JICWEBS, the Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards, has introduced three new metrics for ABC ELECTRONIC to audit, enabling online recruitment websites to measure and report job application-related activities in a practical and comparable way, to industry agreed standards.

The new metrics were ratified by JICWEBS following a consultation process with a range of interested parties from within the online recruitment sector, including representatives from generic, niche and publication related job sites.

The new metrics are as follows:

Online job application: The submission to a server of an application form or a CV by a valid user

Online job referral: A click on a link within a job listing to a URL specified by a recruiter

Email job referral: A click on a mailto link within a job listing intended for the submission of applicant information and/or a CV to a recruiter



The new metrics go further than the current metrics by delivering a 'conversion' metric for recruitment websites. The new metrics will bring industry agreed standards to terminology frequently used within the recruitment sector.

Andy Flint, Head of Client Services, ABC ELECTRONIC, said: "This is a genuine first for the recruitment sector, delivering transparency and comparability on user actions that are indicative of the effectiveness of recruitment websites. Building a consensus for a conversion metric marks an important step forward for site centric measurement and it is great to see the recruitment sector leading the way."