Think you’re getting full value from the current online job boards?

The Inspiration Behind the Challenge

As part of a recent competitive review, the Jobfox R&D team wanted to see how Jobfox performed vis a vis the other major online job boards. Inspired by the famous Pepsi-Coke Challenge from the 1980s, Jobfox wanted to let recruiters conduct their own head-to-head comparison to see for themselves how Jobfox did versus the big boards. Thus, the Online Recruiting Challenge was born!

The Challenge Defined

Jobfox commissioned MarketInk Research (MI Research), an Internet research firm, to conduct this study from November 15, 2006 – January 31, 2007. The objective was to evaluate several factors across multiple online job sites, including:

• Quality of matches
• Time to deliver candidates
• Uniqueness of the candidate pool compared to the big job boards

MarketInk worked with Peter Weddle of WEDDLE’s, the publisher of several guides and directories that focus on the employment-related area of the Internet. Mr. Weddle is a nationally recognized recruiting expert and consults for top organizations. For their unique candidate pool research, WEDDLE’s used a random subset of the MarketInk data.

Head-to-Head Comparison – The Jobs

Five prospective Jobfox employers were selected to participate. All were experienced users of online recruitment tools and represented a range of professions across several industries. The Challenge had only one requirement — prospects were required to use a current job opening within their organization. Here are the industries represented and positions selected:

• Medical: Nursing at Emory Healthcare
• Marketing/Public Relations/Advertising: Public Relations Specialist at National Industries for the Blind
• Sales: Inside Sales at Sybase
• Finance: Assistant Controller at webMethods
• Information Technology: ASP Engineer at Blackboard, Inc.

Head-to-Head Comparison - The Job Boards

The jobs were placed on Jobfox, as well as posted on one or more online job boards by MI Research. Postings were to remain available for 30 days. Afterwards, the results were reviewed by each participating company recruiter. The competitive job boards included in the Challenge were:

• Monster®
• CareerBuilder™
• HotJobs
• Dice
• LinkedIn
• craigslist
• The Washington Post (Online)
• The Atlanta Journal Constitution (Online)

Summary of Results – Jobfox Produced Quality Matches

The total number of relevant Jobfox candidates far exceeded the competition for every job tested. On average, Jobfox generated 88 matches while the other board postings created anywhere between 0 and 35 candidate applicants per job.

Summary of Results – Candidate Delivery Speed

Most online job sites delivered prospective candidates throughout the 30-day job posting period with a big burst of initial activity which diminished quickly toward the end.

Jobfox produced a majority of candidates able to be accessed and contacted on Day One.

Detailed Results

Case Study #1 - Emory Healthcare

Since 1905 Emory Healthcare, based in Georgia, has been at the forefront of medicine, interventional research and healthcare technology. Emory provided an RN2 nursing position posting on Jobfox as well as postings on AJC.com (Atlanta Journal Constitution online) and craigslist.

• The AJC posting cost $369 for 30 days. Results: 0 job seekers.
• craigslist/Atlanta cost $25 for 45 days and delivered six local replies. However, after applicant review, the Emory recruiters concluded that none of the craigslist applicants were a relevant match.
• CareerBuilder™ and Monster® resume searches were conducted using the same search criteria. The CareerBuilder™ nationwide search cost $988 for 14 days. The Monster® nationwide search cost approximately $900 for 30 days.
• MarketInc Research forwarded the results from both the CareerBuilder™ and Monster® resume database searches to the recruiters at Emory. Results: 0 matches were reported.

In contrast, the Jobfox posting generated 233 candidates with match scores of 8.0 or above. These candidates were delivered immediately to Emory’s recruiters for follow-up.

