2007 Top Sites for Job Search – Monster Wins Round 6

   

Disclosure – this is the test by which our eight remaining top job site contestants are judged in round six; and in this area Monster outperforms all the rest.

   

The truth of the matter is that job search can be dangerous … electronic job search more so since personal contact is greatly reduced, and in the world of cyberspace almost any individual can project the appearance of a professional firm.  Even the best job sites can be used by unscrupulous folks for spoofing, phishing, money laundering, and fraud.

   

Still, if you’re careful, the benefits of online job search far outweigh the risks; and a big part of being careful is choosing a job site that takes its responsibilities to you as a consumer seriously. Frankly, not all job sites demonstrate that they do.   

   

The best jobs sites disclose their:

¾      Owners;

¾      Leadership team;

¾      Board members;

¾      Partners;

¾      Physical address;

¾      Company phone number;

¾      Privacy policy;

¾      Copyright and intellectual property policy; and,

¾      Terms of use.

   

Plus, the best job sites provide:

¾      Feedback options;

¾      Customer service phone number;

¾      Guidance for avoiding and reporting scams;

¾      Help section with Q&As;

¾      Current system and community information; plus,

¾      Regular communication from the top management.

   

   

Since we’re down to the eight best job sites from our initial fifteen competitors, weaknesses are getting harder to find – these are all good sites; but Monster led the field by a significant margin in this test of disclosure, and they deserve special mention for their efforts to help jobseekers avoid online threats.

   

America’s Job Exchange has key pieces of disclosure in place, but they also have some work to do as they complete the transition from government-controlled AJB, where fraud was virtually nonexistent, to the new realities of the commercial market.  As the last place finisher in this round, they won’t be moving on to the next round.  Still, finishing mid-pack in their first competition as a private job site is impressive.  I suspect that GoogleBase, Microsoft LiveExpo, Craigslist, Oodle, Jobs.com, GetTheJob, and Just-Posted would have preferred to finish in front of AJE.

   

   

Best Job Sites – Round 6 Results

   

1. Monster
2. CareerBuilder
3. Jobster
4. JobCentral
5. HotJobs
6. Indeed
7. SimplyHired
8. America’s Job Exchange

      

   

On to round seven – the bait-and-switch round.  May the best site win.