CareerBuilder.com
2/18/2010
By Michael Nadler
With unemployment rates in the United States reaching 10 percent late last year, online career resources are more popular than ever. The agonizing task of searching a newspaper’s classified section or using head-hunter services has been made obsolete by Web sites such as CareerBuilder.com. Offering applicants an array of potential career opportunities has become as easy as opening a Web browser, searching through hundreds of listings, and sending a resume and credentials via e-mail.
The site boasts close to 15 million unique visitors per month, and has been offering career services and advice since its inception in 1995. Currently, CareerBuilder.com supports more than 9,000 Web sites, including 140 newspapers and digital portals such as MSN and AOL.com. But they have taken it one step further by developing unique editorial content, backed by the success of its job searching database, which serves as an educational tool for visitors.
“The editorial content is mostly focused toward job seekers,” Kate Lorenz, editor at CareerBuilder.com and blogger for The Work Buzz, explained. “Our goals in providing content originate with educating the job seeker about pretty much anything related to job search - from current hiring trends to resume-writing to what not to wear to a job interview.”
Popular editorial content includes quizzes and tests, hot jobs and industries, how to’s, tips for raises and higher salaries, cubicle culture, top 10 lists and interviews with prominent industry figures.
Lorenz also noted that content is ”relevant to an employer audience” as well. Topics covered include advice and best practices, small business solutions, interviewing strategies, recruiting techniques, leadership development and tips on corporate social responsibility.
Even though the unemployment rate has affected coverage, Lorenz said it doesn’t dictate coverage. Current events, seasonality and pop culture, she said, are also important factors in featured editorial.
“Our goal is to provide the most current and relevant content possible,” she added. “[CareerBuilder.com] also offers job search trends and tactics, emerging jobs, job and salary information, breakdowns of national employment data for the job seeker, how to manage workplace situations and general career management advice.”
In addition to differentiating information based on the type of visitor, the Web site also balances its content by including editorial geared toward white-collar and blue-collar positions. Additionally, editorial varies on the industry being covered, ranging from healthcare to technology to hospitality. Regardless of an individual’s set of skills, previous occupation or educational background, the site is a valuable tool for both job seekers and employers alike.
Like other media outlets, CareerBuilder.com has adapted itself to the changing media landscape. The site has created CareerBuilder.com/tv, which was developed to “engage our customers, job seekers and big game fans by letting them vote for which spot they would like to appear on during the big game broadcast,” Lorenz said.
They have also set out to better engage visitors through their Twitter account, which allows visitors to directly interact with the staff and serves as an additional resource for career information.
Making the Pitch
Lorenz prefers PR professionals “don’t just send [her] a pitch for an article that [she] can write,” but rather, “offer to write a byline for the site” that allows you to “get more bang for your client’s buck.”
She also suggests that PR professionals have “a new and unusual topic.” She stresses that “run-of-the- mill topics won’t cut it.”
Reading CareerBuilder.com’s blog The Work Buzz, can also inform PR professionals of her current projects.
When it comes to receiving pitches from publicists, one of her biggest pet peeves, she added, “is when I’m sent the same pitch five times by the same person.”
Contact Information
CareerBuilder.com
200 N La Salle St
Ste 1100
Chicago, IL 60601
(773)527-3600
http://twitter.com/CareerBuilder
The Work Buzz
200 N La Salle St
Ste 1100
Chicago, IL 60601
(773)527-3600
Kate Lorenz, editor, blogger
http://twitter.com/katelorenz