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CAREERXROADS

JULY/AUGUST SUMMER SIZZLE:
The Pace of Technology Change is Heating up the Industry

Welcome to our latest Update

Notes regarding our CAREERXROADS' Updates:

1. To remove yourself from our Update list, send an e-mail to: mmc@careerxroads.com and, in both the subject and message section, type: "remove" AND the e-mail address which received this update. To register for our updates (assuming you didn't get this directly), send an e-mail to mmc@caeerxroads.com and type "register" in both the subject and body.

2. Site owners, recruiters and job seekers have permission to copy and distribute or post this update in full or part with the following restrictions. a) We request that you not resell this information. We are shipping it out free and would look askance on someone using the info to make a direct profit. b). We would appreciate your providing proper credits regarding CAREERXROADS including our names, URL, e-mail and phone shown at the beginning and end of each cXr Update.

3. Links to cXr are much appreciated but we provide no reciprocal agreements with any site. Mark and I want to maintain a level of objectivity free from perceived conflict of interest regarding our opinions. Mark and I both have successful day jobs: Mark as a consultant to companies requiring high volume staffing advice and myself as VP of Shaker Advertising, a national recruitment advertising firm. Our opinions therefore have only the bias of our experience as HR professionals.

4. Monthly updates will be posted at our site CAREERXROADS.com">http://www.CAREERXROADS.com before the end of each month and e-mailed to all who register prior to posting.

5. CAREERXROADS is pronounced Career (Cross) Roads

SHRM IN THE NEWS

• The SOCIETY FOR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT'S NATIONAL CONFERENCE in San Diego during the last week in June featured hundreds of speakers and more than 7000 attendees. In addition, thousands more (vendors) populated the 750 booths. Everyone was discussing their "online components". Nearly a third of the vendors (by our count), had something to offer online in Employment and Staffing and each tried to one-up the other. "We're #1, We're #1, We're #1" was the common refrain. Unfortunately, there isn't a "Consumers' Report Online" or the claims might have been a little more in line with reality instead of virtual reality. Here is our take on the some of the Staffing tidbits while reading between the lines:

• PC-TO-PC INTERVIEWS. There have been a few attempts to promote the widespread use of Desktop Candidate Screening systems but National Career Search (NCS), the owners of CAREER MAGAZINE (http://www.careermag.com, Page 71) are among the first in our opinion to put a serious an effort together on a national basis. They announced a new national videoconferencing network at SHRM called SEARCHLINC. Their concept allows companies to conduct interviews real time and with almost perfect clarity (24 frames, black and white) without the technical hassles or logistical nightmares. NCS has partnered with a telecommunication provider (Tie communications) and the software folks who developed the system (2011, Inc.). They will install complete "turnkey" systems (computer, software, hardware and ISDN line and training) for approx. 500/month. In addition, NCS will handle the logistics of arranging to find the nearest site where your long distance applicants can go to connect. Setup costs are avoided by having companies pay on a interview by interview basis as well as monthly charge for the computer system and line. If your site is used for the interview, then you get approx $50 for being the host. NCS expects the "Network" to run live in 20 cities by August 1. Win or lose, this will be a very important experiment to watch.

• NET SURVEYS CONFIRM WHAT WE KNEW- Folks are beginning to use the net to hire. The numbers are low but growing.

• JWT Communications used the SHRM show to announce their latest survey conducted (in part) through a random phone survey of 600 Human Resource Professionals during the Spring. A questionnaire was also filled out by visitors to half-dozen job sites. The study clearly shows that awareness of the Internet as a staffing tool has grown tremendously and that most companies contacted (2 out of 3) claim to use the Internet for Staffing. While results are still very modest (typically a company has hired 4 employees from the Internet), the future bodes well for the Internet becoming a serious part of a recruiter's tool kit.

