CareerBuilder + Monster Bankruptcy Fallout Deepens | Job Board Doctor Survey Relaunches

Happy Friday, Job Board Doctor friends, and Happy Labor Day weekend to my American readers! August has been ever so slightly less chaotic in our industry — a welcome relief for many of us.

But let’s be honest, I have no doubt September will roll (or possibly roil) us straight into the final quarter of the year.

As we wrap up August, there’s still plenty to cover, including:

• CareerBuilder + Monster bankruptcy fallout deepens

• The Job Board Doctor Annual Survey is back!

CareerBuilder + Monster FallOut Continues

As first reported last week by AIM Group’s Sharon Hill, Zen JV LLC — the joint venture between Apollo Management Group and Randstad — has filed a declaration to cancel contracts between the unsecured creditors of the business.

The IOUs amount to more than $31MM, involving far too many names that impact our industry.

Of course, this is common practice in bankruptcy: canceling contracts that were technically still active, even though Apollo Management Group and Randstad (Zen) had already been in breach of many due to non-payment.

One name in particular caught my attention and it is one we haven’t seen any prior filings in this bankruptcy case: Globalization Partners.

For those unfamiliar, Globalization Partners provides Employer of Record (EOR), contractor, and HR compliance solutions.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve heard from many former Monster employees in Europe. The story is consistent: they received absolutely no notice when the sites went offline and, worse, were left unpaid once the sale went pending.

To my best knowledge, no Monster Europe employees were paid after July 31, 2025 and none have received any sort of redundancy or severance.

It appears that Apollo and Randstad’s joint venture also failed to provide timely notification to Globalization Partners.

From one of the bankruptcy filing on August 22, 2026:

“Among the Contracts the Debtors seek to reject is the Globalization Partners Master Agreement, dated as of June 29, 2023 (as amended from time to time, the ‘Globalization Partners Contract’) with Globalization Partners LLC (the ‘Globalization Partners’), pursuant to which Globalization Partners would provide professional employees to CareerBuilder Inc. in France and the United Kingdom. On August 6, 2025, the Debtors sent a letter to Globalization Partners, providing Globalization Partners notice that the Globalization Partners Contract was no longer needed and requested that Globalization Partners terminate the services of each of the professionals under the Contract as soon as possible, due to the Debtors’ bankruptcy and winding up of the Debtors’ operations.” (page 4, #12)

Just in case you didn’t catch that, on August 6th, 2025, Apollo Management Group and Randstad (Zen) finally got around to notifying Globalization Partners who were supporting their employees, many who had been with Monster for decades, that they should fire them immediately. 

Please keep in mind, we all knew on on July 20th, 2025, that the sale was confirmed and that Monster Europe was left out in the cold.  The failures just keep piling up at Randstad’s door.

Where Do CareerBuilder + Monster Clients Stand?

One outstanding question I’ve been chasing is: what about existing clients of CareerBuilder + Monster — especially in Europe — who appear to have had contract obligations ignored by both Zen and BOLD?

Some light has been shed for at least the American customers.

On August 12, court filings included an order outlining how claims of damages must be handled, with a final day to file claims set for September 15, 2025.

Then, on August 19, the Wall Street Journal published a notice in its Marketplace section alerting clients to the opportunity to file claims against Zen JV.

This week, at least U.S.-based former and current clients began receiving notifications of their potential right to file a claim.

Are you a former Monster Europe customer?

Do you have outstanding services you never received after the site shut down? Have you had communication from Monster or Bold?

Either way, I would love to hear from you. Message me here.

The Job Board Doctor Annual Recruitment Site Survey is BACK!

As I’ve settled into my role as the new Doc, I decided it was time to revive one of the great traditions Jeff built: the annual Job Board Doctor Survey.

This year, I’m excited to collaborate with the ever-loved Louises of Job Boards Connect to bring it back in full force.

The survey is now live! It should take just 15–20 minutes to complete.

Respondents will get an early preview of the results, and we’ll be sharing some of the data live at Job Boards Connect in London this October.

The final report will be published on JobBoardDoctor.com, and you’ll always be able to access our research archives, including past surveys, day or night.

If you own or operate a digital job advertising solution, I’d be honored if you took part in the New Doc’s first annual survey — and please, share it with your network too.

👉 Survey Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/G6NZP97 

Reality Check

Next week, we are going to continue to follow the money trail in the Careerbuilder + Monster bankruptcy and subsequent sale. We are getting close to getting final numbers and I have thoughts and questions, including some interesting transactions just prior to the bankruptcy filing.

That’s a wrap for August. The storm clouds of September are already building, but for now, let’s take a collective breath, enjoy the long weekend (for those of you in the U.S.), and get ready for the next chapter in our ever-dramatic industry.

Until Next Time,

Julie “The Doc” Sowash

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