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Author | salad dressing

Edit | Tang Fei

BOSS direct employment will be listed again.

On October 10th, BOSS (BZ.US, hereinafter referred to as "BOSS") announced that the company had submitted a dual major listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

On June 11th, 2021, BOSS was directly hired to land on NASDAQ with an issue price of $19 per share. Since its listing, the share price of BOSS direct employment has fluctuated and declined. As of the close of October 26th, the share price of BOSS direct employment was reported at $12.46 per share, with a market value of about $5.5 billion.

Most analysts contacted by Value Planet believe that there are two main reasons for BOSS’s direct employment to return to Hong Kong for the second listing: first, to return to Hong Kong for listing in the global macro environment to avoid the possible delisting risk of China Stock Exchange in the United States; Second, it is to expand the scope of investors and seek new opportunities in the capital market.

In fact, in the just-released second quarter report of 2022, BOSS is facing a double decline in revenue year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter, while Zhaopin, which was previously listed, and Worry-Free Future also completed delisting and privatization in 2017 and this year. It seems that the profit dilemma has always been a nightmare that the recruitment platform can’t avoid.

Why is it so difficult to recruit this business as a just-needed industry?

1, the profit dilemma of BOSS direct employment

BOSS direct employment is facing the embarrassing situation of user growth and revenue decline.

In the published financial data of the second quarter of 2022, the average monthly users directly employed by BOSS reached 26.5 million, an increase of 5% compared with the previous quarter.

BOSS direct employment revealed at the financial report meeting in the first quarter of 2022 that as of May 31, the number of people who failed to register new users had reached 45 million, an increase of 15 million compared with the 30 million announced in the last quarter. If this part of users who fail to register successfully, it will further increase the overall active user data of BOSS direct employment.

According to the data compiled by Longbridge Dolphin Investment Research and QuestmoBile, the active users of BOSS direct recruitment platform have been gradually ahead of the traditional job-seeking platforms such as market direct recruitment and Zhaopin recruitment since the beginning of 2020, and their leading edge has continued to increase.

However, with the blessing of monthly users above the industry average, the direct employment of BOSS still faces a double decline in business year-on-year and month-on-month

In the second quarter, the direct employment of BOSS achieved revenue of 1.123 billion yuan, down 4.8% year-on-year and 1% quarter-on-quarter. This is also the first time that BOSS direct employment has faced a year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter decline in revenue for six consecutive quarters since the first quarter of 2021.

From the perspective of business split, the income of corporate users directly employed by BOSS decreased by 5% year-on-year, while the income of individual users increased by 20.2% year-on-year. The official explanation of BOSS’s direct employment is that the recruitment demand of force majeure enterprises such as epidemic situation is declining.

However, is this really the case?

Bella, a senior product manager, has different opinions. She said that BOSS hired directly to find a job and talked directly with the boss about this positioning to start the market. The initial solution was the pain point demand of communication barriers between job seekers and enterprises. However, in recent years, the positioning of BOSS’s direct employment as the main communication seems to be being imitated or even surpassed.

Bella further stated that the threshold for establishing social attributes is not high, and any job application can set a dialog box. At first, the direct employment of BOSS occupied the user’s mind with social attributes, so both job seekers and enterprises are more inclined to communicate directly with BOSS. However, with the new and old job applications such as hunting, lagou. com and Zhaopin, the advantages brought by the unique social positioning of BOSS direct employment are also being dispersed.

Job seeker Sasha told the value planet, "The speed and frequency of reply of enterprises directly hired by BOSS are obviously not as good as before." Sasha said that since 2019, she has registered for the direct employment of BOSS. In 2020, the probability of BOSS directly hiring a company to reply is 80%. "Now it is good for one-third of enterprises to respond, and the response time is getting longer and longer."

The enterprise HR Shang Shang said that the fitness of candidates recommended by BOSS direct employment seems to be decreasing.

"Recently, I was helping our company recruit an intern in the marketing department, but the direct employment of BOSS often pushed me to candidates who did not match my major or internship experience, which increased my screening time and cost." Shang Shang explained.

Another job seeker, Allah, said that the occupation recommended by BOSS directly is also very wrong. "I am a writer, but the direct employment of BOSS always pushes me to positions such as sales, advertising and even study abroad agency, which I have never visited and have no interest in." Allah said, "I now feel that the recommendation algorithm of BOSS direct employment is a bit regardless of what I need, even if they push whatever they have."

