Job Search Engine Guide

Three Roads Diverged in a Virtual Woods

   

One less traveled. 

   

What has made all the difference?

   

The Ultimate Job Search Engine

   

Are you looking for (or trying to build) the ultimate job search engine? Jeff Tokarz, founder of Just-Posted, asked me to describe the key features that jobseekers look for in job boards and job search engines.

   

Check out the post on Jeff’s blog and let me know if I missed anything that is important to you.

   

And Jeff, thanks for asking!

   

Bob  :-)

   

The Polls are Open for the 2006 Recruiting.com Awards

   

Have you voted for your five favorite recruiting-related blogs?  If not, the Recruiting.com survey takes only a few minutes.  Not sure how to vote?  Here are five voting tips:

   

1)       Say thanks to Recruiting.com.  The rules may prohibit voting for them, but no matter – Jason, you have my vote!

   

2)       Vote for the blogs that make you think, laugh and learn … of the many great ones, five have meant the most to me during the past year: Cheezhead, Jason Goldberg’s Jobster Blog, Amitai Givertz's Recruitomatic Blog, EXCELER8ion and Talentism.  Thanks guys, and Shannon!

   

3)       Avoid the temptation to vote for blogs tugging at your heart strings with shameless, self-serving pleas, like …

   

- “If you … want to be nice to me...”

- “Thanks to your efforts this site has (sic) now a Finalist” … uh, there are no ‘finalists’ … every nominated site, even the ones nominated by the author, are still in the running.

- “If you like this blog, take a minute and please vote for it.”

   

4)       Ignore suggestions from some bloggers that you vote “five times for them”, or that you “vote early and often.”

   

5)       Use your vote to send a message to newbies and casual readers … a message that says “When you see the Recruiting.com best-blog logo, you are viewing a trusted, informed source that stands above the masses in the recruiting blogosphere.

   

So, who has meant the most to you during the past year?  Who would you recommend to a newbie?  Let your voice be heard.

   

I’m Liking Just-Posted and Jeff Tokarz

   

Relevance … specifically job search relevance … and the lack thereof on most commercial job boards … is one of the reasons I blog.  The technology exists to return more relevant job search results, yet the market does not seem to care.  Why?

   

Perhaps the market doesn’t care about relevance because:

   

-          better search reduces page-views per user, and sites are measured by traffic metrics rather than customer outcomes;

   

-          advertising dollars are inversely related to market efficiency – the less efficient the search process, the more advertisers are willing to spend to be heard above the noise;

   

-          the most profitable player in the market … Monster … does not deliver superior search results; or perhaps,

   

-          market participants … jobseekers, employers and recruiters … don’t care about search relevance.

   

I’m not willing to concede that market participants don’t care about search relevance.  I’m convinced that if a job board delivers broad coverage and superior search at a fair price, market participants will migrate to this site and away from less efficient players.  Not surprising then that I’m liking Just-Posted and Jeff Tokarz. 

   

The Just-Posted site combines broad market coverage (using spidering technology ala Simply Hired and Indeed) with substantially higher search relevance … my initial tests indicate a 70% improvement in accuracy as compared to the industry average.  And Jeff is one of the few other voices in the industry who consistently advocates for improved relevance.

   

If you too care about job search relevance, keep an eye on Just-Posted and Jeff Tokarz.