Monster.com says they are no longer a Job Board

Redesigned Web Site Includes Homepage Offering Streamlined Access to Job Search, Tools and Services
Watertown, Mass. – February 22, 2007 –

Molecular, Inc., a leading Internet consulting firm, announced its recent collaboration with Monster to conceptualize and design a newly launched site. Monster® is the leading global online careers and recruitment resource and flagship brand of Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNST). The new homepage offers streamlined access to job search, tools and services designed to improve the overall experience for job seekers and recruiters. The redesign also reflects the bright, optimistic tone of Monster’s 2007 integrated marketing campaign, “Monster Works for Me.”

Monster engaged Molecular to develop a new visual design for its homepage that would express the unique personality and attributes of the Monster brand; align with the messaging, imagery and brand promise of their 2007 ad campaign; and provide a richer and more compelling experience for users with fewer decision points. Leveraging information gleaned from internal stakeholder interviews, usability tests and a brand discovery workshop, Molecular’s creative team developed a new visual design for the homepage that establishes a unique and recognizable visual identity for Monster online, while supporting the goals of increasing qualified leads, applicants, and conversions.

“Monster has long since evolved from our days as a job board – we are now a complete career resource offering numerous tools and content to advance peoples’ lives, whether they are actively looking for a job or not,” said Michael Madden, Senior Vice President, Product, Monster. “We challenged Molecular to create a design that not only improved the user experience by offering smoother, streamlined access to the breadth of services available on our site, but communicated the Monster brand message.”

The new design implements user experience best practices and introduces a hierarchical organization to the site that meets the needs of job seekers. Key features that differentiate the redesign include:

* Updated Design, Navigation and Search: The redesigned homepage expresses Monster’s brand personality through visual style and photography. A streamlined interface quickly guides visitors to the content they need to accomplish their goals, while simultaneously shifting customer perception of Monster from a transactional site to a consultative site by uncovering the breadth of content and sense of community within the site.
* Interactive Features (polls, blogs, message boards): Interactive features accessed directly from the homepage provide a unique level of personalization, information and insight. Site users can quickly and easily connect with others in online discussions and share their comments about careers and the pursuit of them.
* Dynamic Video Capabilities: New video functionality allows broadband-enabled visitors to access the video clips of Monster’s advertising campaign through an embedded video player that is prominently featured on the site’s homepage.
* Innovative Advertising Solutions: Employer advertising space was redesigned to be more effective and provide a broader mix of options for promoting products and services.

As part of the engagement, Molecular also redesigned Monster’s employer homepage, located at http://hiring.monster.com/. Like the Monster homepage, the new employer site effectively integrates messaging and design with Monster’s 2007 ad campaign, improves the online look and user experience, and increases online results such as job postings, resume searches and job posting purchases.

“This was a rewarding opportunity to transform Monster’s online experience to align with their new ‘Monster Works for Me’ campaign and increase consumer engagement with the Monster brand,” said Darryl Gehly, Executive Vice President at Molecular. “Joining forces with the brilliant people at Monster, we not only exceeded with the goals of creating a fresh and engaging online perspective of the brand, but also met the disparate business needs of the consumer and employer markets. I’m proud to announce that the initial analysis of the new experience is proving to be a success.”

The Conference Board says, You HATE your Freakin Job…

U.S Job Satisfaction Declines, The Conference Board Reports

Feb. 23, 2007

Americans are growing increasingly unhappy with their jobs, The Conference Board reports today. The decline in job satisfaction has occurred over a period of two decades, with little to suggest a significant reversal in attitudes anytime soon.

Today, less than half of all Americans say they are satisfied with their jobs, down from 61 percent twenty years ago.

This report is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households, conducted for The Conference Board by TNS, a leading market information company (LSE: TNN).

Decline in Job Satisfaction Widespread

Today’s newest entrants to the workforce are the least satisfied with their jobs. Less than 39 percent of workers under the age of 25 are satisfied with their employment situation.

The decline in satisfaction is not just concentrated among younger workers. Satisfaction levels among all workers, regardless of age, income or even residence, have deteriorated in recent years. Says Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center: “Although a certain amount of dissatisfaction with one’s job is to be expected, the breadth of dissatisfaction is somewhat unsettling, since it carries over from what attracts employees to a job to what keeps them motivated and productive on the job.”

Job satisfaction levels, however, tend to rise as hours worked per week increase, but begin to recede at 60 or more hours. Not surprisingly, workers who expect to be in their current position a year from now are much more satisfied than those who foresee themselves working elsewhere.