Bella said that in terms of the accuracy of the overall algorithm, BOSS direct employment did not really open a substantial gap with other recruitment platforms in China. When the differentiation advantage gradually slows down, even if users can still use it, they will change from a paying party to a "Bai Piao party". The core reason is that the services and information of this platform are no longer worth paying extra.

2. Who should the recruitment software "harvest"?

There are users, but they don’t make money. This seems to be the dilemma facing the entire recruitment industry at present.

The predecessors of the two major recruitment industries who once had the title of "North Zhilian, South Future" have withdrawn from the market. In 2017, Zhaopin, which was listed on Nasdaq for less than three years, was delisted. On March 1 this year, Worry-Free Future announced that it had signed a merger agreement with Garnet Faith Limited.

According to the revised merger agreement, the purchase price per share of Worry-Free Future decreased from $79.05 to $61.00, a decrease of 29.51%, and the equity value of the corresponding company was about $4.3 billion.

Worry-free future before delisting is facing the situation of expanding marketing and narrowing profits. According to the financial report, the net profit of Worry-Free Future in the first three quarters of 2021 was 46.6 million yuan, 182 million yuan and 130 million yuan respectively, down by 77%, 54% and 44% respectively.

In contrast, in the third quarter of 2021, the cost of worry-free services in the future increased by 24.3% year-on-year to 400 million yuan. Sales and marketing expenses increased by 46.0% year-on-year to RMB 457 million.

The direct employment of BOSS, which went public last year, also experienced three consecutive years of net losses by the end of 2021. The financial report shows that the direct employment net losses of BOSS in 2019-2021 were 734 million, 1.226 billion and 1.235 billion yuan respectively. In the second quarter of 2022, perhaps drawing lessons from the past, BOSS directly hired to control marketing and R&D expenses, and its marketing expenses were 400 million yuan, down 23% year-on-year. R&D expenditure was 301 million yuan, up from 78% in last quarter to 23% in this quarter.

On the whole, the profit dilemma of the recruitment platform is inseparable from two core dilemmas:

First of all, at present, most of the recruitment software is realized by attracting a large number of job seekers through the free payment of C-end, and then charging B-end with high monthly salary. However, more and more enterprises are dissatisfied with the charging model of recruitment software.

On the black cat complaint, there are many complaints with similar words as "Zhaopin recruitment induced renewal fee". Every enterprise user directly hired by BOSS also told the value planet that during the years of using BOSS directly, it was obvious that its charging standard was rising.

For example, at the beginning, jobs with strong liquidity and high demand like sales were labeled as’ hot jobs’ by the first batch, and the BOSS direct employment would charge for the release of these hot jobs. One is post type, and one post is 98 yuan/month. The other is the annual fee, which is 3,600 yuan per year, which can send five hot jobs. "As early as the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020, the direct employment of BOSS has increased once, and the annual fee has changed from 3,600 yuan to 4,800 yuan." Everyone recalled.

Later, BOSS directly hired and launched other charging products, such as a "resume bomb", which can push the post to 100 qualified candidates. Or a "chat card" worth 368 yuan, allowing enterprises to search for candidates who meet the recruitment requirements and get in touch with them. "A card costs 368 yuan and can be used 40 times." Every family introduced.

However, the increase of charging items has not brought about the improvement of personnel quality. The scale and quality of the job market will not be improved because of the payment of enterprises, so the feeling of enterprise users is that they are constantly being "harvested" but they have not saved time and effort in recruitment.

Over time, enterprises will reduce the payment action on the platform, or even give up using the platform directly.

Secondly, the services provided by recruitment software tend to be more and more homogeneous.

A senior HR in Beijing recalled that many years ago, various recruitment platforms had different positioning. Zhilian mainly targeted at administrative and sales positions. BOSS directly hired for accounting and sales at first, and then extended to technical posts. Hunting focused on high-paying poaching, while Lagou focused on Internet operations. But now, the position positioning of recruitment software is becoming more and more vague.

Later, in order to cover more users, the recruitment platform can only give up the vertical field and become "big and complete".

A middle-aged job seeker complained to the value planet that he spent a lot of money to recharge the members he had hired, only to find that the positions he had been pushed to could also be found on BOSS. "There are even some relatively junior sales positions appearing in the recruitment."

Under the condition that it tends to be homogeneous and the algorithm cannot be qualitatively different, the major platforms can only compete for advertising. So, we saw the direct employment of BOSS, which is full of subways, and the future of contracting the elevator. ……

3. What is the difficulty in recruiting business?

Job hunting is obviously a necessity, but why is it so difficult to recruit this business?

