charlene li research director forrester research net board presentation
TRANSCRIPT
Charlene LiResearch DirectorForrester Research
NET Board Presentation
Theme
A focus on user goals will drive design and brand
decisions
Agenda
The future of career network portals
Portal branding issues
Recommendations and summary
Use Scenario Design To Drive Decisions
Goal
What are theirgoals?
Who are yourusers?
How do they accomplish
those goals?
Identify Most Common User Goals
Individuals» Find a new, better job
» Assess my skills for a current/new job
» Find training
» Locate a Career Center
Employers» Find an employee
» Assess skills
» Train an employee
» Comply with government regulations
Online Job Seekers Are Dissatisfied“How satisfied are you with the quality of the jobs you have found online?”
1
Not at all satisfied
5
Extremely satisfied
2 3 4
Based on 1,541 online job seekers responding(percentages do not total 100 due to rounding)
13%
24%
43%
15%
4%
Mean rating = 2.73
Roots of Dissatisfaction
Candidates» “Real” jobs hard to find (often not listed in AJB)
» No response from submitted resumes
» Incomplete career and job planning resources
Employers » Hundreds of resumes to shift through
» Candidates have poor qualifications
» Resumes in databases not up to date
» Incomplete and inaccurate employer information
Career Networks
A one-stop career management site that aggregates multiple career services for
consumers and recruiters and serves both in an ongoing relationship.
Career Networks Power Online Recruitment
HRtools
Assessmentservices
Trainingresources
Jobsites
Profile
database
Jobs
database
Matching
engine
The Career Network
Users
• Career management advice
• Self-assessment tools
• Training resources
• Personal page
• Job outlook data
• Dynamic salary levels
Recruiters
• Job-posting tools
• Screening databases
• Training resources
• Corporate profiles
• Off- and onlinerésumé integration
• Benefits buying andmanagement
Characteristics of Career Networks
An aggregation of job posting sites
A connection to the recruiter desktop
Profile, not resume, databases
Assessment and training tools
Secure privacy throughout the process
Best Practices of Career Networks
Easy navigation between sections and features that facilitates user goals» No more than two clicks to accomplish goals
Extends relationship beyond job searching» Career advice, assessment and training, and other
career-related information easily available
Retains my personal information throughout the network visit (i.e. Passport)» Personalizes the experience throughout the site with
content, advice, and services
Opportunities for DOL/ETA
Integrate features to make it easier for consumers» Organize around common user goals
» Remove confusing names for each service
Become the trusted network for career information» Unbiased, governmental agency
» Aggregate the best of the best
– Network of all job boards
– Scrap jobs from sites (e.g. EmployOn or Flipdog)
– Organize all career resources (e.g. MyJobSearch.com)
Use Scenario Design To Drive Decisions
Goal
What are theirgoals?
Who are yourusers?
How do they accomplish
those goals?
Branding Considerations
Who are the users?
What are their goals?
What is the site’s charter?
What about existing brand equity?
Who’s using career information?
32% of Internet users have ever used the Internet to get information about job listings
Percent who look for job or career information online once a week or more…» All Internet users - 11%
» Internet users who changed jobs in last year - 23%
When will they use the site versus competitors?» At the beginning of a search?
» First resource for ongoing career information?
What sites do they use?
Index of 100 = Monster.com unique users in the US» Jobsonline.com = 87
» Homeemployed.com = 54
» Careerbuilder.com = 39
» Hotjobs.com = 37
» Headhunter.com = 26
» Flipdog.com = 15
» Jobs.com = 11
» Dice.com = 10
» America’s Job Bank = 8
Source: comScore June 2001
Measuring Unique Audiences
% ofMonster.comvisitors also
visiting
% ofHotJobs.comvisitors also
visiting
% ofHeadhunter.com
visitors alsovisiting
Monster.com 100% 54.7% 53.2%
HotJobs.com 19.6% 100% 28.4%
Headhunter.com 14.3% 21.4% 100%
What goals underlie career information use?
Actively looking for a job because of unemployment
Looking for a better job
Hoping to improve future career prospects
Is the users’ focus on “jobs” or “careers”?
What is the site’s charter?
Define the landscape» Competing against Monster.com or newspapers?
When would individuals visit the site?» At the beginning of the search
What will be unique about the site?
What’s the value of existing brands?
AJB strongly associated with job listings» Job sites are a dime a dozen
» Job listings quickly becoming a commodity
» No strong brand identify
“Kit” implies tools» Doesn’t reflect the depth of resources available
America’s Workforce Network imparts few user benefits» Also very cumbersome
Finding The Site
Search engine 73.4%
Email messages 72.8%
Link from another web site 70.3%
Recommendation from a friend 53.0%
Online banner ad 48.3%
Magazine or newspaper article 43.2%
TV commercial 41.4%
Magazine ad 37.5%
Print article 32.5%
TV program 31.8%
Newspaper ad 28.3%
Product packages 28.1%
Shopping catalog 25.0%
Direct mail ad 20.8%
Radio ad 19.8%
Radio program 17.6%
Outdoor billboard 10.8%
“What did you use in the last month to find new Web addresses?”
Branding Recommendations Focus on careers, not jobs
» Broadens the audience beyond job listings
» Leverages all the resources available
It’s still early in the game» Many users still haven’t even heard of AJB or ACK
» Those who have, don’t have a strong value association
» Brand migration can be managed in the marketing process
Keep it short and memorable
Consider a new name that reflects…» The goals of targeted users
» The mission of the portal site
Summary
Tremendous opportunities still exist in creating career networks
Focus on user goals to make branding decisions
