Surge in online recruitment as Web CV and job sites multiply

Not long ago, the New York Times ran a story about John F. Parker, a stock exchange trader with JP Morgan. Mr Parker recently posted his curriculum vitae on the Internet jobs board monster.com. "By the next morning, his phone started ringing wildly and he began averaging 10 responses a day." According to Mr Parker, this "frenzy" lasted for two months, until he found what he was looking for.

The use of the Internet as a recruitment device, like the computer itself, is here to stay. It is now emerging as the most powerful recruitment tool available to employers and is also proving extremely popular with jobseekers.

In March, it was estimated that there were 305 million people online - with 84 million of these in Europe and about 600,000 users connected in Ireland. By July, the Irish figure had risen to almost 900,000.

Significantly for the jobs market, teenagers are one of the fastest growing Internet populations, with 77 million under-18s expected online globally by 2005.

Employers may pursue two approaches to online recruitment. The first option is to create a corporate website, which advertises their career opportunities. This strategy is particularly suitable for organisations with a national presence and a recognisable name.

The second approach is to contract with an independent recruiting service. There has been a veritable explosion of such jobsites for specialised industrial sectors and professions of late.

It's estimated that these sites rose from 25 in 1994 to 100,000 by 1998 - with a noticeable expansion beyond technical-type posts. There is also a steady trend among the world's largest companies towards recruiting via a "careers section" on their corporate websites.

A recent US survey discovered that more than three-quarters (79 per cent) of the Global 500 companies recruited on their own corporate websites a huge rise from 29 per cent in 1998.

This remarkable pace is also reflected on the job supply side of the market. In 1994 there were 25,000 CVs posted online. By last year this had risen to about five million. Amarach Consultants says Irish managers see employee recruitment as the single most pressing strategic issue facing their business over the next 10 years. With talent in short supply, a company website helps ensure that one is properly presented and positioned to attract top talent.

There is already a number of Internet-based job clearing houses in the Irish market - such as irishjobs.ie and jobfinder.ie - but several recruitment agencies and consultants are also using the Internet to attract candidates. For example, the Marlborough Group has more than 2,000 jobs posted on its website at any one time, and can update its site daily. Calibre Consultants claims that 95 per cent of the CVs it receives now arrive by e-mail.

Richmond Recruitment even estimates that about three-quarters of IT appointments arrive via the Internet. According to Una Mann's survey at the Dublin Institute of Technology, the high-technology sector is the greatest user of Internet advertising in Ireland, with the financial services and services sectors next.

However, the University of Ulster recently said that only 8 per cent of the 127,900 businesses they surveyed in the Republic actually had an e-mail address. The real benefits of Internet recruiting include reduced advertising costs, less administrative work, a shorter recruitment cycle, a global recruitment pool and 24-hour, seven-days-a-week access.

For example, some employers have reported that after posting an opening in the morning, they were receiving CVs later that afternoon. For the More ambitious employers say an Internet presence allows them to conduct computerised CV scans, hold online interviews and administer psychometric tests.

Job hunters also find it less time-consuming than more traditional job-hunting avenues, whilst presenting them with more information about the potential employer and the specific career opportunities they're offering. Nine out of 10 British university students went online to look for work this year.

However, the Internet is not without its limitations. For example, some job seekers who submit their CV to relevant sites complain that they never get a response.

Finally, though, the choice appears to be: "Get on-line or get left behind."

Dr Gerard McMahon is a lecturer at the Faculty of Business, Dublin Institute of Technology. e-mail: ppl1@indigo.ie