Job site: jobshark.ca
This site, which describes itself as Canada's oldest and most unique career and recruitment site, having been established in 1997, sports an extremely corporate front that is fully in line with its name.
It is good-looking, to the point and easy to navigate. JobShark has now partnered with another leading Canadian company JobServe and have combined their websites.
You can search jobs by three fields: sector, location and keyword. Recognising that many people are looking for jobs with specific companies, job seekers are also invited to start their search by browsing through a list of employers now recruiting.
The site is strong on this 'hidden marketplace' - on the 'Now Hiring' page, you can also look through listings of all the companies and recruitment agencies who are associated with the site.
By registering, you can upload your resume and create multiple profiles for employers to search through. You can also save searches, so that the 'JAWS agent' can send you emails when matching job advertisements are posted. The same software will send your information to advertisers who are looking for your credentials.
The site offers focused areas for specific sectors. You can undertake a specialist IT search via the 'National Technology Recruiting Centre' pages, where jobs from top ranking technology companies are listed. With over 130,000 IT professionals' details also listed, the inference is that employers will be as keen to recruit via these pages as job seekers are to find work.
The non-profit / charity sector and the JobShark Volunteer Center offer databases of positions with non-commercial organisations. Searchable by category and location, these listings are offered free or heavily discounted to the organisations concerned, so are likely to be very comprehensive.
These sectors are useful if you wish to work in the non-commercial sector, but for people interested in non-IT corporate sector jobs, the numbers of vacancies advertised is not clear.
Only an annual figure for job adverts is given - you have no way of seeing how many jobs are advertised on the site today. Including job postings that are offered to non-commercial organisations at a low or highly discounted rate is a way of bulking the numbers up, meaning you receive an obscured view of the site's popularity with commercial employers.
| URL for job seekers | www.jobshark.ca |
| Type of site | Generalist |
| Specific job sectors covered |
|
| Geographic coverage | Canada, Some USA. Peru, Chile, El Salvador |
| Number of jobs on the site | 36,000 |
| Jobs by email | Yes |
| Can you upload your CV / resume | Yes |
Information for Recruiters / Employers on JobShark:
This slick-looking site proclaims that it is not just another bulletin, but is "a remarkably selective service" on account of its software programme, JAWS, which can match job seekers to employers. How this is superior to very similar services currently offered by other leading job advertisement sites is not revealed. For more information visit hwww.jobshark.com/ca/en/Search-for-Jobs/
The rate card for corporate clients is straightforward enough. It offers single job posts for as little as CA$85 per week or CA$300 per month, while a starter pack offering 5 job postings at any time within a year comes in at CA$1850. There is a discount for small businesses wishing to post up to 12 jobs in a year (but would a small enterprise need to?), as well as a discount for larger companies posting unlimited jobs.
If yours is a non-profit or volunteer organisation, the site offers huge advantages. The former can gain a discount of up to 60% off regular rates, with a package totalling CA$199, while the latter can post jobs free of charge.
Any advertising organisation can view the job seeker database. You can search by category, location, citizenship status, type of position (i.e. full-time, part-time, etc) and educational level. Another useful feature is a page showing a breakdown of the site members' job interests and geographical locations. The page does not, however, show the proportion of memberships that have lapsed or become dormant.
Recruitment agencies are wooed with the promise of superior targeting through the JAWS software, although once again, this software's unique selling point is not described. The online candidate management and screening tools may be more attractive, however.
JobShark maintains that 75% of all positions advertised by its 15,000 plus corporate users (note: this does not necessarily mean 15,000 different employers/recruiters) are filled. It does not say what the total numbers are or how long this process takes, so it may be worth asking for more specific information. If you are a commercial organisation, you should take note of the fact that non-commercial organisations are given incentives to post jobs on the site. There is nothing wrong with this, but do not assume that the few statistics made available reflect the activity of businesses paying the publicised rates.
One is left with the impression that JobShark, although clear, attractive and easy to navigate, is a major player in the technology sector where it is most at home (the company JobShark Technologies develops and sells skillset based job board software solutions), yet holds less influence in the wider jobs market. This impression will not change while the same two statistical figures - for the total number of registered users and the number who register each month - are repeatedly presented, with no additional supporting evidence of success.
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