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Rocket Jobs

Rocket JobsDecember is here, and December is the worst month in the recruitment industry. Why? First, it is short and second, it is the end of the financial year, and budgets are frozen. But the Irish Celtic Tiger does not sleep. Perhaps it should be rebranded in the Snow Leopard. Why? Since in our country even in December the now jobs sites are popping up like mushrooms after the rain. The new kid on the block in RocketJobs.ie!

The logo and the web site colors show a strong resemblance to a ‘Home Made Burger’ place called Eddie Rockets. Oh yes, there is the resemblance in the name there as well when you think of it…

Perhaps it is the burger place branching out into the other industries since the news of the Irish pork being banned worldwide for the illegal amount of toxins being found. Their marketing should be: We have all Irish Jobs and,… would you like fries with that?

Honestly I think that Ireland will benefit from all those job boards. It will create jobs. People will work for those companies, web sites will be developed, marketing campaigns (or not?!), sales teams will call the recruiters… It’s all good for Ireland as a country and for Irish jobs market as well. It would be interesting to revisit each of this year’s new job board reviews in about 12 months time and see how is still there, and who is actually in the real competition to become a leading Irish jobs site.

Rocket Jobs – I wish you all the best!

(PS, I am not a great fun of a chicken burger really…)

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Career CV Database Internet Jobs Microsoft Recruitment

Take a sneak peek at the new Monster

Take a sneak peek at the new Monster Jobs Site

Monster is all about their new site. That isn’t actaully available. And will not be available this year. That does not stop them advertising it for the last couple of months. They started sounding a bit like Microsoft advertising their Vista. A lot of hipe, for a long, long time, but the result is…

Well let’s give Monster a chance to actaully show it to us. They promised it in Januarry next year (how crazy do you have to be to release teh new version of the job site in the month when job boards have the most traffic? If someting goes wrong, and things allways go wrong with the new releases, do you really need to show it to the most of visitors? :)

Well I guess it was a marketing driven decission, as Monsters decisions allways are, as oposed to the someones who knows how to run the operations.

Releasing a new jobs site in the year 2009, I would consider to be a failure if it does not have an element of the social networking. Is Monster smart and brave enough to bring the social networking in online recruitment on a large scale, as oposed to what LinkedIN is trying to do? Let’s wait and see ….

Untill then we will just be getting thoise emails and PDF’s titled Take a sneak peek at the new Monster or simmilar…

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Blogs

Irish Jobs Ireland

Irish Jobs Ireland is a site I made a few years ago when Microsoft published it’s small business offer called Office Live. What you got there, and I presume you still get today is a domain name, hosting, CMS, email hosting,…. well basically everything you need to start doing business online. The CMS was really good (for the CMS-es two-three years ago), but the DNS settings a kind of strange and it seemed that Google did not really like those sites on the Office Live. Google spiders didn’t really visit those sites that often then. Today Google seems to be bringing quite interesting amount of the relevant traffic, that shows that some things have changed. Obviously Google cannot ignore the Office Live based sites any more.

So if you are a start-up recruitment agency, and a serious freetard, Office Live is for you. Free web site, free hosting, free domain name,… free place to advertise your jobs and receive your applications… Go for it!

Actually it is not that bad, it shows some basic visitor statistics and has a generous disk space allocated. I guess I should write a proper review of it, and instructions on how to utilise it from the perspective of the Irish recruitment agency.

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Internet Jobs Recruitment Recruitment Agency

Giggzy Ireland’s Biggest Industry Network

Just in case you have not heard, the biggest Ireland’s Industry Network is Giggsy. At least according to Giggsy web site:

Giggzy is a Business Network website. It provides a platform for industry leaders, professionals and job seekers to interact online.

Underneath that lovely introduction there is also a feature to register as a Job Seeker and Employer. The most prominent feature on the site is also the Job Search. You can also exclude agencies in your search.

So what is Giggzy really about?

It is a wana-be jobs site, and a social networking site in one? Kind of like LinkedIN, but for Ireland, and Ireland only? I really like the idea. But the packaging is just awful. The mixture between the jobs site and the networking site in the branding messages is extremely confusing, or just simply put – bad.

