Job recruitment goes interactive

By Tantri Yuliandini

JAKARTA (JP): The advent of e-business is revolutionizing the way companies recruit their employees.

Soon, companies will no longer have to spend heavily on newspaper advertisements. Nor will they have to wait months for responses to their ads.

Through websites like JobsDB.com, companies can advertise job vacancies which will not only be read by locals, but also by people from all over the world. For a fraction of the cost of newspaper ads, companies can fill their vacant positions within days.

JobsDB.com was founded in 1998 by Michael Soong in Hong Kong and quickly expanded its operations to Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Taiwan. On Wednesday, it launched its Indonesian website during a job recruitment fair, "Career 2000", at Bapindo Plaza on Jl. Jend. Sudirman, South Jakarta.

The fair, which provides a platform for both internet technology and conventional recruitment methods, was organized by Asia Expo and sponsored by JobsDB.

"For JobsDB, this event is aimed at introducing our website to the Indonesian public," Director of PT JobsDB Indonesia Eddy S. Tjahja said.

"Generally we are here to give the people an alternative, a new medium for job recruitment," he said.

JobsDB claimed that 200,000 people visit its website monthly, and 70 percent of its registered users have university degrees.

For employers, these figures predict a fast and qualitative recruitment.

"The people who apply are automatically those who are computer literate. It is more selective," I Nyoman Gde Agus from Pansystems, an IT company, said.

To post an advertisement a company has to be a member of JobsDB.com. Membership is free but to post an advertisement, a company pays about Rp 10,000 (US$1.3) a day.

The job vacancy will then be posted for up to one month. This is to ensure that only the latest vacancies are posted.

"Some services post up to six-month old vacancies, which have probably been filled a long time ago," Eddy said referring to JobsDB's competitors.

When a position has been filled, the company can erase the advertisement.

"It is a lot cheaper than advertising through newspapers," Inda, a recruiting manager at ABN Amro Bank in Jakarta, said.

"Imagine how much we'd have to pay a newspaper for our 24 job openings," she said. Her bank used the fair to fill existing vacancies.

For job seekers, the service is free. Registered users have the advantage of not having to write multiple resumes for every job they apply, and they will be notified by e-mail every time there is a new opening in their preferred career category.

"It saves time and a lot of stamp money," a visitor at the job fair said.

Not many people in Indonesia are computer literate, even more scarce are people who are Internet literate. But, since Indonesia's population, along with China's and India's, make up half the world's population, the investment in Indonesia is a worthwhile project, says chairman of JobsDB Inc. Michael Soong.

Unexpectedly, the response to the job fair had been tremendous. Turnout during the two days reached some 9,000 people, well above the 6,000 targeted by the organizers.

"We are pleased that the response have been so positive," Project Manager of Asia Expo Timothy said.

On opening day, people of all backgrounds thronged the 18 by 13 meters hall, creating a mass buildup. People jostled their way into the elevator just to get to the ninth floor, where the fair took place.

The people already there shoveled their way to the two ticket booths to buy the Rp 5,000 entry ticket.

Apparently there had been a miscommunication, Timothy said.

"The people thought the opening was at nine o'clock when it was actually at twelve," he said.

Once inside, the situation was little better.

The 20 company counters had difficulty coping with inquiries and demands for application forms.

JobsDB's pavilion, its 24 computers were constantly occupied by visitors browsing for jobs.

Many new members were enrolled, but "we have not yet determined the number," Eddy said.

The second day was better organized. Orderly queues were set up by security guards for the ticket booths, and writing tables were provided.

About 20 national and multinational companies joined the job fair. Most took advantage of JobsDB's free three-month corporate membership offer.

Companies are learning about e-recruitment.

"The process is a lot faster than conventional methods," said a staffer at Lippo Land counter.

"It saves manpower and paper costs," remarked Herlan Maulana of Toyota Astra Motor. "It also eliminates getting applications from people whose qualifications we do not need."

But there are setbacks to the new system.

According to Maria Theodora, Standard Chartered Bank human relations manager, ever since joining JobsDB.com, the bank has received some 800 responses, but "many were from people who applied more than once for a position."

"It is less personal, we cannot be certain that a person is genuinely interested in the position," Herlan said.

"For higher positions, it is not ideal to use e-mail, we still need to set up a personal interview," Maria said.