In case you were out of the office yesterday, the online recruiting space got a huge jolt with the acquisition of the biggest job site in the world, Indeed.com. They announced the sale on their blog.

Terms of the sale weren’t announced but its a safe bet that it was around the billion dollar mark. I’m sure there are a lot of instant millionaires in Stamford and Austin right now. As a former client of Indeed, and one that was there in the beginning, I have watched them grow from a small start-up to the juggernaut they have become.

This acquisition is clearly about location, location, location. Indeed is strongest in North America. Recruit Co is strong in Asia. It gives both companies a foothold in each other’s markets.

Indeed is a giant sales machine which is mainly how they got here. They’ve got rows and rows of sales reps in their Stamford office doing nothing but cold calling employers, staffing firms and yes the occasional job board.

Job boards were their bread and butter in the early years but now they seem to be focusing exclusively on employers. Staffing firms and certain job boards just dont make the cut anymore. They want ‘original’ jobs that seekers cant find anywhere else. And now that Indeed has resumes, its ironic because they’re more like a job board than ever before.

But this is business and only the strong survive.

And speaking of survivors what does this mean for the #2 job search engine, SimplyHired? I have long thought that they would be a great pickup for Linkedin since they are both in silicon valley and both are all about the technology. Since there have been several big sales lately (SelectMinds, Kenexa, JobMagic, Indeed) there is definitely an appetite for recruitment technology. I expect to see more activity for the rest of the year.

Here’s a roundup of the articles about Indeed/Recruit Co;

http://www.sourcecon.com/news/2012/09/26/recruit-wants-to-be-a-global-recruitment-power/

http://www.courant.com/business/hc-indeed-recruit-20120925,0,4705954.story

http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/25/japans-recruit-co-acquires-indeed-com-to-extend-jobs-reach-from-us-to-asia/

http://www.businessinsider.com/indeed-an-almost-entirely-bootstrapped-job-search-giant-gets-a-monster-exit-2012-9

http://online.wsj.com/article/AP11ef39899cd944d5993e3f33da795379.html

http://venturebeat.com/2012/09/25/recruit-co-buys-indeed/

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Local-job-search-website-Indeed-com-bought-by-3892808.php

SimplyHired has announced a way for job seekers to apply to jobs through their mobile devices. The service is aimed at employers who want to reach mobile job seekers. Just like Indeed.com, candidates can now post their resume directly to SH.

From the email I received:

Today, a staggering 77% of job seekers use mobile technology in their job search. Now there’s an easy way to attract mobile candidates! With Mobile Simply Apply, you can be the first to reach these engaged candidates where they are spending their time.

The first of its kind in the market, Simply Apply enables job seekers to quickly and easily apply to your jobs from their mobile devices. With Simply Apply you receive:

• A seamless experience: Receive resumes and cover letters from mobile candidates in a streamlined manner.
• A wider candidate pool: Reach more progressive, tech savvy candidates by tapping into job seekers on mobile phones and tablets.
• Top exposure: Your jobs are shown first in results on Simply Hired Mobile through job sponsorship.

Over 10,000 employers are already benefitting from the ease of the application process. To learn more or get started with Simply Apply, please contact your Simply Hired sales representative.

Cheers,
The Simply Hired Team

If your job board’s feed goes into SimplyHired, they have a cool badge to promote that fact. As I have mentioned several times in the past, you need to leverage the aggregators to your advantage, even if you consider them as a competitor.

Badges like this help establish trust among employers. Use it or lose it.

http://resources.simplyhired.com/simply-hired-badge.html

Jobs syndicated to the Simply Hired Network

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