Consumers rated bonus plans and promotion policies as the least satisfactory benefits of employment, with less than 23 percent claiming they are satisfied with their company’s policies. Satisfaction is also low for performance review processes, workload, work/life balance, communication channels and potential for future growth. Says Franco: “Perhaps, this is why two out of every ten employees does not see himself in his current job a year from now.”

The Ages of Satisfaction

* Less than two out of every five workers under the age of 25 are satisfied with their jobs. This segment of the population has the lowest level of satisfaction and the lowest level ever recorded in the nearly 20-year history of this survey.
* Workers age 45-54 expressed the second lowest level of satisfaction with less than 45 percent content with their current job.
* At the other end of the scale are workers 55-64 and 65 and over. Nearly half of all workers in these age groups are satisfied with their employment situation.

Money Does Buy Some Satisfaction

* As expected, the lowest level of job satisfaction is exhibited among workers earning $15,000 or less per year.
* Workers whose earnings exceed $50,000 per year, at 52 percent, are the most satisfied with their employment situation.

Location, Location, Location

* With less than 41 percent of householders claiming to be satisfied with their current job, the Middle Atlantic states (NY, NJ and PA) are home to the least satisfied workers in the United States.
* The West South Central region (TX, OK, AR, LA) is home to the second least satisfied workforce. Only 43 percent of workers say they are satisfied with their overall employment situation.
* The most content workers tend to reside in the Mountain states (MT, ID, WY, NV, UT, CO, AZ, NM). Here, 56 percent of all workers say they are satisfied with their job.

What About the Job?

* Consumers rated bonus plans and promotion policies as the least satisfactory benefits of employment, with less than 23 percent claiming they are satisfied with their company’s policies.
* Educational and job training programs as well as non-monetary reward/recognition and performance review processes did not fare well either. Less than 30 percent of respondents claim to be satisfied with these job aspects.
* Less than 36 percent of employees expressed contentment with their workload, work/life balance, communication channels and potential for growth.
* At the other end of the scale, more than 56 percent of workers are satisfied with their commute and co-workers as well as interest in their work.

In addition to its ongoing research in the area of Employee Satisfaction, The Conference Board is also currently conducting a global study in the area of Employee Engagement in which it is exploring the nature of the “drivers” or causes for employees’ emotional and intellectual attachments to their jobs. The research involves more than 7000 employees in eleven countries around the world. Results from this study will be released in the second half of 2007.

For further information contact:
Lynn Franco
at (1) 212 339 0344.
lynn.franco@conference-board.org

Just when I thought I was OUT, they pull me back IN… (Goddammit Rothberg)

Here it is: http://www.recruiting.com/something_for_nothing_and_your_lunch_for_free

Ok now the gloves come off…

Firstly, I can’t believe that I am actually agreeing with John Sumser. Damn. Damn. Damn.
But, John is RIGHT and he couldn’t have said it in a BETTER way…there I said it…and you know what? I’m GLAD Sumser is beginning to soften up and get it.

Secondly, take a look at the pictures of Mark from the UnConf…he looked lost…vacant…like Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka…
Now I do respect the Career-Fork-in-the-Road duo of Mark and Crispen. However, in this instance I couldn’t disagree more. Maybe Mark longs for the days of a good-ol-fashioned newspaper with help wanted ads, the mailman bringing you envelopes instead of email, and word-of-mouth instead of this BLOG er BLOB or whatever these people are calling it, to learn about something…
No matter, he is a fine man. But I submit that we are better people for being able to absorb information as soon as it becomes available…and BLOGS make that happen, Mark. And I don’t know if you were actually paying attention, but a good number of people who seemingly were in attendance at the UnConf actually WRITE these blog thingys…and spread the word…and will NEXT year…and the YEAR after that…we are ALL right in the Recruit-O-Girth..and THAT is the whole point…to share ideas….a VIRTUAL UnConf , if you will..

Lastly, to Rothberg. Dude, seriously? Ok lemme get this straight, you actually like Blogs and the Blogging technology, but by publishing CONTENT, its not that exciting…um…ok…let me boil down/strip away your comment to make sure we are clear. From what I can tell you wanted to comment and not offend anyone. Seemingly you don’t find Blogers or their content or their ability to publish content all that exciting. Nope…have it be known that Rothberg does not get morning “mahogany” for/about us bloggers or the content we provide…BUT he likes blog technology…kinda…I think.

Well Steve, you can’t have a blog without a blogger, or content, or comments, or links or anything like that without the symbiotic relationship between all of those integral parts. Just remember that when you comment on EVERY posting on EVERY blog in the recruit-o-sack.

