Recruiting.com

When I sold the domain name Recruiting.com to Jobster two years ago or so, I never really thought I would see the day where the opportunity may present itself to maybe somehow buy it back.

Now I have no indication at all from Jobster that they are looking to sell the domain name but they know that I am interested in getting that name back and into the hands of RecruitingBlogs.com.

Jobster has really changed since they acquired the domain name 2 years ago or so. It’s quite amazing to see the transformation. As a shareholder I’m disappointed and as the former owner of what was Recruiting.com, I am blown away.

It’s obvious that the way Jobster utilizes Recruiting.com brings them absolutely no value whatsoever. One may even consider it a parked page where the “revenue” goes to those pumping it with self-promotion and not to Jobster. Yes I do it sometimes but I am not nearly as guilty as others. Again, Jobster gets nothing from this at all. The domain name goes up in value so yes Jobster benefits that way but I don’t think this is the business they want to be in. The way Recruiting.com was set up brought no industry marketplace awareness to them.

Jobster seems to be trying to regain focus and bring some understanding in the marketplace to what it is they actually do. That’s a good thing. They have a new CEO who is not from the online recruiting industry but has a good track record. I had a conversation with him about a month ago and I got a good feeling from him.

Back to the domain name and what I am thinking now.

1. Jobster can rebrand themselves Recruiting.com and it would make no difference. They would be wasting the value of the domain on that.

2. They want to be sold and think that by having the domain name Recruiting.com listed as an asset would help in a sale. Yes but then the new buyer needs to figure out what to do with it and how to integrate it.

3. Jobster could develop the name but that would take away form their focus and if the truth be told, I don’t believe this is in their best interest.

4. They could come to me and say Jason, help us here. We’ve got this great domain name and we don’t really know what to do with it. You're a shareholder, we’ll give you the domain name back and in return, well, lets talk about it.

5. Jobster could sell it back to me, they know what my offer price is and we can start the discussion and see if we can both walk with smiles on our faces

6. Put it up for auction in which case I am pretty sure I would come up the low bidder and that would be it. I’d close the file.

I like option #4 the best and #5 a close second

Lets negotiate.

Comment by SourceCon Dude on April 8, 2008 at 6:29pm: How about option 7. Get each member of recruitingblogs put in a nominal amount ($5) and then you become 'a collective' and share the wealth with all members going forward. 5000+ people with skin in the game is quite powerful.

Just a random thought for the day

SC

Comment by SourceCon Dude on April 8, 2008 at 6:30pm: Follow up thought - I will put in $7 :-)

Comment by Paul DeBettignies on April 8, 2008 at 7:00pm: How many times can Jobster screw up a good thing? I try to not blog angry but I have some ranting I want to do...

Comment by Slouch on April 8, 2008 at 7:11pm: that's only $25,002.00

Comment by Paul DeBettignies on April 8, 2008 at 7:17pm: My venting started with this on Twitter (http://twitter.com/MNHeadhunter):

Jobster (in my opinion) screws up Recruiting.com again with complete lack of direction and now no editor. Another example of poor execution.

Comment by Shannon Cerrato on April 9, 2008 at 12:41am: I have to agree with SourceCon, I think if every member of recrutingblogs put in a little then we could get it back and all be part of it. !!! what about $10???

Comment by Slouch on April 9, 2008 at 10:53am: this is all very interesting. Paul, I think that it shows that Recruiting.com ( the community) was never something that Jobster was really interested in . I know Jobster wanted the domain name and once they got it, they put it into a hold and see pattern. It was a good investment for them.

Sourcecon: what's with the cheep bid? Shannon came out way higher than you. what's up with that.

Comment by John Sumser on April 9, 2008 at 11:12am: It would be nice to see Recruiting.com in the hands of the Recruiting community. It wouldn't take much to make it a vibrant center of the business. The domain name responds quickly to involvement from the participants.

What I know from my very short conversation with Jobster is that they are trimming costs and narrowing focus. It's a valid way to approach the legacy, I suppose. It's reasonable and predictable that the pendulum would swing far from Goldberg's radical openness.

Cheezhead's opinion aside, Jason Goldberg opened the dialog in our industry in a way we'd never seen before. He demonstrated what to do when public opinion turns hard. He took a chapter from the Jeff Taylor book of Recruiting brand development and improved on it. I'm certain that his behavior would produce shivers in many investors and board members.

So, when Jobster makes its moves, you can be sure it will be a pendulum swing. It'd be nice if they extended that intensity to the industry and donated the domain name to Recruitingblogs.com. It's a two birds with one stone kind of deal...winning the hearts of the recruiting community while distancing themselves from a legacy that makes them uncomfortable.

Comment by Steven Rothberg on April 9, 2008 at 12:26pm: Another idea would be for Jason to take the guys from Jobster to a Toronto Maple Leafs game and convince them that the recruiting community and therefore Jobster would be best served by Jobster selling Recruiting.com back to Jason.

Of course, the major flaw in this plan would be the Leafs game. There won't be anymore until next fall. And even then I'm not sure if taking someone to go to a Leafs game is something that they would appreciate. Sorry. Couldn't resist. Go Minnesota Wild!