With 2017 comes the news of the first job board acquisition of the year. AuthenticJobs, a popular tech job board since 2005, has been acquired by BuySellAds, an advertising technology firm. BuySellAds was also a client, apparently having used the site to build its tech team. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
BSA’s CEO Todd Garland said this:
A streamlined recruitment process is one benefit already being realized thanks to Cameron and his fantastic Authentic Jobs team. They have laid the groundwork for some exciting new changes, and we hope to accelerate those changes. There’s already excitement brewing with our partners, and we’re going to help Authentic Jobs continue to grow into its full potential.
A message about the acquisition appears on the Authentic Jobs website.
After 11 years, AJ founder Cameron Moll said on his blog it was time to sell;
We love Authentic Jobs immensely, but it was time to give the business and its community greater opportunities than we could afford.
Moll has joined Facebook and his co-founders have moved on too.
In my recruiter days a few years back I actually used AJ to recruit tech talent and I can attest to its effectiveness. At the time they actually offered a money back guarantee which is quite rare for a job board.
The fact that they were bought by a client should also give you something to ponder. I sold my boards to a client and they can be a great suitor if you are looking to sell.
In any case it’s good to see another successful exit from a job board owner. Onward, we go.
