My first real job was at Monster. It was 1997—before the IPO, before the Super Bowl ads, before it was taken private by Randstad, and before Randstad and Apollo Global Management combined the company with CareerBuilder to form the creatively named CareerBuilder + Monster.

Monster hasn’t been a major player in talent acquisition for years, but its early impact was undeniable—it fundamentally changed how people looked for work.

Looking back, I can’t imagine a place that would have given me a closer view of the forces that were reshaping the recruiting world. It was at Monster that I first came up with the idea of connecting recruiters so they could learn from each other—an idea that eventually grew into ERE Media.

So when CareerBuilder + Monster filed for Chapter 11, it hit a little harder than I expected, even after so many years. I fired off a message to Jeff Taylor, Monster’s founder, who left the company in 2005, and a couple of hours later we spoke.

Jeff has been more visible in the TA world recently—he’s building a new company called Boomband. His goal is to reinvent the résumé, which he says is too focused on the past, and instead build something that reflects who you are now and where you want to go. He’s planning for a wide launch in early 2026.

“The résumé has become like a pile of keywords and performance statements, almost unrecognizable as [representing] a person now,” Jeff said. “I'm building a new dossier.”

So where did it all go wrong for Monster? Monetization.

“In my final few years at Monster, we spent [nearly] $200 million marketing to job seekers and about $100,000 marketing to companies,” Jeff told me. 

Over time, he said, the balance shifted: “[They] felt that they knew more about this and needed to start to do much more direct marketing into the employers. And one of the obvious places to create savings was to stop investing so much in what was considered a well-seeded brand. But the day you do that is the day that your demise begins.”

Jeff told me he actually approached the bankers before the sale with an alternative. “I went to the banker with an alternative idea to selling the assets at a buyer sale price,” he said. “If the idea was to put Monster and CareerBuilder together and make something new and powerful, why not put Boomband in the mix?”

The answer was: “That’s nice, Jeff, but the train has left the station.”

RIP, Monster. 

— David

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Featured Story

The HR Lie: Why Your "Human-First" Company Is Just AI-First in Disguise

Jim Stroud points out an essential truth about the relentless push toward incorporating AI into the hiring process. When the algorithms are the front line of candidate-facing contact, something human is lost. It’s wake-up call for TA and HR leaders who claim to be “people-first” while relying on algorithms, chatbots, and auto-rejections. (ERE)

More Recruiting Insights

Workday Discovery Dispute Is Pivotal Moment for AI Bias Lawsuits. I’ve written a lot lately about Derek Mobley’s case against Workday, which I believe will have far-reaching implications for how AI is used in hiring in the US. This article sheds some light on plaintiff Derek Mobley’s background and experience that led to the case—including that he initially contacted attorneys back in 2020, before most companies were using true AI in their application processes. (Bloomberg Law)

Ordinary Jobs, Extraordinary Lessons: The Real Classroom. Ron Thomas shares a reflective piece invites us to reconsider where real-life education happens and how even the most commonplace jobs can spark extraordinary personal growth. (ERE)

The ZipRecruiter Survey of New Hires. Evidence of a tougher hiring environment for applicants continues to build. According to this study, it’s taking longer for candidates to find jobs, with 24% of new hires saying that their job search took three months or more—and those are the ones that were successful. (ZipRecruiter)

ChatGPT May Be Eroding Critical Thinking Skills, According to a New MIT Study. When I shared this article on LinkedIn, it sparked a debate. My experience is that when it comes to writing, AI is faster and more efficient, but the output is soulless. Everything comes out sounding the same. Is “And that’s where things get interesting.” the new “I hope this email finds you well?” (Time)

Conferences

ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit

San Diego, CA

November 4-5, 2025

The ERE Recruiting Conference is the premier independent, practitioner-led event designed to deliver actionable insights for talent acquisition professionals. Join your peers to explore practical ideas, proven best practices, and case study solutions from leaders who’ve tackled the same recruiting challenges you face.

Register now and save $400 with preview pricing — available only until the agenda goes live.

(ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit)

Webinars

Rebooting Campus Recruiting: Fixing Bottlenecks, Burnout, and Broken Workflows

June 26, 2025 | 2:00 PM EDT | 1 Hour

A webinar designed for early-career recruitment teams, featuring expert speakers from Oleeo, McKesson, Best Buy, and PPLBOTS. They share actionable strategies to modernize campus recruiting—prioritizing candidate volume, streamlining scheduling and offers, reducing recruiter burnout, and improving offer acceptance — all while operating on a tight budget. (ERE)

AI-Era Candidate Risks: How TA Leaders Protect Quality of Hire (and Their Jobs)

July 16, 2025 | 2:00 PM EDT | 1 Hour

AI in hiring enables candidates to game resumes and interviews, making it hard to understand the skills of the person behind the screen. We will discuss balancing automation with human oversight, using automated checks across public sources to uncover red flags like threats or fraud, and preserving the integrity and safety of hiring processes. (ERE)