First up, apologies to the 1352 recruitment agencies that weren’t featured in this column. There wasn’t anything particularly scientific about the five I chose to review other than to say they represent the big guys in the marketplace. But big agency or small, the internet has revolutionised the way people search for work. There might have been perception that senior executive positions weren’t placed on the net. If so, the past 12-24 months has seen that myth dispelled as online recruitment has come of age. From the highest to the lowest paid jobs, executives are turning to the net in increasing numbers to find employment and placement opportunities.
www.nztmp.com TMP is part of an enormous international recruitment network. In addition to its extensive executive search engine on this site, it also owns the monster.com online recruitment service.
The site features comprehensive job selection criteria, and you can literally search the globe for employment by industry type. The search format employed seems to be similar to the Monster.com website so you can be quite specific about the part of New Zealand, or the world, in which you want to work or search for placements. There are large number of jobs advertised. The IT section alone has 75.
Besides the search engine the site also offers advice to employers and employees about how to maximise the job search and placement experience and explains how to write an effective resume, survive an interview and use other job procurement techniques.
It’s functional site that does everything job recruitment site should d o. What it lacks is visual zest and imagination.
www.sheffield.co.nz I liked this site. It looked good and the search criteria were easy to manage and not too intimidating. Sheffield specialises in top end placement and in finding employment for retrenched execs. The site employs imaginative techniques to provide information.
It also offers helpful information about Sheffield’s business and features “career zone” which is the job search engine.
Job categories are minimal – at least by contrast to TMP’s – but they are broad enough to encompass variety of skills.
Sheffield is more focused on quality than quantity. Its offerings definitely tend toward the high end of the market and there are some interesting employment opportunities on offer.
Visitors to the site can access articles and case studies on range of subjects related to employment, such as “change management” or “superior performance” to name but two.
There is friendly dimension to this website that makes it appealing.
www.robertwalters.co.nz Robert Walters is another international recruitment agency, almost epic in scope.
I reached the home page and an employment-related web poll came up that could be answered with single click, with the results of the poll to date instantly displayed. Smart. The company uses the website to conduct research and involves the user from the word go.
The site design doesn’t do much for me, but it is very functional.
Besides its job search engine, which like TMP’s is fairly exhaustive and international, Robert Walters also features results from its international salary survey. The survey enables visitors to assess average wages by profession, according to experience and other criteria. Results are available by industry and country, right down to the city level – compare your earnings with fellow managers in Wellington or Auckland.
There’s also an email newsletter and access to all the company’s PR material, particularly its research work on market trends and employment issues.
www.drakeintl.com The opening home page enables users to search by “productivity solutions” or “career opportunities” by country.
The site offers wide and detailed selection criteria if you’re looking for work. Visitors search using keywords according to computer skills, business and trade skills, industry type and so on. I found the criteria selection far too complicated and involved, it seemed to take forever to find job opportunities.
The site also offers resumé builder but you must register to get access. News and articles on range of subjects are also available, some of this material looked useful, search for “management tips” drew eight hits.
www.ocg.co.nz The OCG site seems to be aimed at senior managers. It’s also New Zealand focused although there are international opportunities available.
You can search by industry, position or both. The search engine works well and there is career advice available – I dare say at price.
This is no-frills site that is very functional. links page is available, particularly to learning institutions for extra job skills training.
There are literally hundreds of recruitment agencies, not necessarily all with websites. Some of the other main online sites at lower levels of the executive hierarchy include: seek.co.nz, monster.com, nzjobs.co.nz, myjob.co.nz and netcheck.co.nz. M
Damon Birchfield is an Auckland-based freelance writer.
Email: [email protected]