The implementation of the web site from the technical perspective is on the level of the site you get for free from a nephew, or a low paid student.

The company behind Giggzy is called: Active Staffing Solutions. It sounds like a recruitment agency, doesn’t it? Is it jet another jobs board by an Irish recruitment agency?

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Blogs Career CV Database Google Internet Jobs Recruitment Recruitment Agency Search Engine SEO

Green Jobs

I am pleased to announce the nicest Irish Job board: Green Jobs!

A this is second new job board I am looking at today, and funnily enough the first one was also ‘green’ or perhaps a bit to ‘green’!

Anyway back to Green Jobs! It is again the jobs site owned by the recruitment agency, and the good thing is – they do not hide it a bit! Their Green Search logo is proudly displayed in the header next to the Green Jobs one.

The Green Jobs Design

The design of the Green Jobs web site is probably the nicest site design of all Irish recruitment web sites. Modern, Web 2.0 (and beyond), light colors on the white background, 3D,… what can I say? It ticks all the right checkmarks! It really is a pleasure to look at, and I find hard to write about it, since I just keep starring at the front page. And not only the front page. When you browse around, you find the little graphics in the site that are relevant to the content, and make the site easier to read and follow.

There are some possible improvements on the looks, it could be a bit modernised since some elements are a bit… ‘old’. The latest jobs scrolling make me really nervous since I cannot really read about the job. It’s too quick! Featured employers box ruins the balance, and is over, over,… out-standing. Fonts could be a bit more exiting… But hold on! This is still probably the nicest (Heineken) jobs site in Ireland!

PS. If you are a graphic designer who made those graphics please call me on 076 670 8888 now! I have a job for you!
PS2. In case you are calling from Brasil, there is +353 for Ireland in front of the number…

The Green Jobs Usability

Well,…. there is always a room for improvement. Again, there is only one green button, on one page only that leads you to the job search facility. I think a job site’s main purpose is to show jobs. The Jobs Search should be on every page. I will repeat that. The job search should be present on every page.

SEO of the Green Jobs

Well not much of SEO on the Green Jobs page. There is actually a test you can do on a job site to check how serious contender are they. You just look at the URL of their job posting. If the page where the job is actually displayed does not contain the job name in the URL, in the TITEL, in the META, in H1 Tag, and a few times in the text…. well then that page will not get much relevant traffic from the search engines. You have to ask yourself – why publish something if it will not have any reach?

So let’s see the URL of the job post on Green Jobs:
greenjobs.ie/jobseekers/info.php?jobid=158

Well, you be the judge… My take on it is that they will always depend on Google AdWords for the traffic to their site, and we all know that this is not really sustainable way to run a job site.

Conclusion?

Green Jobs is the nicest little recruitment site in Ireland. It is cute in its simplicity really. Well done and all the best Greens!!!

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Blogs

SnazzyJobs

I guess some people will say I like writing about the Irish Jobs boards. The funny thing is that there is so many popping out, it is almost every week you hear about a new one. This is just in the last month or so:
TheJobs.ie, JobisJob.ie, Jobs2do.ie aka Spamers, Monster Finance, urHired

So here goes an interesting one. The Irish .ie domain seemed a bit too expensive so it is called SnazzyJobs.com. At least it is Hosted in Cork, so Google.ie might actually not ban it completely, if Google Webmaster Tools is to be believed.

Here are the first impressions:
1. Logo resembles any other stock logo sample, not really inspiring (as was the case with a number of the recruiters logos earlier this year).
2. Legal Stuff – company registration number and the registered address nowhere to be seen on the site.
3. Why publish so many pages to have only Coming Soon text on them?
4. The site is actually designed in some ’90-ies style. It is really hard to read the font in the menu. Green font with the green shadow on the green background? Here are some Design ideas: Jobs Board.
5. The code is not as messy as most of the jobs sites are actually, but a bit too much of that Java code all over. It is an interesting choice to have the jobs board in php, while all the leading job boards are the powered by the Microsoft .NET. Another interesting choice is
6. StatCounter as opposed to Google Analytics? Interesting choice. I would still use both, since the speed the Google Analytics is being developed at the moment, with stuff like Data Visualisation (Google Analytics Motion Chart), will overshadow most of the aspects of otherwise very useful StatCounter.