In closing, I conclude the following: Jason Davis is Right. John Sumser is *gulp* right. Mark is lost or was confused and Rothberg was seemingly trying to please everyone by his comment. Remember you can wipe your ass with your bare hand, and it might get the job done…but it won’t be pretty…sometimes you just gotta tell it like it is…open debate in the Recruit-o-sphere breeds innovation.

WORKFARCE

Careerbuilder Re-vamps Sologig.com; Says to employers, “Pay up!”

Here it is…Straight from the bog…

Unlike many freelance sites, Sologig.com is not a bidding platform. Job
seekers are no longer required to register or log onto the site, and do not
pay to post a profile or apply to projects. Instead, employers purchase
project postings and access to the 1.2 million resumes in Sologig.com’s
Resume Database.
By avoiding bidding for projects, freelancers do not have to lower
their rates or pay a percentage of their fees for site access. This format
also reduces employers’ time-to-hire by attracting a larger volume and
wider variety of high-quality freelance and contractual workers per job
posting.

And here is the entire release: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-20-2007/0004530968&EDATE=

OOOOOOOOO-klahoma!

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC), Oklahoma’s state workforce agency, is one of five organizations profiled in the January 1, 2007, online edition of Computerworld magazine. In “Top Five Technologies Being Tested This Year,” an article focusing on new information technology (IT) products for 2007, OESC is cited for streamlining unemployment insurance (UI) processes through a paperless, software-driven system.

Jerry Pectol, Director of the OESC Unemployment Insurance division, takes special pride in the recognition. “Since it’s so rare for a state agency to have its accomplishments highlighted as a leader in a technology-related field, we are very pleased that Computerworld singled out the UI division for this honor,” he said of the article.

OESC is recognized for its use of business process management. The article details how the agency transformed its paper-based workflow process into a paperless system using customized DocuShare Enterprise Content Management software from Xerox. Since the new system launched in July 2005, more than 2 million searchable files used by the UI division have been entered. The end result is a boost in division efficiency of approximately 30 percent.

The data used to rank the top five technologies in this article came from Computerworld’s Vital Signs survey of 252 IT executives. Computerworld is published as both print and online editions for senior IT management at medium- to large-size companies.

Other organizations spotlighted in the article are Able Body Labor, Capital One Financial Corp., Gwinnett County (GA) Public Schools, and Wolters Kluwer NV.

JobKite.com PRESS RELEASE….Batshit-Craziness….

The Following Press release proves that while Jobster Moves out of its offices , that even its tiniest competitors are “feeling the pressure”. In the case of JobKite, this pressure has caused their CEO to go Batshit-Crazy…issuing the following release and changing her customer service line to 1-800-YOUR-MOM…

Free Jobster Postings Forces JobKite.com CEO To Step Down And Appoint Her Dog, Bailey Gates, As The New Head

It’s a dog eat dog world, and no one knows this more than JobKite.com. CEO Heather Galler today announces she is stepping down from her position and appointing her dog, Bailey Gates as the new company leader.

For Immediate Release

CAPE CORAL, Fla./EWORLDWIRE/Feb. 20, 2007 — It’s a dog eat dog world, and no one knows this more than JobKite.com. CEO Heather Galler today announces she is stepping down from her position and appointing her dog, Bailey Gates as the new company leader. Galler believes, Bailey Gates, an 11 year-old German Shepard mix, knows more about running a company than she does. He’s a dog – he’s very, very, very hungry and ready to eat the others dogs for breakfast, lunch and dinner – snacks optional.

It’s not only the CEO position that will be replaced by a dog. In fact, all of the employees of the company will be replaced by dogs. Penny Buffett will replace Scott Glasgow, VP of Operations and Mission Winfrey will take over the Sales Department in place of Mary Bowman, former National Sales Manager. “It’s time for a change,” says former CEO Heather Galler. “If a company such as Jobster.com has to resort to giving away free job postings, even with millions in investors backing them, then obviously the business world is too tough for little old me. We are a family business, with only ten employees, and I need to do what’s best for my family, so I will take the backseat and let my family dog, Bailey, do the job only a dog can do.”

JobKite.com a six year-old company, has over 90 niche industry and state job boards, with JobKite.com as the granddaddy national job board. JobKite.com has been a profitable and successful company for years. “We started our company with nothing, not a dime, and over the years we’ve only taken out two loans, one from a bank for 50k and one from another family member for 45k.” Galler comments, “I think I’m out of my league now. I’m not sure how to compete with a job board, like Jobster, that gives away their product for free, especially when they are backed by 30 million dollars from investors. We aren’t giving up on our dream of continuing to succeed as a family grown company – we are just adjusting are game plan and making some serious changes in staffing.”

