Careers

Jobsite Reviews
Methodology

The proliferation of jobsites on the Web makes looking for a job so much easier than it used to be. Or does it? Some jobsites are really easy to use, but others are not. Most jobsites use superlatives to describe their value to the job seeker. But how do you know it's true? You don't. So what's a user to do, other than to hop around on the Web and get frustrated?

Thus, the iMahal Jobsite Ratings!

Methodology: How we rate jobsites

Recognizing that the word "good" is in the eyes (or the use) of the beholder, we researched the utility and preferences of people who use jobsites. iMahal rates the jobsites on several dimensions, which are then combined to form the overall composite ratings. Our market research of jobsite users indicates that users value most the following key dimensions:

• Listings: The quality and quantity of job listings
• Search by Job Seekers: The quality of search capability, for job seekers to identify relevant listings
• Search by Employers: The quality of search capability, for employers to identify job seekers
• Applying: The ease and flexibility of applying for jobs
• Management: The job search management services
• User Experience: The overall user experience

A survey of jobsite users also provided information on the weightings that they would assign to each key dimension above. These weightings were used to arrive at an overall, composite rating. The range of variation in the assignment of weights for various dimensions, among the users, indicates that the overall composite rating alone, while being useful for guidance, may not address the user preferences adequately. For example, some users prefer jobsites with the highest quantity of job listings, while another group of users prefer jobsites with superior user interface and ease of navigation.

Our research examined further what users mean, for each key dimension; that is, what elements constitute each key dimension. The following elements of user preference are utilized, with appropriate weightings, to derive the ratings for each dimension:

Listings: The quality and quantity of job listings
A weighted average of the following items, based on user preference, results in the iMahal Rating for this key dimension of user preference.

• Login Required to Browse Job Listings (negative preference)


• Quantity of Job Listings:
• Full-time positions
  
• Part-time positions


• Contract or temporary positions
• Quality and Caliber of Job Listings:
• Listings by name companies


• Paid listings by employers and/or recruiting agencies


• Job listings from company websites (employers' companies)


• Job listings from newspaper classifieds
• Salary Information


• Miscellaneous items: company information, city/metropolitan information, etc.

Search by Job Seekers: The quality of search capability, for job seekers to identify relevant listings
A weighted average of the following items, based on user preference, results in the iMahal Rating for this key dimension of user preference.

• Login Required to Search Job Listings (negative preference
)

• Site Search versus Search Agent for Multiple Sites


• Sophistication of Search, whether search by:
• Keyword of job title and description


• Company name


• Profession


• Location


• Job Type: full-time, part-time, temporary or contract

Search by Employers: The quality of search capability, for employers to identify job seekers
A weighted average of the following items, based on user preference, results in the iMahal Rating for this key dimension of user preference.

• User's Ability to Block Information from Employers


• Sophistication of Search by Employer, whether search by:
• Keywords of resumes


• Site-specific keywords, on site-specific form-based information

Applying: The ease and flexibility of applying for jobs
A weighted average of the following items, based on user preference, results in the iMahal Rating for this key dimension of user preference.

• Login Required to Apply for Jobs (negative preference)


• Login Required for Privacy Purposes, such as storing resumes and cover letters


• Flexibility in Applying for Jobs, whether:
• Email only


• Site-specific form-based only


• Cover letter


• Personal resume

Management: The job search management services
A weighted average of the following items, based on user preference, results in the iMahal Rating for this key dimension of user preference.

• Ability to Store Multiple Resume and Cover Letters


• Ability to Track the Job Search Process:
• Saving links to the listings


• Saving actual listings


• Saving resumes and cover letters, of respective application

User Experience: The overall user experience
A weighted average of the following items, based on user preference, results in the iMahal Rating for this key dimension of user preference.

• Look & Feel


• Ease of Navigation


• Support: email or phone


• Information on Career Development

Using the iMahal Ratings for the above key dimensions of user preference, we create the Overall iMahal Rating for each jobsite.

Overall: The overall iMahal Jobsite Ratings
The overall iMahal Jobsite Rating for a particular jobsite is a composite of iMahal Ratings on individual key dimensions for the jobsite. These key dimensions, as noted above, are:

• Listings: The quality and quantity of job listings
• Search by Job Seekers: The quality of search capability, for prospective employees to identify relevant listings
• Search by Employers: The quality of search capability, for employers to identify prospective employees
• Applying: The ease and flexibility of applying for jobs
• Management: The job search management
• User Experience: The overall user experience

All the data we have used thus far, for processing the iMahal Jobsite Rating, has been collected by us from the sites directly. You can see the results, the iMahal Jobsite Ratings, of several dozen sites. We are currently in the process of validating the data with jobsite owners, both for accuracy and completeness. We will update the ratings, based on revised data, should the jobsite owners choose to respond to our request.

We welcome other jobsites, other than the sites we have already rated, to submit their jobsite information, for inclusion in the iMahal Jobsite Ratings.