Insert "Gone Missing" Jokes Here...

Well, that was fast. Not shocking, considering our current stormy seas, but still: kinda quick. Indeed is informing clients of their Seen by Indeed product, in a communication today, that they are shuttering the offering.

A Bit of History, if Seen Seems Unfamiliar

Remember those halcyon days, days of wine and roses, craft beer and toilet paper, way back in the fall of 2019? Indeed had a product they'd been running since 2015, called Indeed Prime. It competed as a matching/ marketplace tech for anonymized IT job seekers, only revealing info if an employer asked, and then the prospect agreed to connect. Similar to Hired, etc. Initially there was some buzz around it being an Uber vs taxis model, with Indeed being Uber, and recruiting agencies, well, they were meant to be the cabbies.

It did okay. The category never became an Uber situation - agencies continued to survive. That said, leveraging on Indeed's clear advantage in terms of data, marketing, sales, and operations, there was a place for it. Seen by Indeed was the next step, moving beyond Prime's focus on tech talent to a broader population. They launched in September of 2019, to some level of buzz.

Timing

Every opportunity depends on a few things. Timing is always in that mix. Seen was having a bit of trouble getting its rebrand, well, "seen". The message was a bit confusing to a broader market. And that's okay - it's a process, and normally you have time for it. That changed abruptly in 2020. In a statement to their clients, Indeed is sending this message:

"Today, we need to let you know that the Seen by Indeed platform will close its doors on July 1st, 2020. At Indeed, we hold ourselves to a high standard of building world-class solutions that meet the needs of our job seeker community and employer partners alike, and we recognize that matching tech talent with employers around the world is a critical need of the TA industry. We believe we can best meet these needs by redeploying our efforts, technology and expertise from Seen to our other great Indeed solutions."

They go on to detail what levels of access will remain open until July 1, and how they are handling refunds (immediate) for anyone who has a term extending past July 1.