Jobseekers go online to boost e-recruitment

Speedier internet connections as well as a booming economy are fuelling the increasingly competitive business of online recruitment, writes Gabrielle Monaghan

Rising broadband penetration and economic growth has propelled the Republic's online jobs market from a niche industry to a mainstream medium that's grabbing market share from traditional recruitment agencies.

But intense competition means internet recruitment companies are constantly under pressure from rivals. Monster.ie is one of the three largest career websites in Ireland, along with Irishjobs.ie and RecruitIreland.com, the subsidiary of US-based Monster.

It has grown from a zero presence in Ireland six years ago to operating a site with the largest number of CVs in the country.

There are now 220,000 CVs on Monster.ie, which receives more than 300,000 visits a month.

The number of new CVs registered with Monster.ie rose 36 per cent to 41,410 in June from the same month a year earlier as more jobseekers and employers embraced online recruitment.

"The first few years of Monster in Ireland was all about people using the internet in their offices and putting up their CVs on the site at lunchtime," said Alan Townsend, chief operating officer of Monster UK & Ireland.

"But in the last two years, there has been a dramatic increase in broadband connections and people feel that using the PC at home is no longer a pain because of the faster connections."

Monster Ireland now attracts 10 per cent of the spending on recruitment in Ireland and between 30 and 35 per cent of the expenditure on online recruitment, according to Townsend, who oversees day-to-day management and operations at Monster's business in the UK and Ireland.

The number of job applications made through Monster.ie jumped 60 per cent in June from a year earlier, while more than 84,500 jobs have been posted on the site since the start of 2006.

While Monster Worldwide doesn't provide a breakdown of earnings for the Republic, the company earlier this week posted second-quarter profit of $39.6 million (€31.1 million) on revenue of $295.8 million as it became the 14th most visited website globally.

However, the company has said it may need to restate financial results for the year ended December 31st, 2005, and for prior years to record additional stock-based compensation charges.

The SEC and the US attorney's office are conducting informal investigations into Monster's past stock option grants.

The company, whose shares are listed on the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 Index, employs more than 4,300 people in 25 countries.

In Europe, where one in three internet users visited a recruitment website in May, Monster is growing at a faster pace than the total online careers market.

The number of visitors to career sites rose 22 per cent that month from a year earlier, while the number of visitors to Monster climbed 28 per cent to 9.2 million, according to digital media measurement company ComScore. Even with this pace of growth, Monster Ireland has to work hard to stave off the competition.

With the country hovering near full employment, jobseekers in many sectors are becoming more picky not only about the positions they want but about which online recruiter will provide it.

As a result, Monster is focusing on upgrading its technology and bulking up the career advice section of its site.

"It's a very competitive market. Especially in the last 12 months, people feel confident enough to look for another job without fear of failure," Townsend said.

"We try to differentiate ourselves from the others with the whole careers aspect, which is central to what we do, and by emphasising our unique element of being part of a global network.

"Jobseekers now have more control over their careers. They used to have to go to a guidance counsellor or get advice from family and friends about what they should do with their careers. But the internet brought this information to them directly."

Monster Ireland is sprucing up its career management division now and is testing podcasts that will enable jobseekers to download, for instance, free advice on interview skills or strategies to get a pay increase.

It also plans to offer video training seminars online, for a fee, for jobseekers who want to gain an edge in an interview.

"As a jobseeker, I'm in competition with everyone else," Townsend said.

"I not only have to be the best person for the job but the best prepared person for the interview."

Monster Ireland also streamlined its technology at the start of the year to enable internet users to upload their CV in 15 minutes, compared to a cumbersome 40 minutes previously.

It plans, too, to introduce e-mail job alerts that will match jobseekers' requirements, Townsend said.

The company's customers are also under pressure to stand out to potential employees.

Employers are putting up webcasts of their managing director or satisfied employees addressing jobseekers in a bid to encourage them to apply for jobs, according to Townsend.

"There's now a lot of branding online," he said. "Companies such as IBM have banners on our site and a link where people can apply for their jobs directly."

Townsend was promoted from his role as country manager for Monster Ireland to chief operating officer of Monster's business in the UK and Ireland in February, 2005, after setting up the business here in August, 2000.

Before joining Monster, Townsend was managing director of HMV Ireland, where he opened stores in Limerick, Dublin and Belfast. Some of his 12-year stint in Ireland was also spent as a consultant to organisations such as Sony Music.

Given Townsend's varied career, he is not afraid of delivering his own advice.

"Make sure you have at least a basic understanding of computers and that you have a second language," he said.

"This will make you mobile, which is the key to a good future career."