You need to be brave to show your price list online where there is nothing really anyone can buy for less than a thousand euro. It could actually be used as a company slogan:

Snazzy Jobs
Where prices start at thousand Euro

Or maybe not?

There seems to be some 250 jobs advertised. Considering the time of the year and the (econ)comic situation in the country it is not bad really. There is also 2 jobs advertised in the last 7 days, so the site is not dead!

But honestly it will not be much more if some serious effort is not applied. The designers have decided to ignore a few important facts. SEO and Usability. The URL’s look like this:
snazzyjobs.com/jobsearch.php?ok=1&v000=&v001=1&v010=0&v011=&v101=&v111=....

To find the job search you need to click on some well hidden green button on the green background. And that button is one the single page on the site? Perhaps this is a part of the screening process: If you manage to apply – you must be a smart person, so we will look at your CV!

And,… you also need to create and account with Snazzy Jobs to be able to apply for the job. That last hurdle in the application process will definitely go well with the applicant. If banks and governments are losing the personal data, should I be leaving it on the web site that even does not confirm the company registration number required by the CRO?

Snazy Jobs we honestly wish you the best!!!

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Blogs

Psychometrics – What is it?

Psychometrics is increasing in popularity with Irish employers and with this most jobseekers are familiar with this term. Having said this there are many employers and jobseeker who do not understand
Psychometrics, what it involves and why it is used in Assessment and Selection.
Basically Psychometrics is an area of study about the measurement of "psychological" aspects of individuals. Aspects such as abilities, knowledge, personality, or skills. There is a huge range of tests and test providers which can be quite confusing. Below I have identified a few of the more popular assessments used in recruitment – Ability Tests and Personality Questionnaires.

Personality Questionnaires – Personality
Questionnaires are a very popular tool used in recruitment. They provide an indication of a persons preferred behavioural style at work, information on how a candidate will fit in certain work environments, how they work with other individuals and how they will cope with different job duties. The most popular personality questionnaire used in Ireland is the OPQ32 Personality Questionnaire.

Ability Tests – There is a large range of work based ability tests. The most popular ability tests are numerical and verbal reasoning tests. Ability Tests measure an individual’s current ability and their future potential.

Why do companies use psychometrics?

Enhanced Hiring Decisions – Research has proven that the combination of a competency based interview and psychometric testing is the best approach to predicting job suitability.

CV’s, Interviews & References don’t work – Traditional methods of recruitment do not work.

Fair &
Objective – Hiring staff in Ireland is becoming a minefield legally.
Psychometrics improves objectivity and reduces subjective decisions.
Psychometrics is a fairer approach to recruitment.

Most important
of all – Psychometrics saves time and money.

See more at: Psychometrics.ie and Measurability: Psychometric Testing

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Blogs

Outplacement Services – What is it?

The job and employment landscape has changed dramatically over the last few decades. Once there was a job for life. Nowadays employees can expect anywhere from five to thirteen job changes throughout their career. Some of this change is self driven but other times employees are forced into this situation through redundancy. Redundancy is a popular topic in Ireland in this current climate with most industry sectors affected.

Redundancy can be a difficult time for all parties – employees and employers alike. Outplacement services supports organisation and employees through this difficult time. Outplacement Services for the most part is direct support to the affected in the form of CV, Career and Interview supports. It can also encompass support for the employer breaking news and managing communication and
support for the survivors remaining in employment.

Outplacement Services – What are the benefits?

Outplacement services have benefits for employers and
employees including:

  • Outplacement Services project a positive image of
    the company externally to customers and investors.
  • Outplacement services project a positive message
    internally to the staff remaining “survivors”. This can help Improve
    morale, staff retention and increase productivity.
  • Outplacement services send out a clear message
    that a company cares. This can have an immediate impact as outlined but
    also future impact when attracting future employees.
  • Outplacement Services ensure that affected staff
    are supported through their career transition to new employment, education
    or training.
  • Outplacement Services can help reduce
    individual’s emotions like resentment and anger.

