Thoughts on Employment Websites and the Future of Business-Part 1

When I was home for Christmas break my parents somehow convinced me to put my resume on an assortment of those employment websites. Sites like Monster.com and careerbuilder.com. I was familiar with both of these, but had never used either.

After dealing with both of these sites it seems clear to me that they are mostly inadequate. I LOVE the idea, and I truly believe that if they were done correctly then that site could change the way companies recruit and connect with potential employees.

This Employment website problem is definitely an opportunity for someone or some company to truly change the DNA of Human Resource Management and customer service. Instead of a branch of the company that destroys value and offends people it could actually be a companies most valuable asset. I will explain why a bit later.

These sites are currently set up very sloppily. They have very little user contribution other than posting jobs and resumes and simply letting someone find you. NO ONE WORTHWHILE WILL EVER JUST FIND YOU. Especially on sites like these that appear to not even understand basic human communication.

I get DAILY emails from career builder that infuriate me. Emails that do not say anything of value and that make me NOT want to ever return to the website. And that is sustainable? That is their business model?

The internet has the potential to change the way companies do business. It allows you to actually connect with your customers in a REAL and personal way. Which is better---Figuring out what your customers really want and exceeding expectations or putting in minimal effort performing market research? It seems fairly obvious to me. The future of business lies in company-customer collaboration. Find out what your customers want by having an ongoing conversation with them. This was not possible a few years ago. At least on an aggregate level. However, now it is.

The future of business is now and it is time the customers ask for more. No more bullshit. We, as customers, now have the potential to actually voice what it is we want and it is through this that we can demand products that have the ability to add to our lives in a meaningful way.

In part two I will discuss my specific ideas about how we need to change these recruiting websites. Additionally, I will discuss some ways that the internet has changed the way we can do business.