JOBX expands to New Zealand

After its growing success in Australia (jobx.com.au), JOBX has arrived in New Zealand. In an incredibly short time frame it has been attracting a great deal of attention in New Zealandís job market.

ìWe are delighted with the positive responses we have had since our soft launchî, says CEO of JOBX New Zealand, Andrew Mcleod. Their launch may have been quiet but JOBX New Zealandís emphasis is on creating buzz by building a wide range of online alliances, running a number of edgy promotions and competitions to get people signing up to JOBX. New Zealandís JOBX is 100% locally owned and operated, working in close partnership with JOBX Australia. Mcleod goes on to say that ìwith our innovative web 2.0 nature and the unique features of our career networking website we are introducing a new way for candidates and employers to connect ñ both actively and passively î.

JOBX is attempting to shift the paradigm of limiting oneself to standard job boards to a new way of looking at careers and job search. Their biggest challenge may be educating companies about the new tools now available to communicate with candidates ñ a far stretch from the basic job boards currently enjoying market dominance. According to their website they ìare a new generation career site for networking and growthî. Their ethos appears to be giving candidates and employers a voice and a platform to promote themselves. Itís not just empty promises as they provide community and career networking, training and education, as well as an extensive range of relevant tools and resources to help manage the career process at every stage.

A short sample of the extensive list of ìunique to Australasiaî features provided by JOBX:

ï Candidates can search a job right down to postcode, without sifting through roles that might be miles away and for Advertisers, JobLocal is ideal for attracting local candidates. JobLocal seems to be a very timely feature for the pressing petrol crisis.

ï JobReferral provides the facility for offering cash rewards for recommending friends or colleagues to jobs they could be a perfect fit for. It has the potential to harness the viral effect and can encourage people to talk about job positions in all avenues possible including social networking sites such as Facebook which JOBX is integrated with.

ï JobNow is a dedicated area for jobs that need filling immediately such as for hospitality or service positions. If employers need staff immediately then this could be an appealing option, as ads have a life span of 7 days and cost less than the normal 30 day job ad.

ï The web 2.0 tools are packaged in a new way for employers to brand themselves online by video, blogging and podcasting. This is an open opportunity for organisations to promote themselves limited only by the amount of effort put in.

ï Advertisers can Track Talent through bookmarking and following candidatesí career progress. An interesting service as most job boards charge a huge premium for any access to their database, which in effect advertisers have paid for to create.

ï Free video interviewing and video email ñ apparently due to high demand the JOBX team have indicated that they are mid way through an entire upgrade of this platform to provide greater functionality for a tool that is rapidly gaining popularity

ï Candidates can ëtagí themselves to make it easier for them to connect. Candidate Tagging allows candidates to connect with people, advertisers or companies through any number of relevant words or phrases.

ï Free advertising for charities and a ìwhite labelî function that provides the ability to grab the JOBX technology and create your own career portal should prove popular with large employers and businesses with large visitor number to their own Websites.

JOBXís approach to not having fixed term contracts, tailored solutions and no charge for reactivation, within two days of expiry, will appeal to organisations frustrated with the inflexibility of existing competitor pricing models.

Both Mcleod and Richard Mar, CEO of JOBX Australia, give the impression that JOBX has big plans to keep evolving both the technology and in other markets with their UK operations on the immediate horizon. If they manage to shift the paradigm of a simple job board in the eyes of recruiters and job seekers - the potential is considerable given there has been limited innovation within the traditional job boards to date.