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Beyond.com Joins The Network, Replacing Yahoo! HotJobs

Beyond.com, Inc., the world's largest network of niche career communities, today announced it has been selected by The Network, the largest online recruitment solution in the world, to be their exclusive provider of recruitment services in the U.S. market for their multinational clients, replacing Yahoo! HotJobs. The Network is used by more than 1,000 customers with access to a pool of 100 million jobseekers across 121 countries. The relationship represents a natural partnership for Beyond.com, particularly on the heels of the Yahoo! HotJobs (NasdaqGS: YHOO) acquisition by Monster.com (MWW 11.03, -0.03, -0.27%), and The Network's need for U.S. representation by a leader in the career space.

The relationship allows numerous multinational organizations, many already leveraging The Network for their hiring needs, to fully utilize the Beyond.com Network of thousands of niche industry and geographic career communities to obtain even more relevant candidates for their positions. In addition, Beyond.com will be in a position to expand its portfolio worldwide through the extended reach of The Network.
 
The Network's addition of Beyond.com adds another market leader to its growing community within the online recruitment market including representatives in over 100 countries such as StepStone, a division of Axel Springer AG, Germany's largest newspaper and third-largest magazine publisher, TotalJobs.com, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Reed Elsevier Group plc, a FTSE 100 company and one of the world's largest publishing and information companies, Jobs.ch (Switzerland), Workopolis (Canada) and Jobstreet (Asia Pacific), among other dominant market players.

"We are honored to join a global organization whose members include the leading job boards around the world that have demonstrated success to thousands of employers and millions of candidates," said Rich Milgram, CEO, Beyond.com. "As the need for global recruiting becomes more and more critical, we are proud to be positioned as the natural Network partner for the U.S., and we look forward to working in tandem with our fellow partners in the member countries to provide unsurpassed global recruitment solutions."
 
Steven Lewis, International Director, Totaljobs Group and Managing Director, The Network says: "We are delighted to welcome Beyond.com to our global alliance and look forward to leveraging its relationships and reach to provide a more integrated service to recruiters looking for international jobseekers. Their proven experience in the U.S. and depth of network will be extremely valuable to our international clientele."

Beyond.com Reports More Than 48% of Industries Experienced a Quarterly Gain in Jobs in Second Quarter 2010

Beyond.com, Inc., the world’s largest network of niche career communities, today released its Second Quarter 2010 Career Trend Analysis Report, which revealed more than 48 percent of industries experienced a quarterly percentage gain in online jobs posted, signifying a healthier economy leading into the second half of the year.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the unemployment rate was unchanged in the month of July, holding at 9.5 percent. However, Beyond.com’s data indicates the job market is showing slow and steady signs of a recovery and hard-hitting sectors such as retail and travel are beginning to expand once again. 

According to the Beyond.com quarterly report, which gathers information across thousands of top-tier industry and local career sites, more than 73 percent of employers were looking for full-time employees, an increase of 12 percent from the previous quarter.  Healthcare and Medical represented the largest percentage gain in overall jobs posted (5.57 percent), followed by Sales and Sales Management with 2.24 percent.   

Jobs continued to grow into July, increasing by 1.17 percent over June.  In July, entry level positions showed the largest increase of 39 percent and Merchandising, Purchasing and Retail jobs representing the largest jump among industries with an increase of 137 percent.  Customer Service had the next largest increase (77 percent) and Travel, Hospitality and Restaurant following behind (41 percent).  This is a positive sign to see, especially since some of these industries had dropped during the previous quarter. 
 

 “We are excited to see job numbers continuing to grow and hard-hitting sectors beginning to rebound,” said Rich Milgram, CEO of Beyond.com, Inc. “In June, we spoke to hundreds of HR managers during an industry conference and were excited to hear about their plans to hire in the months to come.  We expect to report slow and steady job growth into next quarter.”

