A New Job Seeker Centric Job Portal for South Africans

South African Job Seekers have the right to demand as rich an experience on local job sites as with international online job hunting and shopping experiences. Jobs.co.za has responded to this need in the creation of their new version of the South African Job Portal that was launched on 4 August 2008.

Online job search and application techniques are becoming more prevalent with both active and passive candidates as they become more proactive in taking charge of their search for jobs. According to a recent UK study by Taleo, almost half of UK Job Seekers turn to the Internet when applying for positions. Over half (53%) of Internet savvy Job Seekers say that speed is key when applying for jobs and that they favour online job websites where registering and searching for jobs online is less time consuming and where they have the ability to apply for many jobs at one time quickly and effortlessly. South African Job Seekers are by no means excluded from this as they too seek a user-friendly and efficient online job hunting experience.

The prevalence of online recruitment shows that there is little competitive edge in having a job site unless it offers a fast, candidate-friendly and engaging online job hunting experience. Many recruitment websites concentrate on providing advanced technology to the Recruiter; while they should also be pulling out all the stops when it comes to engaging with the Job Seeker - who is so often neglected by recruitment websites.

As the Internet matures, the Job Seeker's expectation of online recruitment is changing and there is much room for improvement in this area for many online recruitment websites. Says Jobs.co.za CEO, Gillian Meier, It is no longer sufficient to simply advertise job vacancies online. Many Job Seekers now expect recruitment websites to provide personalised services to support their job search. Jobs.co.za differs from many other online recruitment websites in that its approach is to be highly Job Seeker centric. The website is geared towards being extremely sophisticated but uncomplicated, thereby ensuring that it offers features and functionality that resonates with generational members.

Job Seekers have become frustrated by being forced into completing lengthy job applications and resume templates. Jobs.co.za offers Job Seekers the option to create or upload multiple CV's within a secure profile allowing for a more customised targeted application to be delivered to the Recruiter quickly and effortlessly.

The new Jobs.co.za job portal further introduces sophisticated matching technology that accurately matches jobs to CV's, saving time for both Job Seekers and Recruiters. Comments Meier, As with any search engine, it is vital that our keyword search terminology and technology returns the best possible accurate and meaningful results ranked by the most relevant and freshest matches to the search term used. The job matching and search functionality will allow Job Seekers to receive real-time job preference notifications via an RSS feed or email and they will illustrate how closely the Job Seeker's profile matches that of the job.

As a further step towards introducing a Web 2.0 job hunting experience, Job Seekers are asked to rate the quality of the job advertisements placed by Recruiters to encourage Recruiters to provide more detailed, accurate and effective job criteria on their adverts. Job Seekers are also encouraged to complete a poll demonstrating to the Recruiter why they possibly did not reply to the job vacancy advertised online. Says Meier, We are committed to providing an engaging experience for online Job Seekers that will improve and grow as more Job Seekers become accustomed to using a job site that offers this level of transparency and interaction.

South Africans can look forward to a job portal that is committed to adding value to Job Seekers through interactive career advice, Blogs, videos and many other world-class services that international Job Seekers are already well accustomed to receiving.