Is CareerBuilder for sale? Microsoft to buy?
Posted on December 12, 2008
Filed Under Job Boards |
Tribune Co just filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which is a legal proceeding to reorganize their organization to pay off debtors.
Most in the Internet Recruiting Market would agree that CareerBuilder has become THE leader in providing employers with job seeker candidates.
What’s really going on?
9/25 -Sales VP giving low performers notice.
10/10 - CareerBuilder CEO states headcount will drop.
12/4 - Mass Layoffs at CareerBuilder headquarters.
12/9 - Tribune Co. announces bankruptcy.
CareerBuilder ownership, as reported in May 2007, looks something like this:
Gannett 40.8%
Microsoft 4%
Tribune 40.8%
McClatchy Co. 14.4%
From my experience, here is one way it could play out.
In a chapter 11 bankruptcy, the management, creditors, and judge have to come together to figure out how to pay the bills.
Option 1- Tribune sells to Microsoft
From the management and ownership side, this is probably not a good option, but it might be one of the only options, depending on how bad the situation at Tribune Co is. CareerBuilder is one of the business units that is probably generating cash and its equity continues to grow. So selling now might now sound all that attractive. However, we are facing a massive hiring slowdown, which in turn is going to kill Q4, Q1, and probably Q2 and Q3 revenues. So is CareerBuilder at its valuation Peak?
A sale would be enticing, IF they could get a solid valuation Bankruptcy bad for Tribune Employees cash, which might come from Microsoft increasing their stake, or other major suitors coming in. There probably aren’t many others with cash on hand to invest, so I’m favoring a Microsoft deal.
Option 2 - Tribune, and other owners, start pulling cash from CareerBuilder.
This, of course would cause some serious long-term affects to the brand, because their market share would drop, which would devalue the property even further. Not only would this be bad for CareerBuilder, but it could become a real ugly mess internally. Because of the slowing economy slowdown, this too might be a really ugly choice, as cash is going to be drying up anyways.
What are other options?
What do you think CareerBuilder will look like in 24-36 months?
Will companies start focusing on their own Career Sites?
Will HR Search Engine Optimization take off?
Will employers start engaging their potential job seekers with social networking and marketing, and owning their own brands online?If CareerBuilder does tank, this would probably be a major shot in the arm for Pay-Per-Click Recruiting? The clear winners will be the aggregators, like Indeed, SimplyHired, JuJu.com, TopUSAJobs, GO Jobs (our aggregator business), and others.
What are your thoughts? Comment below!!!
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4 Responses to “Is CareerBuilder for sale? Microsoft to buy?”
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Perhaps the domination of the big 3 is truly at hand. Niche job boards, social media and sourcing are now more effective and attractive to recruiters. We may be seeing the perfect storm.
Hmmm, I can’t tell you what WILL happen because I am not smart enough for that. What I can tell you is what I think SHOULD happen. I don’t believe in some of the larger boards. Never used ‘em, not a fan. This is not to say that they can’t use the current situation to dramatically overhaul their “issues” and emerge from this recession smarter, faster and more equipped to handle their customers’ needs and wants.
Yes, companies should have their own job boards but boards that use SEO, RSS and social media to keep the job seeker engaged. And it better be GOOD, because no jobseeker wants to read boring crap all the time.
If the big boards want to help the job seeker by getting postings, they should focus on aggregating content rather than selling space. So many big boards (even pet of the week Craigslist) are bogged down by junk ads that it’s a waste of time for even remotely talented candidates to wade through them.
As a marketer, I have watched careerbuilder walk a thin line with many of their ads. Can they channel that marketing genius into compelling job postings, creative distribution and strategic alliances and emerge as the best job board ever (EVEN if they’re big?) I hope so.
IMHO, it would not be a huge loss for CareerBuilder to go under. As a recruiter, I have seen little value from it for several years.
Careerbuilder still has appeal to many candidates. Why people think about going to Careerbuilder rather than organic search or an aggregator is hard for us recruiters to understand. They obviously have done a good job with marketing their product.