InformationWeek

Online job sites can cast a wider net than more traditional forms of IT recruitment, but companies need to be realistic about the varying degrees of skill levels among those hunting for jobs on the Web, say recruiters. There remains a considerable shortage of job hunters with skills in emerging technologies, even on the Web. "People coming out of schools don't have them," says Paul Bayse, a senior VP at Transaction Information Systems in New York. "We have to train and certify them, and make them want to stay with us."

Transaction Information Systems hired more than 50 people from Internet job boards last year and 20 more in the first quarter of this year alone. Bayse attributes this year's sharp increase in hires to growth and attrition. "We use a lot of Java developers, Unix programmers, LAN and WAN support personnel, and other high-level talent," he says. Transaction Information Systems builds E-business systems for large companies and maintains a staff of 80 full-time recruiters to fill job openings at 11 offices and development centers.

In April, Bayse hired network engineer Cosmo Murabito through an online job board. Murabito says he had a good job at EDS, but was looking for new challenges. He used recruiting firms and responded to classified ads, but didn't have any luck finding a desirable new job. Even his first resumé posting on Monster.com produced only a few responses.

But he then took the time to investigate the support offerings and resumé-preparation guides that Monster.com offers applicants and learned how to restructure his resumé so that key words that applied to his experience could be used by the matching engine to direct his resumé to companies looking for specific skills. Murabito emphasized the network engineering and staff training experiences he had acquired at EDS, Kodak, and IBM.

The extra effort paid off, says Murabito. "Within four days, my resumé registered more than 300 hits, with almost as many phone calls. It was overwhelming," he says. He says he accepted Transaction Information Systems' offer because he liked the informal atmosphere of a small company that was involved with "cutting-edge Web stuff."

John Piescik, deputy E-business officer at American Management Systems Inc., a $1.25 billion IT consulting organization in Fairfax, Va., says job boards have also benefitted his company. America Management hires about 200 IT specialists and consultants every month, says Piescik. "We rely heavily on Headhunter.com and Monster.com as a source of resumés," he says. "I think the quality of the resumés we receive online is comparable or slightly higher than conventional media advertising. The job market is very tight right now, so anything that gives you any real additional leads is probably worth it."

Is the number of Internet job boards getting out of hand? Forrester Research's Li thinks so. She expects many online job sites will merge or go out of business, but also predicts that sites will splinter into vertical, geographical, and industry-specific areas.

Some consolidation is already taking place. In late April, Headhunter.net said it would acquire competitor CareerMosaic Inc. from Omnicom Group Inc. When completed in about four months, this merger is expected to create the second-largest job site after Monster.com.

Despite growth in electronic recruiting, companies shouldn't forget that hiring is still a people business that requires direct communication, Piescik says. "It's costly to bring people in for a day of interviews, especially with the number of hires we need every month," he says. "We do a lot of pre-screening over the telephone." His company's Web site has an active career section, which averages 10,000 to 18,000 visitors per month, and receives as many as 50 resumés per day. AMS has also been successful in training college grads and others in many IT disciplines and core competencies through on-going education programs. As a result, AMS may cut the number of job boards it uses from three to two, he says.

But Smith of Citizens Gas & Coke plans to increase her use of job boards. "We definitely get a wider base of qualified candidates," she says. And for every position she can fill through a job board, she says the company saves $20,000 to $30,000 in recruiting costs.

As the industry grows, higher-level IT executives may begin to forsake executive recruiters and put their resumés online, too. Judy Hackett, senior VP of marketing for Headhunter.net, reports in the last few months that she's beginning to see an increasing number of business clients advertising for more senior IT openings. She says clients feel the opportunities to find good jobs via the Web are just too great for prospective hires to ignore.