1. Emerging Trends Research Mid-Course Report
IAEWS Fall Congress
September 9, 2009
JB Talking Points: This is our mid-point review of a survey that will continue to be available to all of you. At the Global Congress in November, we’ll provide you with the completed report and the implications we see. Meanwhile, make sure you register your opinions by taking the survey which you can find on the IAEWS website. It only takes about 5 minutes to complete and your responses will help our whole industry look at what’s ahead and prepare solid strategies for our continued success.

2. Respondent Profile POSITION/TITLE 45% Principal/Owner 30% Other
15% CEO/President
.05% CFO
.05% VP/Manager Operations
BUSINESS SIZE BASED ON CURRENT REVENUES
40% Under $1-million
25% $ million
10% $ million
10% Over $100-million
.05% $ million

3. 1. Job boards will go the way of newspapers during this recession.
70% are in disagreement with this statement -- where does the audience stand on this.
If not totally gone, what does the group think will happen to traditional job boards as a result of this recession? What changes must occur to ensure relevance and sustainability for job boards?

4. 2. Job postings are rapidly becoming a commodity.
90% have some level of agreement with this statement --
What should happen to protect job postings as a revenue stream?

5. 3. To maintain relevance, job boards will need to revamp their offerings and marketing strategies.
85% have some level of agreement with this statement, it appears that new offerings could be on the horizon.
What types of new offerings might be considered to help job boards maintain relevance?
Pete asks: How will those new ideas be introduced in order to avoid the difficulties experienced with previous “hot new ideas” (e.g., pay per click)?

6. 4. To compete in this price-driven market, job boards will need to either decrease job posting fees or add for-fee services, such as resume screening and candidate matching.
Only 15% disagree with this statement -- what does the audience say? What are other services that could generate new revenue streams?

7. 5. Job boards must invest in relevant, robust and provocative content to attract and retain their audiences.
90% have some level of agreement with this statement. How do job boards maintain knowledge of what’s relevant to today’s audiences? Is this done mostly by RSS feeds or by dedicated writers? Is this a challenge for job boards? If so, what could they do to alleviate the challenge?
Pete asks: How can we develop and publish career-related content that will be perceived to have more value by those in transition AND by those who are not?

8. 6. Social media/networking will become a primary method of recruiting within the next 5 years.
Only 10% disagree with this statement. Response to this statement suggests that job board owners realize the potential of social networking. How do they intend to compete with it? Do they see it as a threat to their businesses?
Pete asks: how do sites overcome their legacy brands as static job boards?

9. 7. LinkedIn has already eclipsed traditional job boards for professional recruiting.
Strong level of disagreement, but conflicts with previous response that showed participants see social networking as a growing force over the next 5 years. LinkedIn is the #1 business networking site, and recruiting is one of its primary uses. Need to engage conversation on this; see if the statement is understood by the audience. Is it b/c the statement is in present tense that there’s disagreement?

10. 8. Facebook's phenomenal growth as a recruiting platform will continue unabated.
Refer to slide 9 -- same comments - contradicts the view of social networking’s growth over next 5 years. Need to probe this

11. 9. Twitter and sites like it will become significant vehicles for recruiting.
This more closely ties to agreement with the growth of social networks for recruiting. Is it because this is in future (not present) tense? Even so, how do job boards compete with players like Twitter?
Regarding Qs 7,8 & 9, Pete asks: what must job boards do to protect and reinvigorate their brands among recruiters and job seekers and the media?

12. 10. With its massive number of job-related searches daily, Google is in control of candidate and employer behaviors.
55% have some level of agreement with this statement but another 45% disagree with it. Google currently has more daily job-related searches than the largest three boards combined. Ted needs to speak to this b/c he’s done research on the actual results over three hour time periods.
Key is how job boards use search engines to drive traffic --- either thru SEO (content) or SEM (purchases) … they need to come up on first page or will not be seen by job seekers or employers

13. 11. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the primary way for job boards to build traffic.
65% have some level of agreement; 35% disagree --- going back to the previous statement on Google, if sites aren’t using SEO, what’s their primary method(s) for driving traffic?

14. 12. Search engine marketing (SEM) is essential for job boards to remain viable and competitive.
3/4 of respondents are in agreement that SEM is essential to remain viable and competitive. Does this indicate more confidence in paid ads (IE: Google AdWords?) --- is it easier to accomplish than SEO for site operators?

15. 13. Pay per click / application / hire will replace job posting fees as primary revenue drivers.
Very strong disagreement with this statement, yet clients are demanding these models (and they’re part of the reason that Google AdWords sell so well). Does this indicate an avoidance of risk or is it more about validity of metrics? Needs good discussion, as this is the trend to reckon with….

16. 14. Employers will continue to pay significant fees to search firms to have the guarantee of hires.
70% have some level of agreement with this statement. Again, clients like paying for what they get; similar mindset as expecting Pay for Performance pricing models. How much business could be taken from search firms if sites could guarantee hires? Is that too much risk to assume?

17. 15. Employers are increasingly demanding highly targeted, one-to-one recruitment strategies that build relationships with candidates.
80% have some level of agreement with this statement. What are job boards doing to help employers build relationships? Do they intend to work this into their future strategies?

18. 16. Due to continued layoffs, companies are moving to "quiet recruiting" to avoid public exposure.
70% have some level of agreement with this statement. How do job boards play in this scenario?