Executive Grapevine, August 2006

Betty Thayer is Chief Executive of exec-appointments.com.

As temperatures soar, trains are predictably stopped on the tracks and office workers everywhere seek relief from the heat, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at where the online market is - what is happening and what has not materialised.

So, what is hot?

The market is growing exponentially, with no end in sight. According to the IAB, in 2005 internet advertising achieved yet another record breaking year as spending reached the £1.4 billion mark, driving the growth of the entire UK advertising industry. This is expected to continue into 2006, with forecasts predicting that internet advertising will reach £2 billion and overtake national press before the year is out. Recruitment represents a s ignificant part of this market. exec-appointments.com revenues are 60% up on this time last year.

New sites continue to enter the market. Every month sees the launch of a new niche recruitment site as the market sorts itself into natural affinity groups. Jobs4mothers.com, for example, is a life-style site serving a local market (West London) and offers advice on returning to work. We are launching a new site in August, www.mba-direct.com for permanent MBA roles.

Large website consolidators continue to acquire sites to become a one-stop-shop. DMGT and Trinity Mirror continue their march through various segments including TV and production jobs, retail and finance. Emap are also on the radar screen recently purchasing AME Info, an online information and job publishing service based in Dubai.

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Google is on the horizon. Google Base is in beta testing and early signs are that quality control will be a major issue. (As I write this article there are 15 pages of jobs repeated over and over from the University of Washington in Seattle - and that’s it.) When launched it was flooded with spam of all sorts. However, it is only a matter of time before Google and MSN figure out ways to be content providers of choice.

And what is not?

Newspaper advertising is dropping. According to the Newspaper Marketing Association, display advertising revenue is down 18% since 1999, with no expected reversal of the trend.

Messaging services for job alerts is stagnant. Few of us have not sent or received a text message. But the predicted domination of SMS in the jobs market has not happened for two key reasons: cost and need. Because there is a shortage of candidates in the market few need to have an ‘instant’ alert of an opportunity. Most are happy to wait to check their email when alerts arise rather than rush off a standard CV. The cost is also still prohibitive, particularly for the younger job seeker.

Your online recruitment spend is going to be increasingly important to your candidate search process. Find out how you can maximise your impact and reach by telephoning us on +44 (0)845 458 9850.

Reprinted from Executive Grapevine, August 2006