• While we're on surveys, The WILLIAM OLSTEN CENTER FOR WORKFORCE STRATEGIES published a survey about "Job Hunting On The Internet" last month as well. According to their study, about 1 in 5 companies in North America use an Internet online services for recruiting. But the survey also found that nearly half of workers are hired through classified ads. The Internet is revolutionizing the way people look for jobs and the way companies look for employees: It's faster, cheaper and more comprehensive. This year, the number of job vacancies posted on the World Wide Web has exploded from tens of thousands to millions. America's Job Bank, an online job board from the US Labor Department, lists more than 500,000 positions at about 200,000 companies. Most cover middle management, with annual salaries from USD40,000 to USD100,000. Reduced cost and rapid response are cited as the two main advantages to employers.

• BUILDING THE CONNECTIONS
  NETSART, INC. announced an upgrade for its Intranet based module TEAMBUILDER 2.0 at the SHRM show. The next week InfoWorld helped them out with an article entitled NETSTART TO HELP AUTOMATE HR RECRUITMENT PROCESS. What we like about Netstart's thinking is their approach to combining the internal job posting system with a means to move unfilled positions quickly out to the net.

• TEAMBUILDER works to build and post jobs, manage workflow, create a resume database and generate reports and then, you can post company positions to the net with Netstart's web-based job site- CAREERBUILDER (http://www.careerbuilder.com, CXR PAGE 63). One more step- as Staffing departments move from reviewing internal applicants to considering external applicants, TeamBuilder assists in posting the openings to CareerBuilder AS WELL AS MonsterBoard, CareerMosaic, Yahoo, AOL, Digital Cities, CareerWeb CareerMart, JobTrak and America's Job Bank. We like the concept of packaging the sites a company can go to as no 1 site can meet all the needs all the time but the downside as we see it is that you have to move your positions to ALL these sites as a package and that package doesn't come cheap (several thousand dollars- on top of the cost of acquiring TeamBuilder). Perhaps, as their efforts to partner with other sites increases, Netstart willbuild some flexibility into this process. While not well known among job seekers, CAREERBUILDER has two features that we particularly like. First, visitors can complete a short online form specifying areas of interest, location, salary etc. When new jobs are posted that fit specific requirements, jobseekers are notified via e-mail. (The site also pushes out advice and other resources.) Second, I've not heard too many other sites try this but, CAREERBUILDER is actually spending good money on "drive time radio" (in very expensive parts of the country) to attract jobseekers to it's site. While I don't know the results, we're impressed with the effort.

  One more caveat, if you are using Netstart for your resume input, you need to consider that they have no scanning capability for hardcopy which presents a serious limitation to full utilization. A very nice Intranet/Internet connection. We expect to see more upgrades that incease their communication capability at a more reasonable price.
  www.netstartinc.com
  NetStart, Inc.
  11495 Sunset Hills Road
  Reston, VA 20190
  703-709-1001 / Fax: 703-709-1004
  info@netstartinc.con
  

• Applicant Tracking Companies are all Developing Web Components
  And it seems that everyone, with even a passing interest in applicant tracking/resume processing/optical scanning systems, was highly visible at the HR Conference- from Resumix and Restrac to Greentree, FLX, EZAccess, I-Search and more. EZAccess had a prime position on the show floor and made the most of it with its new product. I-Search was demonstrating its web-based product...a direction everyone else seems to be talking about. Mark and I both feel this category is going to get much more crowded in 1998 as HR folks learn to spell ROI. Look for costs to drop dramatically. What we're also looking for is suppliers who can avoid recommending their product for every company regardless of their staffing needs.

• What we've been saying all along, there are many sites to choose from. In addition to the folks mentioned above, more than a dozen job and/or resume database sites were represented at the SHRM show including: CAREERMAGAZINE, CAREERMOSAIC, CAREERPATH, CAREERWEB, ESPAN, JOB DIRECT, JOB TRAK, JOBWEB, MONSTERBOARD, OCC, etc. (All are reviewed in CAREERXROADS and cross referenced in our Directory's "Career Hub", "College", "Publisher" and other related sections). We can't forget and should clearly point out that there were also dozens of print publications represented ranging from daily newspapers like the Washington Post, NYTimes, LA Times, Chicago Tribune and Minneapolis Star to trade publications and magazines like InfoWorld, ComputerWorld, NBEW and Fortune Magazine that were actively touting their combination print and internet components in this highly competitive sourcing beauty contest.