"Hands down, the most unique feature about Jobfox is the fact that its jobseekers are top professionals who are very selective in how they look for a job. They aren't spamming every employment site out there such as Monster, CareerBuilder and the like….Jobfox's matching and applicant ranking automatically reduces the number of resumes I receive and ranks them against my job ad, so I only have to look at the candidates who meet my minimum match score, for instance, 8.0”

Kimberly Price-Brownlow
Sr. Human Resource Associate
Emory Healthcare

Summary of Results

AJC craigslist CareerBuilder Monster Jobfox
Number of qualified resumes/matches 0 0 0 0 233

How does Jobfox calculate matches of 8.0 or higher?

Jobfox uses its 10 Dimensional Matchingsm criteria to rank candidates on a scale from 1-10, including education, skills, years of experience, location, benefits, work environment, travel, industry, work authorization, and target salary.

Dimensional Matching aligns candidate strength, experience and knowledge to the best positions with leading employers.

Case Study #2 - Sybase

Sybase is a leader in developing and expanding database technology. Pat Pape, a Senior Recruiting Manager in its Bethesda, MD office, participated in the Challenge within Inside Sales Representative position.

The job posting was activated on Jobfox and posted on Dice. The Dice posting cost $429 and delivered five local job seekers within 30 days. Sybase also conducted a national search on Monster®, yielding only one potential match, according to Pape.

In contrast, Jobfox delivered 98 local candidate matches immediately.

Summary of Results

Dice Monster Jobfox
Number of qualified resumes/matches 5 1 98

Case Study #3 - National Industries for the Blind

Based in Alexandria, VA., the National Industries for the Blind (NIB) is a nonprofit organization that works to enhance financial and personal opportunities for persons who are blind, primarily through employment. NIB participated in the Challenge with a Public Relations (PR) specialist position.

• This position was activated on Jobfox, as well as posted on WashingtonPost.com. The 30-day listing cost $369. Results: 0 candidate matches.
• NIB also posted the PR specialist position on craigslist/DC for $25. This posting generated 28 candidate resumes in 30 days. NIB reported one potential match from craigslist, but the candidate’s salary requirement was too high.
• NIB also conducted a search of CareerBuilder’s™ national resume database. Access to this database cost $988 for two weeks. A total of 18 prospective candidates were found through the search with 85% of the candidates in the local area. However, NIB reported 0 matches from CareerBuilder™.
• MI Research also queried Monster’s® national resume database. Access to this candidate pool cost $900 for 30 days. This search returned 16 prospective candidates, 80% in the local area. After sharing the results with NIB, they reported 0 matches.

The PR Specialist position on Jobfox generated 37 immediate candidate matches, all from the local area.

“We really like Jobfox and we’ve received some great matches from our postings. Jobfox’s overall concept, particularly with its matching technology, is very unique and innovative – a refreshing change from the usual posting venues.”

Ann C. Walling, PHR
Employment & Recruiting Specialist
National Industries for the Blind

Summary of Results for National Industries for the Blind

Washingtonpost.com craigslist CareerBuilder Monster Jobfox
Number of qualified resumes/matches 0 1 0 0 37

Case Study #4 - webMethods

webMethods, a provider of business process integration to the world's largest corporations and government agencies based in Fairfax, VA.. They submitted an Assistant Controller position.

• webMethods posted their position on CareerBuilder™ for 30 days, generating 13 prospective candidates, six local. After internal review, none qualified.
• The position was also listed on LinkedIn. Cost was $145 for 30 days. Results: 0 responses.
• MI Research also queried Monster’s national resume database. webMethods initially identified 149 prospective candidates. After review, the recruiter at webMethods reported none of the Monster® database candidates were a good match for the job.

The Jobfox job posting immediately generated 62 candidate ranked matches of 8.0 or higher, all from the local area.

“What’s impressive about Jobfox is its matching technology. The fact that you instantly receive pre-qualified candidates is very powerful and a time saver.”

-Patricia Harris,
Corporate Recruiter
webMethods

Summary of Results

CareerBuilder LinkedIn Monster Jobfox
Number of qualified candidates/matches 0 0 0 62

Case Study #5 - Blackboard

Blackboard Inc., a leading provider of enterprise software for the education industry submitted an ASP Infrastructure Engineer position. This position was posted on CareerBuilder™, Monster® and Jobfox.

