NOT ALL DOTCOMS are doomed. While start-ups throughout the region cut staff and close shop, one sector is thriving -- even though it's doing so from the pain of its peers. Even if economies slow down, Asia's on-line job sites expect 2001 to be a bumper year.
The biggest English-language job-search sites in the region are JobsDB.com, JobAsia and Monster.com, a subsidiary of United States recruitment advertising agency, TMP Worldwide. The first two are homegrown: JobsDB.com was founded in Hong Kong in 1999 and JobAsia in Singapore. Each has over 40,000 job listings, with JobsDB.com running 10 country sites, from India to Australia, Korea to Indonesia. Monster.com, which has been incredibly successful in the U.S., operates in Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia, listing jobs from over 500,000 employers worldwide.
Other e-recruiters include Futurestep, the on-line venture of executive-recruitment firm Korn/Ferry, and smaller start-ups like Hong Kong-based aimhigher.com. In addition to providing on-line job-boards, these two sites differentiate themselves by also offering headhunting and human-resources consulting services. Both are subsidiaries of bricks-and-mortar search firms and provide their clients with access to these off-line services as well.
But while most bricks-and-clicks forays are falling flat, these sites, along with their pure-play competitors, are prospering. JobsDB.com just kicked off a splashy regional marketing campaign, which includes television commercials on CNN and CNBC. After almost two years in the business, the company expects to turn a profit this year. Monster.com has been in the black for the past two years and again reported strong earnings on February 20, led by growth in the Asian region.
Ironically, pink slips among other dotcoms are helping these on-line job sites prosper. "With the job market more insecure, more people are logging on to our sites," says Steven Seek, managing director of JobsDB.com in Singapore. "They're looking around, just in case." Already this year, the site has seen a 30% jump in the number of hits.
What's the secret of their success? For one thing, they take advantage of the best of the Internet -- quick and easy information distribution -- without having to be bogged down by the worst -- unprofitability. "On-line recruiting is one of the most logical applications of the Internet," says Libby Christie, managing director of Monster.com in Asia. "It provides job seekers, which is all of us at one time or another, immediate access to relevant data. And for the recruiter, it provides time, cost and quality efficiencies they can't get off-line." Efficiencies they're willing to pay for.
And if the economy slows, their competitive advantage will only grow. Of course the number of job listings will shrink, but these sites will suffer less than traditional recruiters and classified-ad sections of newspapers and magazines. At one-tenth the price of classified ads, on-line listings will become even more attractive to companies looking to cut costs this year. As for higher-end e-recruiters like Futurestep, technology allows them to run a tighter ship. "Because of our Internet-based recruiting strategy, we can easily and more quickly reduce our cost structure," says Robin Sears, president of Futurestep in the Asia-Pacific region. "So even if the economy worsens, we'll fare better than the rest." (CareerJournalAsia has a business partnership with Futurestep.)
In fact, some see a downturn as an opportunity to grow and establish themselves as a low-cost, hi-tech alternative to traditional search firms. "There's no turning back," says Seek of JobsDB.com. "Internet recruiters are here to stay and our growth will continue this year." Market-research firm IDC estimates that global revenues from e-recruiting will soar to $4.5 billion in 2004 from about $500 million last year.
What that means for job-seekers is that the Internet will become an increasingly important tool in their job hunt. And that's good news since they can use all these sites free. Monster.com found that over 60% of Australian job-seekers already surf the Net to look for new positions. The key, say the on-line recruiters, is to start as soon as possible. All suggest that you check out their sites and register your resume on-line even if you are not looking to switch jobs at the moment. They will keep your resume in a permanent database made available to their clients and then e-mail you if any show interest. In the U.S., Monster.com says 98% of companies have used the Internet at one time or another to fill openings.
"In spite of the economic slowdown, people still need jobs and companies still need good people," says Monster.com's Christie. "The Internet is the best way to match them up."