Because ToB is still ToC, this is a difficult problem.

The core users of recruitment software are all B-end users, but they need strong C-end user data to impress B-end users, which makes recruitment software fall into the dilemma of "please B-end or C-end".

In the matter of recruitment, enterprises hope to interview the most suitable candidates at the lowest cost, while candidates hope to interview the enterprises with the best treatment in the shortest time. The demands of B-end and C-end are inherently conflicting.

Previously, Qiujing. com, which focused on enterprise evaluation, closed the evaluation system, which also showed that the recruitment software function of "pleasing" C-end users seemed to only "offend" B-end.

BOSS direct employment has quickly gained the favor of users with the positioning of "talking directly to the BOSS", but with the decrease of the response rate of boss direct employment enterprises and the increase of the number of "unreliable" enterprises, this special advantage seems to be weakening.

Therefore, in the case that the core contradiction cannot be resolved, major recruitment software can only "roll" the number-attracting both B-end and C-end users with a large number of resumes and positions. Indeed, more opportunities and candidates are the common needs of job seekers and enterprises, but this inevitably makes all recruitment software face another problem-homogenization and inaccurate recommendation.

"The essential reason why recruitment software is difficult to break through is the’ basic contradiction’ that is difficult to reconcile between job seekers and enterprises." Bella said. Regarding the direction of future recruitment software optimization, she said that technology-based and more accurate recommendation algorithm is the core competitiveness for both C-end users and B-end users.

In the final analysis, the pure information intermediary mode only involves the shallow communication of the resume, and the two parties in the follow-up transaction are separated from the platform and cannot complete the closed loop, which makes the platform always stay in the position of "billboard", and it is difficult to get the initiative and market pricing power, and finally go to the collective decline.

* This article is written on the basis of public information, only for information exchange, and does not constitute any investment advice.

1905 movie network news Directed by Teng Huatao, adapted from the novel of the same name in Jiangnan, the film starring Lu Han and Shu Qi has revealed the 30’s pilot trailer today, and it is announced that it will be released in the summer of 2019. In the trailer, the formerly noisy Shanghai is silent, with black smoky streets, soldiers on standby, and the whole city is shrouded in the tense atmosphere of alien invasion. At the end of the trailer, a roaring purple-black nebula gradually approaches Shanghai, and the final battle to protect the earth is about to start. Although it is only 30’s, the urgent atmosphere and blockbuster momentum created by the trailer have already made people look forward to "Shanghai Fortress".

The novel of the same name, Douban, has a high score of 8.5　The original author Jiangnan served as one of the screenwriters

The movie "Shanghai Fortress" is based on the novel of the same name by Jiangnan, which was written in 2008 and published in 2009. During the 11 years of precipitation, the influence has continued to spread. The book "Shanghai Fortress" not only hides the memories of many readers, but also has a score of 8.5 on Douban. It also won the "Most Anticipated IP" award at the 2018 Science Fiction Convention.

It is understood that Jiangnan is not only the original author, but also personally participated in the screenwriting of "Shanghai Fortress". At the end of the film, Jiangnan also admitted, "In the ninth year of the publication of" Shanghai Fortress ", I finally met Jiang Yang and Lin Lan and watched them defend the world." I believe that under the "picky" check of the original author, this highly anticipated IP will bring many surprises.

Luhan Shu Qi partner　Shanghai has become the battlefield of the future for the first time

In the story of "Shanghai Fortress", the alien civilization of the future world raids the earth, and Shanghai becomes the last hope of mankind. Jiang Yang, a college student played by Lu Han, follows Lin Lan, a female commander played by Shu Qi, and enters the Shanghai Fortress to become a commander. As the alien forces continue to launch fierce attacks, the final battle to defend humanity finally starts in Shanghai. Lu Han and Shu Qi also shoulder the important task of saving the earth.

In addition to the strong visual impact brought by the blockbuster sense of future war, Shanghai also left a deep impression as a future battlefield. Unlike Hollywood’s future war blockbusters, "Shanghai Fortress" sets the main battlefield of the future in Shanghai, China for the first time. With the appearance of familiar urban elements one by one, it makes people feel more intimate and full of expectations for the movie.

Teng Huatao’s director’s works　It took 5 years to do step-by-step attempts

Compared with Hollywood’s mature industrial system, the theme of future war is relatively rare in China. Teng Huatao, one of the representatives of the sixth generation of Chinese directors, made an industrialized film about future war such as "Shanghai Fortress". He bluntly said that "the biggest challenge is the setting of the world view, how to shoot the imaginary picture."

