Archived News 2001

02 May 2001

SEEK Limited, Australia's leading Internet employment site today defied claims that the IT sector is facing a job slump and launched a new site catering specifically for the needs of the industry.

Called SEEK IT, the new site provides an exclusive destination for IT job seekers which offers IT specific tools and career resources to assist with overall career management. It currently offers over 15,000 jobs, and special features include IT certification exams, skills tests and a salary indicator.

SEEK IT follows the launch in March of SEEK Screen, a collection of screening and testing tools which helps take the pain out of the shortlisting process for both recruiters and job seekers.

Announcing SEEK IT, CEO of SEEK Limited Paul Bassat said: "While there is no doubt that the volume of IT jobs being advertised has fallen back from the highs experienced midway through last year, the reality is that Australia is facing a considerable skills shortage in the IT area."

"People with IT experience, even just a couple of years, are still often taking their pick from a number of offers. Salaries may have dropped off a little, but I think it's fair to say that this has been reflected right across the Australian job market, and not just the IT sector."

Commenting on SEEK's experience as an IT employer, Mr Bassat said: "Despite overwhelming gloom from business commentators during the last 12 months about anything to do with IT or the Internet, SEEK's business continues to go from strength to strength. In the past 12 months, we have grown our staff numbers by 80%."

"I look forward to seeing what we can achieve in so-called better times", he said.

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15 March 2001

The Australian dollar may be falling, but finding work to subsidise that holiday to Europe just became easier with the launch of a new UK job zone on seek.com.au.

SEEK UK, The latest offering from SEEK Limited, Australia's leading Internet employment site, features advertisements for jobs in England and Ireland with all the usual job search facilities plus direct links to UK recruitment consultants. The site also offers useful information on topics ranging from how to get a working visa to the top ten tips for travellers.

Announcing the site's launch, SEEK CEO Paul Bassat said: "Our exchange rate has made travelling to the UK much less affordable for Australians, encouraging many to finance their trip by working in London or elsewhere."

"It is also increasingly common for professionals to seek a stint in the UK to expand their career horizons or as a precursor to their big trip. Lining up a job before leaving home allows travellers to decide where they want to live, whether they will take a trip on the way and importantly, what they can afford."

"A key success factor at SEEK is our ability to constantly adapt our site and add new features based on job seekers' and advertisers' needs. SEEK UK will make it easier for people looking for a working holiday or a career move to achieve their goal much quicker and without the heartburn of getting off a 30 hour flight and then having to look for a job.

"SEEK has identified useful employment contacts and information for would-be travellers and pulled them together onto one site. This improved access to information about what work is available will allow Australians to make informed choices about the work they accept without undue pressure.

"The site will also benefit UK employers, making it easier for them to attract committed and qualified staff with the widely recognised and highly-valued Australian work ethic", he said.

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05 March 2001

Paul Bassat, CEO of Australia's leading Internet employment site, SEEK Limited today called on the ANZ to update its job survey and findings to reflect the massive growth in job advertisements that are now online.

"The ANZ Job Ad Series data released today states that newspaper job ads fell 10 per cent in February to an average of 21,735 per week. At the same time, the number of jobs advertised online increased by 7.4 per cent in February to an average of 89,649 per week."

"According the ANZ's own figures, the actual growth in online job advertisements in absolute numbers outweighs the decline in the number of jobs advertised in newspapers in February."

"The ANZ job figures have historically been a good predictor of future economic activity, but the strong shift to the Internet for employment advertising is now challenging the relevance of the survey", he said.

"The ANZ continues to base its monthly job survey and its conclusions on newspaper advertisements which by its own admission accounted for less than 20 per cent of advertised jobs in February. "

"In my view, job classified ads will continue to shift online because it is cheaper, faster and easier for job seekers to search for their ideal job and for advertisers to reach qualified candidates. "

"We recommend that in future surveys the ANZ integrates the way it interprets declines in newspaper job advertising and the corresponding increase in Internet job advertising to provide a more accurate picture of overall economic activity", said Mr Bassat.

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01 March 2001

SEEK Limited, Australia's leading Internet employment site, today launched a collection of screening and qualification tools that will allow advertisers to substantially reduce the time required to hire qualified staff. This is a significant step forward for SEEK and reinforces its ability to deliver online solutions to meet client needs.

Announcing a number of new initiatives, Paul Bassat Chief Executive Officer of SEEK Limited said: "While our competitors are focussed on attempting to build their market share, we are busy developing new products and relationships to benefit both our advertisers and users. SEEK Screen is a perfect example of our absolute commitment to listening to clients and delivering against their needs. This product will change the nature of online recruitment and we're proud to be leading the space."

SEEK Screen, a proprietary screening tool, allows advertisers to build a tailored application form online which candidates complete as part of their application. The form can include direct questions to establish whether candidates meet minimum selection criteria as well as open-ended questions asking for information which may not be contained in candidate resumes. The advertiser has the option to receive all applications or automatically set aside and notify unsuccessful candidates based on their response to certain questions.

In response to growing interest in online testing, SEEK has also forged a strategic alliance with Brainbench, the world's largest provider of online certification tests. Brainbench has developed timed tests which allow detailed assessments of candidates' job-specific skills in areas including IT, computer software, management, office skills and languages and communications.

SEEK has also finalised an alliance with Onetest. Onetest is a simple 20-minute cognitive ability test which ranks candidates' general ability in relation to the broader population, in relation to people in similar jobs and in relation to other candidates applying for the same job. Cognitive ability has long been recognised as a key indicator of how well a person will perform on the job. It includes the ability to process information, reason, solve problems, grasp new concepts, apply knowledge, make decisions and respond to new and unfamiliar situations.

"We have added SEEK Screen and online testing tools in direct response to feedback from our advertisers who want to get to qualified candidates quicker. Our innovative tools will greatly assist in the qualification process and we are aiming to deliver qualified candidates within 72 hours. We think this is entirely possible with our unique combination of tools to build candidate interest quickly, our resume database, and now our screening, testing and certification options".

"The Internet gives talented individuals greater scope to communicate their strengths with potential employers. Online job seekers are now spending less time writing formal applications and more time researching the companies they wish to work for and those they fit best with."

"Face to face interviews remain the best way for recruiters to select staff, and for candidates to select employers. We are using technology to help both parties get to meet each other faster", said Mr Bassat.

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11 February 2001

SEEK Limited continues to dominate the online employment market with double the market share of competitors who are spending up big on advertising in an attempt to build their user base.

According to the latest figures released by Red Sheriff, seek.com.au was the most visited online employment site during January with 455,011 unique visitors who looked at 13,554,794 page impressions. The next closest competitor was monster.com.au with just 248,614 unique visitors, and 4,188,304 page impressions viewed. Despite heavy promotion of clicks and mortar sites such as mycareer, all other competitors have so far failed to reach 50% of SEEK's user base.

SEEK was also the stickiest Internet employment site during January with an average session duration for its users of 16:15 minutes.

Announcing the results, SEEK Chief Executive Paul Bassat said: "SEEK's success has been fuelled by our understanding of what job seekers want and how to get the best from Internet technology. We have added a range of new search tools and products aimed at helping individuals manage their careers and we are acknowledged as the online employment specialist", he said.

"In the coming months we will launch a number of exciting initiatives and we are confident that we will continue to grow with our advertisers and users", Mr Bassat said.

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