• SHRM's own HRNews is probably the best example of successfully combing both print and the Internet. Since announcing last year that all ads placed in HR News (at a combined print and Internet price- $20/line) would be up on the net with a day or two, their classified section has grown from 2 pages to 12. SHRM has continued to enhance their online product with "push" and house ads leading off the hrlp-wanted classified section each month telling job seekers that the print ads have been "published" online for as much as three weeks prior to receipt. Print publishers could do worse than applying some of these principles to their own efforts.

• AGGRESSIVE MOVES ARE PLANNED...BUT, WILL THEY HAPPEN?
  We can't ignore a few comments about CAREERPATH (Page 76). After all, CAREERPATH is the most successful site on the Web. When they say "we're #1", they're close. I doubt anyone can approach their results- if you truly follow where the jobseekers are surfing. By the time you receive this (Mid July, 1997) CAREERPATH will be approaching 50 newspapers (although a few of their recent additions may not be in the same circulation class as the original 6). If you overlook the ridiculous fact that several newspapers still can't move their Sunday display ads into this database, you can not ignore the 400,000 fresh jobs each month and the 5,000,000+ searches by job seekers during the same period.

  CAREERPATH's latest effort- announced last month is that beginning in JULY, all the CAREERPATH papers will print 1/4 page ads in their classified sections each Sunday aimed at getting jobseekers to submit their resume for a very special, very large database. Many of CAREERPATH's resume database features are going to really excite the cybersavvy active AND passive job seeker. We'll be taking a close look as this juggernaut as it moves forward but our early prediction is that CAREERPATH will have more than a million resumes available for search within 90 days IF (and that is a big IF) their papers do what they say. (CAREERPATH only claims they will acquire 1/2 million by the end of the year).

  Here's why we think this may be a problem for them. Imagine that employers will be able to conduct searches on this database at a relatively low cost...on say Monday morning. Confidentiality will be protected as the company recruiter e-mails out invitations to discuss jobs further. We believe CAREERPATH will have an immediate affect on recruiting procedures not because it's a better system then some others (although what we've seen is as good as any other) but because it wil REACH in the real world almost every single job seeker every week. We believe this will make the first measurable dent in cost-per-hire nationally. Conceivably, this will drive down the lineage of all help-wanted in print and, as recruiters use this particular tool, they will be encouraged to use the many additional opportunities at other sites to reduce the use of the more expensive sourcing tools. This "spiral" effect is derived from a "Watershed event" and this is it....except,. the incredible irony is that CAREERPATH's success means that their owners (the major newspaper chains) will be actively reducing their own total income! Stay tuned.

  (Addendum: After going to press with the above, we learned (July 15) that CAREERPATH'S Plans will not move as fast as promised at the SHRM Conference).

• A Mobile Resume Outreach Center.
  One fun site represented at the SHRM show was JOBDIRECT (http://www.jobdirect.com). This is actually a "matching" service not a job listing service. Students can only see jobs after putting their resume in the database...which comes to them directly. The concept for JobDirect was developed by two women who dropped out of college to pursue their vision. They've traveled across the country in a specially equipped van bringing the net to college after college and collecting resumes. Students get the advantage of "Push" as they receive e-mail newsletters of job leads each month. A simple fee schedule for companies who want to reach this entry market costs hundreds of dollars to thousands for additional opportunities to sponsor. Annual memberships for JobDirect can range from $1500-$25,000 depending on the number of company locations and the size of your college relations program. Membership includes an unlimited number of interactive ("push") e-mail notifications to students, access to JobDirect's resume database and company profile. Additional options include a "Campus Notification" program that helps to inform students about your impending campus schedule. Students put there information up for free. The combination of the enthusiasm these owners bring to the site along with their unique way of getting to students at the various colleges they visit is very appealing. If you plan a very strong push on the campuses next year don't ignore this model.