Outplacement Services – What is offered?

Executive Outplacement – these are programmes tailored for executives or
senior managers. They are bespoke programmes facilitated through 1-1 coaching and
cover topics including: moving on after redundancy, career assessment and
direction, CV support, job hunting strategies and interview preparation.

Individual Outplacement –These programmes offer 1-1 coaching and flexibility
to meet individual needs. These programmes vary in length and content with modules
– career coaching and assessment, CV preparation, job search, interview advice
and ongoing support.

Group Outplacement – This is outplacement support in a group workshop
format.

See more at: Measurability: Outplacement Services and Outplacement Services Web Site

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Blogs

Recruitment SEO 101: Keyword Analysis

Any SEO Consultant will tell you that a decent SEO project should somewhere in its starting phase have a step called Keyword Analysis. Unfortunately different people have a quite different idea what exactly does the Keyword Analysis mean. Some mean that it is about finding the most relevant keywords, some that it is about the number or keywords, and the rest arte somewhere in between.

Google has a quite easy to use Keyword Suggestion Tool. Here are the keywords that Google will ‘suggest’ as a similar and relevant search keywords to the term ‘Jobs’.

I’ll leave up to you to draw your own conclusions about the suggested keywords. Are those really relevant? Too many? Too few?

Keywords related to term(s) entered – sorted by relevance:

jobs, sales jobs, job, accounting jobs, job opportunities, job search, finance jobs, medical jobs, find jobs, hr jobs, legal jobs, nursing jobs, summer jobs, temporary jobs, job vacancies, job site, job bank, jobs search, jobs online, jobs google, internet jobs, full time jobs, jobs available, financial jobs, healthcare jobs, temp jobs, job listings, part time jobs, banking jobs, top jobs, retail jobs, job sites, government jobs, jobs uk, jobs london, graduate jobs, engineering jobs, office jobs, new jobs, jobs com, parttime jobs, jobs wanted, jobs banks, find a job, social work jobs, contract jobs abroad, job fair, job find, advertising jobs, job seekers, environmental jobs, pa jobs, job agency, need a job, technical jobs, media jobs, administration jobs, accountant jobs, financial services jobs, sales rep jobs, job vacancy, job agencies, jobs waterford, online job, recruitment jobs, job recruitment, job google, part time job, jobs vacancies, jobs in london, jobs cork, accountancy jobs, local jobs, jobs international, irish job, jobs it, finance job, engineer jobs, jobs canada, hotel jobs, home jobs, sales job, jobs bank, language jobs, job applications, irish jobs, jobs on line, www jobs, looking for jobs, jobs france, all jobs, list of jobs, jobs no experience, ebay jobs, jobs club, jobs i, delivery jobs, microsoft jobs, receptionist jobs, promotions jobs, jobs websites, customer service jobs, child care jobs, fun jobs, jobs website, forklift jobs, partime jobs, maintenance jobs, clerical jobs, manufacturing jobs, jobs compliance, job seeking, loads of jobs, i need a job, ice jobs, microbiology jobs, job search google, tv jobs, nursing home jobs, promotional jobs, jobs in google, health promotion jobs, looking for job, health care jobs, jobs in healthcare, computer jobs, google job listing, job finder, gallery jobs, seasonal jobs, logistics jobs, dental jobs, job boards, jobs in boston, night jobs, jobs in chicago, my jobs, jobs in san francisco, jobs with animals, midland jobs, jobs in radio, payroll jobs, forestry jobs, welding jobs, entry level jobs, looking for a job, art jobs

Google has a bit more for your Keyword Analysis study. Here is the list of:

Additional Keywords to be considered – sorted by relevance

employment, employment agencies, employment opportunities, careers, recruitment, recruitment agencies, career, job listing, job postings, hiring, vacancies, opportunities, vacancy, help wanted, part time, employers, work, telemarketing jobs, employment google, employment online, job opening, job posting, entry level positions, employment agency, job opportunity, openings, auditing positions, recruiters, employment cork, jobs marketing, accountant hiring, positions, sales vacancies, home employment, entry level, recruit, full time, recruitment companies, telesales, recruitment agency, career opportunities, auditing position, part time work, typist, staffing, recruitment google, irish employment, sales reps, irish recruitment, legal recruitment

This second list is actually very interesting. What one can do is take any of those and ask the Google Keyword Tool for the Related Keywords suggestions again. By doing so the keyword list expands indefinitely.

