Aspen Tech data reveals the highest concentration of AI jobs in California, where over 50,000 tech companies are headquartered.
• Markets like the UK, France, and Germany have all experienced a rise in AI job postings, with France leading at a 35.5% increase.
• HR/TA Tech is another space seeing growth, though at a modest 1.5% year-over-year increase. This shows that while tech adoption is on the rise, companies are still figuring out how to integrate HR technologies effectively, which could signal future growth in this sector.

Jobseeker Expectations Remain High

• Remote Work – The shift to remote work continues to be a defining trend. Tech roles are seeing a boost in remote opportunities. This trend was accelerated by the pandemic, but it seems to be here to stay, offering flexibility and access to a global talent pool. Of note, the data also shows a downward trend in the UK for remote work.
•  Transparency – One of the most important trends we’re seeing, especially in markets like the UK, US, and France, is salary transparency.
  • Currently, around 44.4% of vacancies in the UK, 42.2% in the US, and 19.6% in France include salary information.
  • In fact, according to Adobe’s Future Workforce Study, 85% of recent graduates are less likely to apply if the salary range isn’t listed. So, if your goal is to attract Gen Z talent, including salary details in job postings is key

Unfortunately, we could not share all the learnings in this post, but I am sure Lana and the Aspen Tech Labs team would be happy to share more.

Until next week.

The Job Board Doctor is always looking for the freshest and most interesting industry news, and most often that comes directly from our readers. Have tea to share with us? Send all your signals via the contact form on JobBoardDoctor.com.

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