  Contact: Rachel Bell
  JobDirect, 5 Greenwich Office Park, Greenwich, CT 06831
  203-629-2201 / Fax: 203-629-2261. e-mail: sales@jobdirect.com
  

MORE NEWS

• WOMEN'S CONNECTION ONLINE (http://www.womenconnect.com), a three year old gender-based site, has suddenly gone world class by joining with IBM to leverage the power of the Internet for women business owners. Announced June 19, women business owners can hook up at WCO's home page and use the site, as an information resource, to link to other gender based sites, to network in discussion groups and chat rooms, to host their own web site and much more. While this isn't designed as a job-site, nor are the folks coming here part of "Corporate America's" targeted population, don't overlook the fact that thousands of women currently working but carefully considering their future career options might well use this site as a launching platform. Check it out...and if you represent 50% of the human race, join up.
• Bill's Largesse- Public Library Access. MICROSOFT's move is next... Oh, sorry, he did make a move last month. If you haven't figured out the implication of Bill Gates' gift of 200 million dollars to the public library system and his company's matching gift of software, on your staffing strategy yet, let us spell it out. With more than 50% of all the libraries in the country already connected, Bill's largesse is sure to speed up universal access- at least for recruiting. Already cyber-savvy staffing organizations have reached out into their communities to inform librarians and other community-based organizations (there are many) how they can assist folks seeking employment by connecting to their company online. Imagine the opportunity for retail, hospitality, service and other non-exempt employers who can potentially use dozens of locations as remote hiring offices. Remote video interviewing won't be far behind.
• Real World WOW's. And finally, a couple final notes from the June 23 issue of Newsweek's cover article "Help Wanted!":
  • Unemployment continues to fall reaching record (4.8%) lows.
  • Cypress Semiconductor arranged for a plane to fly over it's competitor Cirrus logic during lunch trailing a banner "Work at Cypress".
  • Intel sent a direct mail campaign to 14,000 engineers offering a seven day trip for two to Hawaii if they were hired.
  • Domino's Pizza in Dallas is offering a $200 sign on bonus and health benefits for part-time pizza delivery.

CHANGES TO CAREERXROADS

• NATONJOB NETWORK (http://www.nationjob.com, Page 198) has added two new "jobs pages": Human Resources (at www.nationjob.com/hr) and Legal Jobs Page (at www.nationjob.com/legal). We like the way NationJob has organized the design of its site to facilitate job seekers who want to scan a specific discipline. NationJob also has an agent, PJ Scout, which (who) "pushes" job matches to registered applicants.

• MEDZILLA (http://www.medzilla.com) Formerly FSG Online (Page 126). Medzilla was one of very few medical/scientific employment sites on the world wide web in late 1994 (if not the only one). Since then Science Magazine (science.org), MedSearch, Bio-Online and many other sites particularly scientific association sites have filled out this niche. Medzilla has gone through many changes, from totally free access, to employer subscription, to their present business model - all services for candidates are free, and a fee is charged to employers and recruiters.

  MEDZILLA is designed for employers and candidates in biotechnology, medicine, healthcare and pharmaceuticals. Positions include listings in the US, Canada and Europe. Job listings and an extensive focused database of current resumes are available. All candidate services are free, including posting resumes to the databank and searching and applying for advertised jobs. Employers may query the candidate database at no charge, but there is a fee to obtain contact information. Job advertising is $100 per position, and each listing will run for at least three months.

  Contact: Frank Heasley, Franklin Search Group
  14522 54th Place West, Redmonds, WA 98026-3811
  425-742-4292 / Fax: 425-742-2172. e-mail: info@medzilla.com
  

• CAREERWEB (CareerWeb) (http://www.careerweb.com, Page 81 )
  Contact: Landmark Communications, Inc.
  150 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, VA 23510
  Phone: 800-871-0800
  Fax: 757-623-5942
  info@cweb.com

  Emphasizing technical, professional or managerial jobs, CareerWeb has thousands of listings for high-paying, interesting positions in engineering, information systems, telecommunications, marketing, accounting, healthcare and many other fields. Finding and responding to job listings on CareerWeb is free. A single job listing is $115 per month. Many other services CareerWeb and package pricing available.

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