To view the complete Career Trend Analysis Report and Industry Outlook Reports for second quarter 2010, please visit http://www.Beyond.com/Media/QuarterlyReports.asp.

Hear more highlights from Beyond.com CEO, Rich Milgram on the Q2 2010 Career Trend Analysis Report…

July 2010 Employment Numbers to Remain Steady and Stable

Beyond.com CEO, Rich Milgram says that we shouldn’t expect much of a change when Friday’s July Job Report comes out.  Check out what else Rich had to say about jobs in July.   

What’s Happening with Unemployment Benefits?

Yesterday, congress approved a six month extension of emergency unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed.  But it wasn’t easy. 

Why was there so much debate over the extension?

This extension will reinstate aid to nearly 3 million people that lost their benefits on June 2 and it couldn’t have come at a better time.  Two weeks ago unemployment claims were at the lowest point since August 2008, but just last week, unemployment claims increased by 37,000. 

The extension wasn’t approved sooner because there were concerns regarding the national debt.  Those representatives who opposed the extension wanted the unemployment benefits paid for upfront with the stimulus package and not have anyone pay for it later.

Back in the day, extending unemployment benefits was a no brainer, but now, there is much apprehension including the thought that collecting unemployment is an attractive alternative to working (while historical research supports this view, we have to take into account that today’s economic climate is VERY different from that of the past).

With five unemployed workers for every job opening, it’s not as though those who are unemployed are not searching for work.  It’s just that corporations are hesitant to hire, despite four straight quarters of economic growth. 

So is the real issue here the fact that companies aren’t hiring at an accelerated rate? And will the extension of unemployment benefits slow them down even more?  To be honest, we don’t know—“Results may vary.”  Regardless, 3 million unemployed people are happy today. Some say they’ll use the money to pay bills while others say that the extended benefits have simply restored hope.

Has The Stimulus Really Saved Millions of Jobs?

This week, Vice President Joe Biden announced that the stimulus is working and has saved millions of jobs, but as constituents, have we really felt its affects?  

Well according to the White House the gross domestic product was 2.7% to 3.2% higher than it would have been without the $787 billion in stimulus money, so I guess that’s a positive, however these projections have come out at the same time as polls that reveal that Americans do not think the stimulus has been successful in creating jobs. 

And they may be right, after all hiring doesn’t seem to have been revved up the way the stimulus claims.

Meanwhile, Biden insists that it’s been working—he said, “I am absolutely confident we are moving in the right direction, absolutely confident,” And I hope he’s right.  $787 billion is a nice chunk of change to throw at a plan that isn’t guaranteed to work.

The number of jobs reported to have been created as a result of the stimulus are simply projections and unfortunately for us “little guys” out there anticipating the results, it may be years before we know the true affects of the stimulus money. 

So are Americans wrong when they say they haven’t felt the affects of the stimulus?  Well, yes and no.  Apparently several corporations have the cash to hire but aren’t—rumor has it that big business groups, like the US Chamber of Commerce, claim that the White House has created so much uncertainty which is causing organizations to hold back when it comes to hiring.

So do we have a catch 22 on our hands?  The government is trying to help increase jobs through the stimulus, but companies are skeptical so they’ve shifted towards saving rather than spending?

Besides a tax incentive to hire workers, what else might encourage companies to start hiring again?  Have any ideas?  Let us know!

April Jobs Report Shows That the US Economy is on It’s Way to Recovery

In April 2010, there was the largest number of jobs added to the labor force since March 2006.  There was a gain of 290,000 jobs which is higher than what was predicted. 

This month the boost in jobs went beyond just the temporary boost in census workers (66,000 jobs) with private employers adding 231,000 jobs.  But, jobs were not the only thing jumping in April, so did the unemployment rate.  The unemployment rate jumped from 9.7% in March to 9.9% in April.  This increase can be credited to people who left the job market and are reentering the work force to look for jobs (they had not been counted in earlier reports).

While April’s Jobs Report is certainly something to smile about and we hope that things continue to improve, until then we remain cautiously optimistic. 

