Blog

Browse Topics:

more

.Jobs: Creating a marketplace for employment

Have you heard about .jobs? It's the new domain developed by Monster.com creator Bill Warren. It lets job seekers apply directly to the companies looking for talent, and allows these companies to list their open positions at no charge. Here are some examples: Philadelphia.jobs or Chicago.jobs. You can even search by industry (engineer.jobs, for example).This has the potential to be an incredible development for human resources and hiring. In essence, a .jobs domain is a top-level search of the Web, and will streamline and compartmentalize Web traffic for specific market domains.

Likewise, it makes the process for finding talent more focused. Before, there were certain places that you had to "participate" in order to be actively looking for top talent. But by developing this marketplace, it makes it a lot easier to focus one's dollars and efforts into finding the right types of talent in one location.

We might also find that this will increase competition among companies. Those that are the most effective messengers and who have the best relationship management skills will have a unique advantage. Everyone else will be playing catch-up. Which means we could again be looking at a war for talent.

But while there is a lot of potential, there will also be some hurdles to overcome. Yes, cutting out the "middle man" will create efficiencies in the hiring process, but it will also cause an influx of applicants directly to you. Without someone to filter submissions, your internal department will have to handle it all. This means we'll likely see employers turn to professional staffing services specialists or RPO firms to handle the additional traffic.

In addition, companies themselves will need to become more nimble. Companies should begin to prepare themselves now by developing a more streamlined flow internally. Once you receive an application, what's the next step? What qualifications are you looking for? What is your communications process to the applicant? What screening do you have in place? Be prepared for there to be a steep learning curve on this one.

Furthermore, companies will need to look beyond the traditional means of marketing and branding themselves. Training programs will need to be developed that will focus on using traditional and social avenues. Don't forget about LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, etc. In fact, I think we'll find that the creation of the .jobs domain will cause internal HR and marketing departments to be more closely aligned than in the past.

Communication will be key. Recruiting will become more of a relationship management function than it is today. There will be a variety of messages conveyed to the talent pool, and recruiters will be responsible for the effective management and translation of these messages.

I'm excited for the possibilities of the .jobs domain, but like every new initiative, it's going to create a set of challenges that haven't yet been tested. By being prepared for these challenges up front, companies are opening a world of possibilities for recruiting and hiring talent.

For more information on the domain from Bill Warren himself, read this white paper he published back in August.

This post was written by Doug Lubin, a successful Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) Practice Leader and Consultant, who brings over a decade of expertise building sustainable solutions for clients and partners.  Doug helps firms develop high performing talent acquisition and management strategies locally and globally.  Learn more about Doug.




















Related Posts

RPO themes to look for at CWS Summit 2011 Read Post 8 Secrets RPO Providers Use to Optimize the Recruiting & Hiring Process Read Post Scaleable Recruiting: How to Get Past Soaring Hiring Demands Read Post