It took five years for "Shanghai Fortress" to become a movie, from early preparations in 2014, to the official start of filming in 2017, and to its release this summer. Although the process was arduous, it also made Teng Huatao admit: "There are many difficulties, but I still use the greatest effort to break through."

On March 18th, at the 23rd Hong Kong International Film and Television Exhibition, Huace Group held a press conference on the export alliance of Huace boutique dramas and China TV dramas (network dramas) in Hong Kong, and released a number of boutique dramas, which once again set off a "Huace craze". The theme of the conference was "Dreamcatcher, Huace Heart". In 2019, Huace released a number of blockbuster dramas, showing its leading position in the head content market. At the press conference, the China TV drama (network drama) export alliance also appeared in Hongkong.

At the press conference, Zhao Yifang, founder and president of Huace Group, said in his speech that Huace Group has been committed to creating the best film and television works in China for nearly 30 years, reflecting the vitality of the times and the colorful life of people with rich and diverse aesthetic methods and creative ideas. Huace always believes that content is king, returns to the initial heart, makes conscience, creates ingenuity, and moistens people with good stories.

2019 ultra-luxury film list high-quality head film and television drama series, leading the content market

At the press conference, Huace brought many excellent works, such as I only like you, Ordinary Glory, Perfect Relationship, Huo Qubing, First Love of Senior Girls, My Wonderful Boyfriend 2, which is just a part of Huace’s super-luxury film list in 2019. In Huace’s list of nearly 20 films to be broadcast this year, there are various types such as theme theme, classic costume, urban emotion, and youthful inspiration. Fu Binxing, vice president of Huace Group and chairman of Huace Film Industry, and Sun Xu, general manager of Huace Beijing Business Group Marketing Center, made the release of key plays on the spot.

Workplace drama and industry drama are a type of theme that Huace has focused on developing in recent years. Classic masterpieces such as Dear Translator are frequent, and there are also many related works in 2019. Two such works were unveiled at this conference. Mark Chao, Bai Jingting, and Bridgette lead the show, with Daxun Wei as the special star. The realistic workplace drama Ordinary Glory, directed by Lv Xing, the director of Crime Without a Certificate, as a masterpiece of Huace’s realistic theme, reproduces the ordinary and truth of the little people in the workplace and highlights the tenacious course of inspirational struggle of ordinary people in the city.

Perfect Relationship, the first public relations TV series in China, tells the story that "public relations partners" have grown up together in the endless public relations battles from single-handedly to side-by-side, filling the gap in the industry drama.

Focusing on the emotional life and struggle of young people in modern cities is an important theme field that Huace has made great efforts this year. The first love of senior girls, I only like you and my wonderful boyfriend 2 are the masterpieces of Huace in 2019.

Among them, the urban emotional topic drama "The First Love of Senior Girls" takes "Sister-in-law Love" as the breakthrough point, and integrates the social realistic topics of marriage, family, affection and love, showing the life attitude of contemporary urban women who dare to break away from convention and pursue themselves, which is bound to trigger universal emotional resonance; "I only like you" dedicates a long-lasting story from school uniform to wedding dress to the audience with the sweetest feelings, the most passionate plot and the most long-lasting confession. In 2019, the hit dark horse work "My Fantastic Boyfriend 2" was launched in 20 hours, and the broadcast volume exceeded 100 million. On the basis of continuing the sweet pets in the first season and the funny and sharp lines, it was upgraded in many dimensions.

It is an important principle that Huace adheres to in content selection and production style to dig deep into the theme from traditional history and culture and reflect mainstream values and positive feelings for home and country. The Huo Qubing released this time is the first TV series devoted to the legendary life of Huo Qubing, the God of War. Fresh faces, gorgeous costumes and exquisite scenery will leave a deep impression on TV history.

In addition, in January 2018, Huace Group took the lead in setting up the R&D center of big drama in the industry, and went all out to create large-scale peak works with bones and muscles, morality and temperature, highlighting mainstream values and national spirit, and leading works with great communication and influence. Diplomatic Fengyun, which is in the post-production, is the first TV series that reflects the heroic achievements of the diplomatic front of New China in a panoramic way since the founding of New China, and presents the 70th anniversary of New China. More than 700 outstanding actors from home and abroad participated in the drama, and the scene of 20 countries was shot and the luxurious interior was built. The large-scale production restored great history.