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Blogs

A job interview

No comment

(Just click to open each image) :)

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Blogs

Jobs Board

Nice logos all around from the new Irish start up recruitment agencies, and here is one more contender. Not really a recruitment agency, but a jobs board but still in diapers and therefore appropriately listed within the start-ups.

So here is the new logo for the Jobs Board (www.JobsBoard.ie):

Jobs Board

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Blogs

Irish Recruitment Logos

I have spent the whole day analysing the web sites of the recruitment agencies in Ireland. I have visited 431 web sites exactly (from my browsers history!). In general the quality of the web sites is better than some 3 months ago since I did my last ‘check’ of the recruitment web site like this. What was noticeable is some really nice logos there. There is a member of recruitment agency logos with a strong Web 2.0 elements:
Software Placements Logo

Red D Recruitment LogoSole Recruitment Logo
But the clear winner for the best logo in the ‘Newcomers’ category is definitely HR Synergy:


Well done!!!

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Blogs

Web 3.0 Jobs Board

Web 2.0 with its main characteristic that ‘Everyone Can Publish’ didn’t really make much difference to the jobs web sites. Even the ‘Most Professional’ social network LinkedIN did not have much of the impact on the job boards, even to the ones tightly integrated with it like SimplyHired. The Blog as such again failed to leave any impact on the jobs boards. Video CV, video in interviewing, video presentations of the jobs and companies didn’t do much until today as well. In general the job boards kind of didn’t seem to notice the Web 2.0 have happened at all.

Web 3.0 will have a quite different impact on the job boards. The Web 3.0 is going to try to make sense of all this publishing of the Web 2.0. Remember the rating stars on blogs or ecommerce web sites? The Web 3.0 will use those and really rate each piece of the content based on the users ratings let on those web sites. Google AdWords programme has an element of that even today. If you create an advertising campaign, and Google AdWords displays it a lot without people really clicking on it, the advertisement will be demoted, and will not show o the prominent highly visible places any more. In fact, it might only be showing hen there is really nothing else to fill the advertising space with.

Web 3.0 Jobs Board

The jobs board is a place where there is a huge amount of ever changing content, with a huge number of visitors flicking trough it data, and guess what? Scoring the data as well! Scoring? How? Well there is the job application. The more the job is applied for, obviously the more it is interesting to the majority of the people. A jobs board CAN make sense of its data. It can RATE each job by the most important factor (conversion ration) number of applications for each job.

The job applications are just one element a jobs board can use to rate the jobs advertised. What it can also use is the number of the job is viewed. That quality score is about the quality of the job title and a short job description – that display the job in the search results.

Furthermore the length the visitor spends on the site where the job is, is the element the a jobs board can use to determine about the popularity of the job.

The complete picture of the ‘value’ of each job needs to be gathered from the combinations of the elements above that define the quality or the popularity of each job. The date of publishing certainly has to play its factor here.

Can you imagine a jobs board that functions like Digg? And only if the job generates enough applications in its short life span, only then does it ever get to the front page? Well this is what a Web 3.0 Jobs Boards are going to be all about.

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Blogs

Dell Jobs on LoazaJobs

dell jobs in ireland logoI saw the Dell logo today on the LoadzaJobs web site home page. The logo looked so sad really. With all the recent Jobs News about Dell reducing the staff levels, and even more worrying titles in some Irish newspapers that calculate if the whole Dell operation in Limerick is about to shut down one wonders what is the Dell logo doing on the LoadzaJobs web site? Does it look so sad because there is no jobs advertised behind it? It has the round shape that kind of resembles the Smiley but, doesn’t it look sad?