“First on my agenda, as the new CEO of JobKite, is to offer discounts to hiring managers that own a dog or a cat. I believe we need to bridge the gap between cats and dogs and come together in the name of JobKite’s success as a powerful job board,” comments Bailey Gates, new CEO of JobKite.com.

Contact Heather Galler at 239-699-0953, or Heather@jobkite.com to arrange an interview with the new JobKite CEO Bailey Gates.

About JobKite.com

JobKite.com is a fun place to job search. Unlike most job boards, JobKite offers a refuge from boring and sterile content, a place to laugh, get inspired, have fun and job search. JobKite offers a national job board, as well as more than ninety niche job sites that are particular to location or industry, and twenty-seven industry specific directories – including listings for wedding vendors, plastic surgeons, realtors and B&Bs. The company is privately held with headquarters in Rochester, N.Y. For more information, visit ‘http://www.jobkite.com’.

CONTACT:
Heather Galler
JobKite.com
3824 SW 2nd Lane
Cape Coral, FL 33991
PHONE. 435-513-1763
EMAIL: heather@jobkite.com

http://www.jobkite.com

SOURCE: JobKite.com

Minnesota “the Gopher State” needs you…wants you to touch it…use them…

In an ongoing effort to enhance the ease-of-use of the CareerOneStop web site, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development will be conducting a series of usability evaluations and user research projects. Workforce professionals and paraprofessionals are needed to provide feedback. If you are interested in providing feedback through online surveys and assessments call: 866-730-5923 and indicate that you are calling for CareerOneStop or email Meredith.Anderson@state.mn.us.

CareerOneStop wants to facilitate low cost sharing of Internet-based self-service career management and career information resources that states can use. In order to ensure that the services provided are of value, CareerOneStop is establishing an ongoing program of obtaining input from its targeted user groups, a key group of which is workforce professionals and paraprofessionals.

Workforce professionals and paraprofessionals will be asked to participate in usability evaluation sessions on current as well as future services. Evaluation sessions will be conducted online, so that input can be obtained from across the nation. The session will last 60 minutes or less.

If you are interested in participating in future studies, or for more information about CareerOneStop’s efforts to involve users in its strategic planning process contact Meredith Anderson via email at Meredith.Anderson@state.mn.us.

Somtimes there’s a man…a True American Hero

Today we toast Chad Sowash…

He did, in fact, point out that that I was horribly wrong…

The RECRUITING.COM Censorship policy

Here it is: http://www.recruiting.com/removing_posts_from_blogs#comment-12438

Yeah Yeah…

freedom of speech…freedom of press..Bill of Rights…self publishing vs. print…no harm…no foul.

However if I want to write about my restrictions on Recruiting.com and its subjective censorship does this raise questions on what is fair and free? What can be said and what cannot? Satire? Humorism?

Things taken literally in the confines of Recruiting.com (without exceptions given) should be shamed. Hell…I get my news from the ONION…that is REAL news right? FARCE…I cry FARCE (in the most literal sense of the word).

Save the censorship for the PMRC, who lost…but looked good doing it.  OK I relent.  I will stop calling “special” people retards…stop calling people with a F.U.P.A. (Fat Upper Private Area), fat,and start calling them big-boned…those who lack a sense of humor, instead of branding them as negative, will call them dry….shit, where will it stop dear lord…

Pretty soon I’m going to be saying that Chad Sowash is not bald, he’s just dis advantaged (Like a burn victim? or POWDER?), and that Gerry Crispin is not old…he’s…um oh yes…WISE.

We aren’t here to make friends..at least not TRUE friends…we are here to speak the TRUTH, no matter how hidden and opinionated it may be….We are recruiters, bloggers, journalists, advocates…but yet we, or at least I am being SHUT-DOWN because some dude didn’t sack-up and learn that half of this recruit-o-sack is SUPPOSED to be funny.

 Hell maybe the workforce experts are right…laughter is not NEARLY as helpful, as a good NAP during the day…

 Being Censored sucks a big bag of dicks.  Now if someone decides to cry out obscene rambelings in church, I say, haul them away and put them in STOCKS on the Courthouse square…in the meantime the Blog-o-sherical-jiggy should be free.

Bring in the Lawyers,
FARCE

 

Recruiting Bloggers.com – Who is WorkFarce?