With employees in short supply, companies are forced to look at new ways of recruiting—and hundreds of thousands of candidates are only a few mouse clicks away.
Online recruiting, whether it’s simply putting application information on the company Website or actively advertising on Web-based job listing boards, has become one of the hottest trends on Internet.
For example, The Monster Board at www.monster.com, the most popular job site on the Web, receives about 2 million visits each month.
“The Monster Board is really a cost-effective way of recruiting acceptable candidates,” says Susan Zaney, vice president of product management and marketing for the site.
The site works in much the same way as the classifieds section of the local newspaper, with the addition of electronic benefits such as a searchable database. Companies call a customer service rep, explain what the position is, how the ad should be worded and any other special aspects of the job that might attract candidates. The ad is listed under the appropriate category, and can also contain a link to the company’s Website so that interested candidates can learn more about the company.
If you are thinking that only 20-something Gen Xers are the only people checking these sites, consider the following statistics for The Monster Board:
- The typical visitor is between the ages of 24 and 49.
- There is an even split between male and female users.
- Users are experienced in their fields, with 65 percent having more than three years’ experience, one-third having more than 10 years’ experience and only 9 percent having less than one year of experience in their fields.
- Salary levels reflect the range of experience, with 45 percent earning a gross salary of $25,000 to $50,000, and 23 percent earning more than $50,000.
- Passive job seekers, those waiting for interesting opportunities to come to them, constitute 44 percent.
“In today’s business age, people want to know what’s going on in their industry,” notes Zaney. “These people are also prescreened, because if they are using the site, they know how to use the Web and a computer.
Job seekers respond to positions the same way as in a newspaper: mail, e-mail or fax. Candidates can also apply on the site and have their resume e-mailed to the company.
A listing on The Monster Board costs $175 for a 60-day listing. There is no charge for job seekers to read the listings.
“We have listings for everything from entry level to CFOs,” says Zaney. “The Web really levels the playing field between small and large companies.”
In print, a small company might be limited to its hometown paper, while a larger firm could afford to advertise in every major market. By leveraging the power of the Internet, a small company can advertise nationwide for about the same price as an ad in the local paper—and tap into the same pool of candidates as the big company.
Job listings can be searched by city or by type, and many passive job seekers opt for an e-mail notification service. After registering at the site, a person receives e-mail each time a new listing appears that matches the candidate’s criteria.
For those companies wanting a more active approach to recruiting, The Monster Board also keeps more than 300,000 resumes on file from prospective job candidates. By subscribing to this service for $4,900 per year, a company can peruse this file whenever they want. If someone matches the company’s criteria, The Monster Board serves as an intermediary and contacts the person and lets them know of the company’s interest.
