While Monster Worldwide (NASDAQ:MNST) is always good for a pricey Super Bowl ad or a clever marketing stint, I think the best product placement has to go to its rival. At the end of every episode of The Apprentice, as the canned contestant rolls away, a Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) HotJobs ad is perched prominently on the cab. In other words, you just got fired by Donald Trump, so here is a great site to help you land some work.
Yet let's not deny Monster its due. The company reported a "monster" quarter last night. Earnings rose by 55% to $0.17 a share while revenue grew by 33%. While intriguing acquisitions helped results, even Monster's organic top-line growth was a healthy 27%.
Things are only going to get better, as the company expects fourth-quarter earnings to grow to $0.19 a share from its $0.10 a share showing last year.
With employers turning to the Internet to help streamline their recruiting efforts -- and potential employees taking advantage of the platform to distribute their resumes virtually -- it's hard not to like the prospects of leading career sites like Monster, HotJobs.com, and CareerBuilder.
That begs the ultimate question: Will the headhunters come? Just as Yahoo! was able to grow its online might by acquiring HotJobs.com, can Monster expect to be courted by the likes of Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) or InfoSpace (NASDAQ:INSP)?
That isn't likely. If there wasn't a wave of consolidation when the online job specialist was going through some growing pains, shareholders are unlikely to accept a buyout offer these days. The stock has tripled off of last year's lows and the prospects continue to improve.
If this were a job interview, how could you not hire Monster?
Do you have a favorite job site? Why do you think online recruiters are doing so well? Are you ready for your next job interview? All this and more in the Ask The Headhunter discussion board. Only on Fool.com.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz thinks that he would rather go to work than bang on his drum all day. He does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story.
