Employment Market Shake-up.

I’m an optimist.  Can’t help it.  It’s part of my make-up.  I don’t hold a high regard on always being happy, though.  I reckon you need bad times to challenge your strength, just like the immune system needs the odd germ to strengthen it.

There is a fair amount of talk at present about the state of global financial health.  Most of it’s pretty dire.   As a result, companies are getting nervous about their economic well-being.  Staff are lying low and getting on with the job.  There are lots of stats, not facts.  I’m going to regurgitate a few, and would ask that you decide of your own reading of them.  I’ll give you my opinion at the end.  But as I warned you…I’m an optimist:

According to Seek.com.au the Australian employment market has eased further in October.

Despite much speculation however, there were no signs of an abrupt response to the deepening global financial crisis that might signify a developing recession.

Nationally the SEEK Employment Index (SEI), which measures the ratio of new job ads on seek.com.au to job applications via the site, fell by 4% in seasonally adjusted terms, suggesting jobseekers may have witnessed increased competition for fewer available jobs.

However, despite the global financial crisis deepening, this rate was consistent with the average rate of decline seen since December 2007 (4.5%).

However, Seek Ltd themselves have downgraded their forecast for profit growth to zero. Net profit after tax, which last year saw a 37.4% rise to $76.3 million, is now forecast to be flat.

News Corp has flagged job cuts, after reporting a 29.6 per cent drop in first quarter profit and it’s likely that Fairfax is also felling the pinch…

So what does this all mean for the online recruitment market.  Here’s what I reckon…Seek will have to make some changes they might not otherwise have considered.  Strategies must change, even if a little.  Will this open up opportunities for niche job boards to gain a foothold in the market?   Possibly.  And if this happens, what a great opportunity is a recession (no Keating comparisons, please).

Point is, sometimes nothing beats a good old dose of the flu.

MyCareer Print/Online Bundle Offer

Pick a box any box…(just don’t pick the middle one). Hint, they all cost $180 + GST

MyCareer print/online have launched a mandatory bundle offer with every print ad.

When you buy online here you receive:
1 x Website Ad that’ll appear on MyCareer for 30 days
1 x Newspaper Ad in The SMH or The Age

Interesting move by Fairfax. If you can’t beat ‘em then join ‘em I say. When you book an ad in the newspaper you also get a job ad on MyCareer.com.au all for one low price.

Given the significant growth in online ads and the steady decline in newspaper employment ads I would say this move is to boost up the number of job ads for the print side of the business. But is it also at the expense of devaluing the online offering??

Let’s see what online search results ranking they get compared with the full-paying listings.

Will the print folks send the inbound phone calls for line ads to the better-value online portal?

Will MyCareer.com.au see any revenue split for their efforts?

Ahhhh. Questions. Questions…

Seek’s SARA Awards - 22 Days To Go…

The Seek SARA (prom queen) recruitment awards are off and running for the sixth time. With only 22 days to go for voting you’d better get your good suit or frock out from the mothballs in anticipation of that victory speech.

I remember the first time this was presented at the Brisbane RCSA conference way back by Matthew Rockman. I remember this because we (Fairfax/MyCareer) were the major sponsors of the conference and Seek set up the stage right in front, blocking our stand. Cheeky…

One to watch this year will be serial runner-up (small specialist recruiter) Retailworld Resourcing. They are sporting a bright orange web site with little space ships flying around and aliens with signs saying “Vote Now”. If you were from the USA and saw this site for the first time you would think that SARA was running for President.

Good luck and had a laugh at the video jobcast. Gotta love Kerrie-Anne…

.Asia Update #2

In case you missed my last update, I have been keeping an eye on the MyCareer.asia auction and have some news.

Either the folks at Fairfax haven’t seen the value in this new domain or they got out bid (which I find difficult to believe) but it has gone to a Melbourne-based company Jtec Corporation Pty Ltd. (Whois look up)

I hope they don’t try and use this domain in Australia and New Zealand in the employment space as it will make the Fairfax lawyers very happy…