Congratulations to Monster.com — the site redesign launched a couple days ago is the first move in the right direction that I can remember in 10 years. I don’t typically write about the big three job boards, mostly because I’m not a basher and because I value the role they play in creating an industry and blazing the trail for the rest of us. But, here Monster.com is showing some real and noteworthy leadership.
What do I like about the Monster redesign?
- homepage customization – giving the job seeker the ability to customize the homepage using ‘widgets‘ is even better than giving job seekers ‘what they really want’. This feature surpassed my expectations- bravo!
- authenticity – having the lead designer present the changes in a video also surprised me! It’s quite authentic. What’s next? Will I be able to subscribe to Sal Iannuzzi’s blog RSS?
Will it work?
If monster can maintain it’s newfound focus on quality, I believe it can prevent an accelerating decline. But I don’t expect monster will ever be dominant in our industry in any meaningful way going forward.
During the years that the company had its back turned, I suspect it was a quite a cash machine which likely transformed the lives of many who extracted the wealth. Current management should not expect for history to repeat itself.
Sure, with changes like this, Monster.com can slow down that slide and probably produce modest returns for its stockholders and management. But, the tide of change in the job board industry is too deep and too rapid for a
redesign like this to have a material impact at an industry level.
This is a fascinating story for me because I wonder how long business and financial engineers can maintain industry dominance in a socially significant environment. I would like to think that we are moving into an era in which the longevity and dominance of a company will be directly related to the passion and love for the business of the people in charge!
Yes, I’m an idealist.
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