Back when I managed a publishing company, I learned something very important. The fastest way to shut down a conversation is to label a question – any question – dumb. I firmly believe there are no dumb questions. In fact, those that seem almost silly on the surface often led to productive conversations. So, in that spirit, I propose the following questions about our industry:
- Will Indeed commit another act of hubris?: “Hubris, or less frequently hybris, describes a personality quality of extreme or excessive pride or dangerous overconfidence and complacency, often in combination with arrogance.” I’ve found that acts of hubris often occur when a company gets so big and successful that it cannot imagine that it could do anything that might fail. Indeed, of course, started out 2023 by telling its clients that they would use a pay per application model – or else. As you know, it didn’t work out that well. Is another similar screw-up in the offing? Perhaps a demand by the world’s largest job board that all job ads will be rewritten by their super-special job-writer AI tool? There are lots of acts of hubris that a big job board can commit – just ask Monster!
- Will ZipRecruiter survive another 12 months?: Remember, no dumb questions, right? There is no reason to expect ZipRecruiter to fail this year, except for lackluster growth, stalled revenue, and an inability to deliver on the promise it showed at the time of its IPO. Zip has a higher profile than many job boards that are much older than it – but somehow it hasn’t seemed to find its slot in the industry. Is it an Indeed competitor? Will it lock down the SMB market? Or is it simply for sale? I don’t know. But I’m curious.
- Will Google Job Ads finally move out of beta (or alpha, or wherever they are)?: You have to wonder what Google is actually doing with its Job Ads program. Is it real? Somewhat, based on sightings here and there. Are they actually serious about it? Hmm. I remember Google Hire, as do thousands of small businesses who used and relied on it – until Google yanked it off the market. Are Google Job Ads the next Hire? And of course, what is the big delay? Google knows and understands content-based ads – so what’s holding them back from dragging this product into the cold light of day? Heck if I know!
- Who will win the programmatic battle outside of North America?: Notice how I phrased this question: ‘outside of North America’. It seems like Appcast has already won the market in North America. Now can they go on and conquer Europe? You’d think so, since they’re part of Stepstone, the German job board behemoth. Yet there are other companies out there that would like to prevent that from happening. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Pass the popcorn!
- Will AI become integrated into most job boards in 2024?: Generative AI took the world by storm in 2023, and the frenzy shows no sign of abating. I’m not sure, however, that you can say job boards were in the forefront of AI usage – with the possible exception of LinkedIn. However, what I’m really wondering is whether job boards will start integrating AI into all aspects of candidate and employer interactions and services. I for one would be interested in how AI could allow for better analysis of the massive amounts of data that a typical job board generates.
- BONUS QUESTION: Will Steven Rothberg start yet another podcast?: Yes, this is truly a burning question. My former podcast partner has gone on to create two podcasts, and seems to be guesting on every podcast out there. Let’s face it – the man likes to talk! Luckily, he also knows a lot about job boards. However – maybe he should start a podcast about flailing hockey teams?
So there you have it – 5 burning questions for 2024. I am waiting with bated breath for the answers- and I bet you are, too!
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