College Grads Are Finding Ways to Ditch Potential Employers On Social Sites

While Employers are discovering the benefits of using social media sites in their businesses, college students (the early adopters) are apparently shying away from them (at least they seem to be in their job searches).

 

As employers and recruiters are still discovering the remarkableness of sites like Twitter and Facebook, college students who were mainly using these sites as an avenue to share news, pictures, and the funniest video from last week’s frat party, are staying one step ahead of potential employers as these soon to be grads start searching for jobs.

More than 45 percent of employers and recruiters use Facebook or Twitter to screen job candidates, but college students are smart and are censoring their Facebook pages and their tweets. 

No, we’re not saying that they’re no longer posting hilarious videos and have instead converted all of their posts and tweets to be employer friendly—no, these soon to be graduates are simply changing their names.    

No, not legally.  They’re either purposely misspelling part of their name or using a variation of their name (i.e. using their middle name as their last name) in order to keep employers from finding them on social sites.  

A recent survey that was commission by Beyond.com and conducted by students of the Wharton Small Business Development Center asked college students if they were concerned that potential employers may discover their personal information on social networking sites.  And 51% said yes. Which is a shame given that these sites were originally designed to be used in a social setting (hence the name social).  

As a job seeker, if you have a Facebook or Twitter account, just be aware that there are potential employers out there scouring the internet trying to learn more about you.  If you want to be sure that they’ll only view you as a professional, there are a few options for you to consider:

 

1. Change your social media accounts to be employer friendly.
2. Change your name (be sure if you have a vanity URL, that you change that as well if your URL previously contained your name).
3. Change your privacy settings to ensure only your friends can access your pages.
4. Do something drastic and cancel your Facebook and Twitter accounts all together.
5. Use a service like Reputation Defender to help you clean up what’s been posted on the internet about you.
6. Create a LinkedIn profile and promote it on your resume.  There are also other professional sites out there to market yourself to employers. 

New Website Allows You to Dish Openly About Your Coworkers

Over the past few days this news story has caught our attention. There is a new website out there called Unvarnished. So why is this website in the spotlight? Well for those of you who don’t know, this site allows anyone to go to their site and dish about their coworkers' and bosses' performances.

Should we be worried?

From what we understand the site was designed so that users can give kudos and constructive criticism to colleagues, however the site certainly sounds like it could be a vehicle for abuse.

1.    There’s no way to determine if what’s posted is indeed from a coworker.
2.    There’s no way to determine if what’s posted is even true.

It sounds like it is simply a medium to post damaging information about the targeted person.

The biggest concerns.

All information is posted anonymously with no way to remove a negative review. You heard right, once something’s posted, it’s up there indefinitely.

The site’s founders claim that they hope that the information posted to the site will eventually replace candidates’ personal reference sheets. If this is true, we just hope that employers know to take these online reviews with a grain of salt, how credible of a source can this really be? 

While they say that administrators will monitor posts to ensure that nothing too abusive is published, that doesn’t mean the admins will prevent negative reviews from going up. Unvarnished, does however give those who are targeted the chance to post rebuttals and they can also improve their reputations by inviting their own contacts to write positive reviews…but then doesn’t it come down to a simple game of “He Said, She Said”?

So how can you defend yourself?

There are resources out there to help business professionals just like you protect yourself from potential online attacks. Services like Reputation Defender ensure that your online presence is not smeared. For now —we’ll play to waiting game to see if this site takes off like planned…

Are the Increased Job Losses in Sept 09 an Anomaly or Trend?

According to the BLS, the height of job losses in 2009 peaked in January (741,000 job losses), with August accounting for the lowest rate of job losses this year (201,000).  Unfortunately, September job losses have taken a turn for the worse, increasing to 263,000 and refuting the trend that job losses are on a continuous downward trend that will eventually lead to positive job growth in the near future.

