Sensing an improvement in business sentiment, online recruitment facilitator Monster is exploring acquisition opportunities as part of a business plan to push ahead in Tier II and Tier III cities where employers are increasingly looking for candidates.

“We are looking at the mobile technology space as we find the market moving to the smartphone,” Sanjay Modi, Managing Director for India, South-East Asia, West Asia, and Hong Kong, told BusinessLine .

Besides the internet, Monster had taken to television broadcast through a tie-up with Dish TV in 2009 – users can browse through advertisement postings on the TV. With a generational shift towards the smartphone, the company is looking to attract data users towards their mobile app.

“We are working to upgrade this app,” he said. The company had acquired domestic job portal JobsAhead for ₹40 crore in 2004. Monster Worldwide Inc, the parent company, has made two acquisitions in the US this year in the social network job recruitment and candidate database space.

The US-headquartered company announced a revenue of $808 million in 2013. The company also sold 49 per cent in its subsidiary in South Korea to a private equity firm. Now, the company is cash-rich, according to Modi.

Resurging job sector

Modi said it is scouting for possible acquisitions in the context of a resurgence in the job sector – the Monster employment Index showed a 17 per cent increase in May, indicating broad-based optimism across 27 sectors.

Software services exports is a key market for Monster, as employers are keen on recruiting more local talent to feed the $118-b IT sector, says Modi, referring to data put out by the Monster Salary index.

“The only sector where there is some reluctance to hire is the automotive industry. With incentives announced in the Budget, there could be more traction in this space,” he projected. For Monster, the challenge is not competition from other online job sites as much as the dearth of candidates with specific skills.

Higher disposable income

Companies in retail, hospitality, and entertainment sectors are pushing into the hinterland, “for the disposable income levels are higher as we go into the country”. But employers are stalled by the lack of experienced candidates in these areas.

Monster has plans to tie up with training academies to spotlight talent for its employers.

India is the largest market in the Asia-Pacific Region, with South-East Asia, Singapore, Philippines, and Malaysia being other key markets. Modi said the business plan for rural penetration and acquisition prospects will crystallise in two months.

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