Monster.com has been relatively quiet for the last couple of years, but when we checked in with them this week, we learned that this has not been because of the recession. In fact, they have some cutting-edge cloud technology in the works that will continue to keep them in the lead — not to mention an iPad app that just hit the app store today.
“Many wouldn’t instinctively consider Monster as a breakthrough innovator but if you look at our product pipeline over the past year you do see we’re innovating at the same pace as the most nimble start-up,” VP Public Relations Matthew Henson told BostInno. The Monster.com team has been heads down during the recession, focusing on taking a step forward and investing in technology and innovation. The results are what the company describes as a real change in the direction of their business.
“Our focus has been to change the way talent is matched to opportunity through better search, using behaviorally targeted media to reach passive candidates, and delivering a mobile experience,” explained Henson.
The company has released patented semantic technology trademarked ‘6Sense’ that helps match recruiters with job openings with a more precise set of resumes. Monster has used that to release suite of products, from their Power Resume Search to one called Seeker Job Search. According to Henson, they are now applying this semantic matching technology to the cloud.
Monster Brings Resumes Across the Globe to the Cloud
In 2011, you can expect the Monster to take its semantic 6Sense technology to an entirely new level. “6Sense has been effective at mining the Monster database of resumes,” said Matthew Henson. “But if you look at the broader recruiting world, they use multiple sources to collect resumes beyond Monster – from social media and job boards to internal employee referrals.”
For some companies, the sourcing of resumes means a repository of millions of resumes, and Henson noted some companies are known to have accumulated over 8 million. “Once they have all these resumes, it’s like, what do you do with them?” he posited. “And that’s where 6Sense in the cloud comes in.”
In 2011 Monster will enable companies around the world to upload all their resumes into the cloud, letting 6Sense work its magic in filtering through to match the best candidates with particular job opportunities within the company. “This is also about managing your workforce globally,” added Henson, “allowing HR to identify the best internal employee matches to job opportunities across the globe.”
According to Henson, Monster has been building this next wave of 6Sense in their Cambridge R&D center, which opened 2 years ago. The company is excited about entering this new niche of recruiting, what Henson describes as identifying ‘passive’ job seekers and moving away from the job board model.
The company is currently working with a large beta customer as it finishes development for a formal rollout later this year. “This customer has seen immediately the effectiveness of the technology, tapping into the power of their internal and external talent network. This is providing an unprecedented level of insight and efficiency into the hiring process and thus delivering ROI. When you equate talent with business opportunity that ROI coming out of the recruitment function is very powerful,” explained Henson.
Monster Capitalizes on Mobile
2011 will also be a year of mobile for Monster. Five months ago they released their iPhone app so job seekers could access and search for opportunities from anywhere. The app covers all Monster.com countries (39 in total) and languages, and has been well received and well used. To date, job seekers have made 1.5 million searches, viewed 3.1 million different jobs, and has resulted in 200,000 applications sent.
And just today, the company’s iPad app debuted in the iTunes store to extend this mobile presence. Henson said the company is excited about expanding the mobile job search elements of their mobile presence into career advice and the entire experience of how people find and manage their careers later in 2011.
While unfortunately I don’t have an iPad app with me right now to give the app a proper review, Henson shared, “The iPhone has seen amazing traction, and the UX on the iPad app is quite different than the Monster.com site, thanks to the feedback we have received from users.”
Overall, Henson left us with, “We’ve been aggressively transforming our business through innovation and these new technologies are the cornerstone of our strategy. We want to continue to be first to market for technologies that will transform recruiting and job searching.”
If you have an iPad, what do you think of the Monster app? If you are a recruiter, how excited are you about Monster bringing 6Sense to the cloud?
