Jobboom, Monster and Working are taking advantage of the construction holidays to launch their respectively overhauled sites.
Although the three sites are distinct because of their different histories, they now have one virtually identical point in common—their search engine (fields allowing applicants to find the most relevant job postings). Across all three sites, the search tool is now
more powerful and user-friendly (maximum of two to three fields)
more accessible (systematically located on the home page)
Phase 2 of the complete overhaul of Jobboom, which began in early 2006 (see HRjob.ca of January 31), is complete. The site now features a search tool comprising a category field with a pull-down menu of 16 employment fields, a location field with some 100 locations and finally a free-text keyword field. An advanced search is also available as required.
The work also involved a significantly updated look, with job postings now much more visible on a background that suggests a very lightened-up version of the former site. Two new tools have also been made available to job seekers: "My Favourite Jobs" and "My Job Applications" to facilitate applying for jobs.
Monster Canada keeps its three-field search tool with a pull-down menu of about 50 job categories, some 50 locations, and a free-text keyword field. The tool is now accessible right from the home page.
Site enhancements are in the "Targeted Jobs and Advice" sections (which display tips that are popular with job seekers and a selection of postings by job category). The categories have been reviewed and broken down into finer listings, giving rise to the finance category, designed to meet the needs of the ever-increasing number of professionals seeking employment in financial institutions, portfolio management, insurance or real estate. This new version is available only in English for now, but will offer French content during the quarter, according to Louis Gagnon, VP Marketing at Monster Canada.
The new Monster also features a reviewed, simplified CV creation process and the "My Monster" tab, enhanced with a "Quick JobSearch" option.
In addition, note that Monster Worldwide has recently put Flipdog, a U.S. job search site it acquired in 2001 as prospecting tool for its sales force, back on line. This reversal implies that the world's foremost job site is preparing—despite itself—to make a foray into the booming market of job search engines.
Working.com, for its part, is launching a new version that also offers a simplified search tool with two free-text fields, job category and location. Of the three sites, Working without a doubt has the most advanced tool, because of the nature of its free-text fields, which allow virtually unrestricted searches (a thesaurus will nevertheless propose job titles and locations as it recognizes entered text). A sliding cursor allows users to adjust search results to almost the nearest kilometre, in order to obtain a consistent job list. Owned by the CanWest MediaWorks group, Working.com has always focused on the local job search approach to benefit from its regional newspapers, so its geographic search tool is particularly relevant.
One can wonder why three major job search sites each launched updated versions of their sites within days of each other, all with very similar features. Technology, with its ever faster data processing capabilities, is part of the reason for the availability of more powerful tools. The changes were also dictated by the heightened expectations of on-line job seekers, who want to be able to find jobs more quickly and easily.