• The CareerBuilder™posting was free with the purchase of two-week access to its national resume search for $988. This posting delivered thee prospective candidates within 30 days.
• The Monster® posting cost $296 for 30 days, and delivered two prospective candidates, neither of whom were qualified.

The Jobfox posting delivered nine immediate candidate matches ranked 8.0 or higher. All of these candidates were local.

Summary of Results

CareerBuilder Monster Jobfox
Number of qualified candidates/matches 3 2 9

Candidate Pool Uniqueness Study

Throughout the Online Recruiting challenge, MI Research heard potential customers refer to Jobfox candidates as “unique individuals unlike job seekers on other online job boards.” What does this uniqueness mean to the recruiter? The MarketInk and WEDDLE’s research addressed this issue.

According to Peter Weddle, many job boards provide access to the employment credentials of some job seekers “but the key to successful recruiting is a connection to unique candidates.”

Peter Weddle said, “These individuals have restricted the visibility of their credentials on the Web, usually by posting them at a single site. The ability to source them, therefore, gives employers and recruiters more choice, and in many cases, better options in their selection of new hires.”

“Somewhere between 80-90% of the candidates enrolled at Jobfox appear to be unique versus the candidate pools on Monster® and CareerBuilder™.” WEDDLEs

"We use a number of online recruiting resources, but we find Jobfox attracts many well-qualified candidates who aren’t available on recruiting databases like Monster and CareerBullder. The (Jobfox) candidates are much more selective in their job inquiries."
-Pat Pape, Senior Manager, Recruiting
Sybase, Inc.

Weddle added, “Jobfox’s recent analysis of traffic to its site seems to confirm it is providing access to candidates not available at other employment sites. Based on a limited sample, it appears that very few of the individuals who completed a profile on the Jobfox site also posted a resume or profile at either Monster or CareerBuilder.com.”

Weddle said it is unclear why such a distinction occurs. “It may be that those who invest the 30 minutes or so required to complete the Jobfox profile feel a stronger allegiance to the site. Or, they may have been persuaded that the profile, itself, will provide them with a better opportunity match than traditional text-based searches of resumes. Whatever the reason, the finding suggests that Jobfox provides access to a population of ‘unique candidates’ that expands the reach of employers and recruiters and, thus, the caliber of talent they are able to recruit.”

Rob McGovern, the Chairman & CEO of Jobfox, builds on Weddle’s uniqueness theory. “We believe our candidates are the most desirable ones in the market. Our patent-pending matching technology secures our position as the only online recruiting site that can offer precision matching between candidates and jobs.” McGovern emphasizes, “Through viral word of mouth, top talent candidates are telling their friends and family about their positive experiences, and advising them to create a Jobfox profile.”


Conclusion

“Jobfox is setting a standard for the new generation of online recruiting and continues to improve upon this second-generation as it becomes available in additional markets throughout the country.” — Rob McGovern, Chairman & CEO, Jobfox

On January 31, 2007, following a 10 week Online Recruiting Challenge study, it is clear that Jobfox offers employers not only immediate access to well-qualified candidates, but access to a unique candidate pool. The candidate results from Jobfox are delivered immediately and are higher quality matches than results achieved from other online recruiting sources.

About Jobfox

Jobfox (formerly Market10) is a revolutionary new online job marketplace. Jobfox combines extensive matching technology with The 10 Dimensions of a Good Job Fit(SM). Based in McLean, VA, Jobfox was founded by the career expert, Rob McGovern, the founder and former Chairman of CareerBuilder™. Mr. McGovern is also the author of the best selling career advancement book, Bring Your ‘A’ Game: The Top 10 Career Secrets of the High Achiever.

For more information please visit www.Jobfox.com.