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So, the real question regarding the September data---are the job losses an anomaly or trend? Is the economy in a V or W? Will the rate of job losses increase in October, or will the rate of job losses experience a downward trend next month?

Although job losses dropped to 201,000 in August, September spiked back up again, leading us to believe the economy is still very unstable and could go either way.  If September is in fact an anomaly, not the trend, it is possible that we could see a downward trend of job losses throughout the remaining months of this 2009, with October-December accounting for monthly job losses in the low 200,000’s and high 100,000’s. 

Showing some insight into this trend, the Q2 2009 Beyond.com Career Trend Report indicated that job losses were far from over and the employment rate would continue to rise based on the poll results that over 65% of professionals said their company was continuing to cut staff. 

Although most industries experienced job losses in September 2009, many sectors of employment, such as Construction and Manufacturing, posted job losses at a slower than average rate when compared to the monthly job losses over the previous few months.

However, one of the most worrisome trends reported in the September 2009 BLS report was that Retail was continuing to bleed jobs a higher than average rate when compared to the previous few months.  Many economic experts have reported the service industry as one of the main sources of US employment, which is why it is such a negative sign that the Retail sector experienced 10,000 more job losses in September than the average job loss rate from April-September 2009.

Luckily, there is still hope! Healthcare is continuing to add jobs to the economy at a steady pace. Not only did the Healthcare sector create 19,000 jobs in September 2009, but the industry has continued to maintain its strength, adding jobs at a rate comparable to the average monthly gain during 2009. (22,000).

Also, based on Beyond.com’s Q2 data (we are still tabulating our Q3 report) small businesses continue to drive the majority of jobs openings today (over 50%), creating hope for new employment opportunities in the future.  Small businesses have the ability to react more quickly to economic trends than larger companies, allowing small businesses to lead the way out of the recession.

One thing is for sure, if job losses do not stabilize soon, it might be time to batten down the hatches because 2010 could get really ugly.

Forget Wall Street, Small Businesses Are Still Hiring

Beyond.com, Inc., the world’s largest network of niche career communities, today released its Second Quarter 2009 Career Trend Analysis and Industry Outlook Reports, which provide a unique insight into the overall employment market by leveraging Beyond.com’s network of top-tier industry, local and specialty web sites. Among other key findings, the report revealed small businesses with fewer than 50 employees accounted for more than 50 percent of hiring in Q2 2009.

According to Beyond.com, the top three industries for online job postings for small businesses in Q2 2009 included Information Technology (11.8 percent), Healthcare & Medical (9.5 percent) and Human Resources (6.7 percent). In addition, the report showed that nearly 75 percent of all job postings in Q2 were for candidates with zero to three years of experience. Some of the top job titles posted by small companies for candidates with less than three years of experience were Registered Nurse, Software Developer and Sales Manager. This trend is a welcome encouragement for new graduates and less experienced professionals who have been frustrated by few opportunities and stiff competition from more experienced professionals over the past several quarters.

Much of today’s daily financial news reports focus on how the economy has impacted corporate America, when in reality large corporations make up less than 50 percent of jobs in America, according to the Small Business Association. Traditionally, job seekers start their job search by identifying and targeting large employers in their area, but with more than 50 percent of job postings coming from companies with fewer than 50 employees in Q2, the small business sector may offer the best opportunity for employment.

“While many monster-sized companies in ‘corporate America’ are on the sidelines as far as hiring is concerned, small businesses are showing positive signs of growth and hiring due to their ability to react quickly to market trends,” said Rich Milgram, CEO of Beyond.com, Inc. “It is a terrific sign that the small and entrepreneurial businesses across the country are minimizing layoffs and beginning to hire again, although the true measure of the end of the recession will be when corporate America reengages in growth opportunities, starts creating new jobs and gains the confidence to take an opportunistic approach to their business.”

To view the complete Career Trend Analysis Report and Industry Outlook Reports, please visit http://www.beyond.com/Media/QuarterlyReports.asp.