The internet has been experiencing a massive amount of duplicate job content over the past couple of years. No question this content has been used to help job seekers find jobs, unfortunately it has also been used to leverage traffic using duplicative content, extract job seeker information and create many other issues not intended in the free flow of job information.

How did this start?
Quick history.. In 2002 iLogos Research (now Taleo Research) performed research which illustrated that less than 30% of Fortune 500 companies’ jobs were listed on the big 3 job boards. This research validated what most of the industry already knew and our Association had already acted upon. The predecessor to JobCentral, DirectEmployers Employment Search Engine, was created to index/spider 100% of the job content only from corporate career sites providing job seekers a clean path to ALL of the original jobs, not just a small chunk. This pure job content became very popular among job sites soon after DirectEmployers started providing a series of company xml feeds at no charge. The feeds were initiated to provide better content to job sites everywhere, moreover better market penetration for companies everywhere. Many job sites receiving this clean job content would then mix it with their own making it seem organic to their site (cross pollination).

The War for Content Heats Up!
The job search engine model seemed to be reinforced when Indeed and SimplyHired sprang onto the scene, and was fully validated when many new search engine-like sites, hungry for more and more job content, were soon to follow. Job boards needed to find a way to receive more content to keep job seekers returning, while exploring ways to game the young upstarts.

The War for Traffic Strives Through Duplication.
More job sites everywhere started mixing the corporate feeds with their very own content, cross pollination was happening everywhere. Job boards were also providing this mixed, now majorly duplicated content, to SimplyHired and Indeed. Why? If you provide thousands of jobs as traffic accelerators, through verticals,
you will no question receive heightened traffic results. But if you provide the cross pollinated content of hundreds of thousands of jobs your traffic could be accelerated 10 fold, or more. Why is this problematic? Duplication, moreover job seeker experience.

Where things went wrong.
Well you cannot expect everybody to play by the rules when there really weren’t any. Although you do expect site owners and designers to think about job seeker experience, and the use of content that didn’t truly belong to them. Reports of sites using interstitial ads to capture job seeker information, required registration for application, and then repackaging the exact same, now highly duplicated, content and submitting it to other job sites as their own has become an issue for job seekers, employers, and many of the verticals.

End result, it’s gotta stop.. Terms of Service to come..

Will the answer to this problem be a popular remedy? Magic 8 Ball says “Outlook, not so good“..

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I’m a big fan of Dan Pink and thought I’d share a short video of him giving an overview of Abundance, Asia and Automation…

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In January, before demobilizing back to civilian life, I was honored to speak to a group of over 200 Wounded Warriors in Fort Benning regarding transition into civilian life and what they should convey to prospective employers when trying to separate themselves from the mainly civilian pack when searching for a job. Luckily the week prior I was asked to give a presentation to Continental Airlines recruiting group about the advantage of hiring prior military.

Continental’s John Whalin is ahead of most when it comes to understanding just what military brings to the hiring table, unfortunately most employers cannot relate to military experience unless they were former military themselves. So I started my time on the floor, in front of the wounded warriors, with Continental’s presentation and spoke to why they are GREAT candidates. I covered the following points:

Leadership:
In the military, when you propel through the ranks you are required to attend several leaderships schools and if you fail to attend or pass you are then stripped of rank, demoted. Leadership is not an option in the military because everyone is trained and expected to become a leader at an early age.

Understanding the Rules:
Military personnel are held to a much higher standard and are even governed by a more strict set of rules called the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

Diversity:
The U.S. Army is one color, GREEN, and is the largest most diverse employer in the nation. In combat the color, gender, or religion of the individual to your left or right does not matter. What truly matters is the proficiency in their job. Are there cases of discrimination? Yes, but they are dealt with swiftly under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Team Players:
A single soldier cannot watch their own 6, or back. Meaning a solitary soldier cannot efficiently complete the mission, which is why on day one of basic training every trainee is issued a battle buddy before being issued anything else. Soldiers are trained to travel and work in teams and if individualism is spotted, well lets just say it’s frowned upon.

Educated and Tech Savvy:
Military personnel can attend college, when not deployed, and have Uncle Sam pick-up a big portion of the cost. When the soldier leaves the military it is common to have a degree or working toward one and will have ample opportunity to further their education with GI Bill and other funds which are readily available. The military also invests in and utilizes state-of-the-art technology and has close to a hundred technical positions. The Air Force and Navy are extremely technical and are extremely well trained in anti-cyber-terrorism and responsible for protecting America’s cyber borders, so to speak.

Performance under pressure:
Imagine doing your job everyday and knowing there are lives at stake, furthermore those lives are depending on your performance. The pressure of performing in a prospective grave situation is merely a part of everyday military life.

Drug-Free and Healthy
Military personnel are regularly drug and physically tested. The military ensures their personnel are drug-free and physically ready to ensure combat effectiveness and their ability to fight and win on any battlefield. Military personnel are accustomed to urinalysis once a quarter, daily physical fitness training in addition to physical fitness testing which includes upper body, core and endurance events at least once a quarter. Imagine what our health insurance rates would be if every company could implement these types of programs.

Security Clearances:
The military does in-depth background checks and provides security clearances to personnel who come in contact with certain levels of information. These personnel are cleared and vetted well before hitting the civilian market.

Quick Learners:
One of the words best describing military personnel is “adaptability“. To train for the war on terror soldiers are taught to be adaptable and think on their feet, unlike 20 years ago when soldiers were taught NOT to think. The battlefield has changed and so has the U.S. soldiers training which blends well into the civilian market.

Willing to relocate:
Military personnel are accustomed to moving once every 3 years or so, although this does not mean they are job jumpers. Uncle Sam has religiously rotated troops to provide them an innate ability to adapt and overcome in any situation or environment.

Everything listed above is merely just a handful of traits taught by the military, moreover what employers need desperately in any type of economic environment.

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While sitting back and enjoying your morning cup of joe, take a few minutes and watch Terry Kawaja’s “Madison Avenue Blues“..

It is HILARIOUS!!!

Thanks John

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Can your niche job board afford to take the top executives in the Nation to Pinehurst Golf Resort for an all expenses paid “Executive Golf Trip“?

CareerBuilder can..

Oh the fine tradition of greasing the palms continues in the recruiting space. (insert deeply rooted sarcasm here)

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