February 2002 Column

The Invisible/Deep Web 

We had warned everyone that we were going to get more into the Deep Web this year. We keep touting this as another way for us to keep ahead of the ‘client learning curve’. Here is our first of many Deep Web topics for 2002. 

The Invisible/Deep Web is simply data or content on the Internet not indexed by the search engines and subject directories you normally use to search the World Wide Web.  If you had a misconception that the World Wide Web "is" the Internet, you now know better and understand that it is just one section of the overall set of data available on the Internet. 

Why is this data invisible? Current search engines use spiders to index static HTML pages so the search engine can find them later, based on what you query.  Many search engines choose not to include pages based on their format, their file type (such as PDF, Flash, Shockwave, Word, WordPerfect, PowerPoint, script-based pages (pages containing a "?" in their address), etc.)  Spiders also don't search the contents of databases.  This is important because Web content is moving away from static HTML pages towards databases.  It is easier and cheaper for data providers to dynamically generate answers to queries than to anticipate every possible query and build a page for displaying the requested data. This means that search engine companies have to re-think their underlying technology and re-tool to allow researchers to find the data they are looking for.  This will cost a lot of money; so expect mergers, acquisitions, and failures in the search engine business over the next few years. 

What does this mean to you in the short term?  It means that if you make your money by finding data your clients can't find on the Internet, now is the time to equip yourself to successfully search the Invisible Web. 

What will you find if you choose to learn to search the Invisible Web?  A lot of the same kinds of content that you find now on HTML pages.  Yes, there is specialized information on the Invisible Web, but remember that much of the rapid growth of the Invisible Web is a reflection of the movement of general Internet content away from HTML pages into databases that display the same data (only faster and cheaper). 

How can you search the Invisible Web?  You can use free Invisible/Deep Web search engines and site compilations of Invisible/Deep Web resources that are too numerous to list in this article (See a great collection of Invisible Web resource at the Swat Recruiting website at http://www.swatrecruiting.com. Click on the link on the left hand navigation bar for the Armory then look for the link to the Invisible/Deep Web content.) You can also purchase off-the-shelf tools to do the surfing for you.  Let's look at some of the tools available: 

Bright Plant (http://www.brightplanet.com) offers 4 Invisible/Deep Web products:

Deep Query Manager - An enterprise tool to discover and manage Internet content.

  Deep Web Directory - A content solution for existing portals that need to provide targeted, comprehensive  information.

LexiBot - A desktop search tool for accessing more than 2,600 "Deep Web" databases organized into nearly 200 channels.

Complete Planet - Searches 90,000 databases and specialty search engines. 

LexiBot would be the most useful tool for an Internet Recruiter out of Bright Planet's product line.  We will attempt to evaluate LexiBot for a future article to tell you more about it. 

AIRS (http://www.airsdirectory.com) offers an Invisible/Deep Web search capability in the SearchStation service. We have previously written about this capability in the July/2001 issue of Fordyce Letter. You can refer to the article in your archive or see it in ours at http://www.swatrecruiting.com, then click on the link on the left hand navigation bar for the Fordyce Letter article archives. 

Bullhorn Staffing 

As the ATS marketplace become more crowded each day, it becomes more difficult for the recruiting organization to make an informed decision. Questions about ATS software are still extremely common on the recruiter discussion boards and in emails that we receive regularly. Realizing that, your Internet recruiting columnists try and alleviate some of the pain by regularly reviewing products and services in this category. For this month’s column we are writing about BullhornSTAFFING. I liked the fact that with their system you no longer have to adapt your business processes to conform to someone’s software. Instead, BullhornSTAFFING adapts to your way of doing things.  

I originally bumped into these people on the AIRS discussion board. I believe someone had posted a question about Sendouts.com. As a long-time user I was pleased to be able to offer my comments. The next day I received a note from the Bullhorn marketing rep trying to sell me the system. As I remain satisfied with the Sendouts system I explained that I was not in the market for a new system but offered to review the software for this column. 

Bullhorn, Inc. was founded in 1999. They offer a highly advanced, patented software engine that resides behind a totally customized enterprise-level application. They are backed by GE, Internet.com and a number of other institutional investors. 

One thing that hits me right away when logging on is it’s sheer simplicity. To me simpler is better. I hate a long learning curve. Not that I am stupid, I just don’t have the patience for it. Your initial screen contains everything you need to begin work for the day including your appointments, your critical tasks, your hot candidates, leads to follow up on for the day and your hot job orders…all well placed and easy to read.  

Go to the candidate’s screen. Again…very simple. All your candidates in a datasheet view with easy access via pop-up screens to your candidate’s resume, contact information and numerous other data types. I haven’t seen the pop-up idea by any of the competition. I like this a lot. As with all web-based products there is a delay each time you change screens, even with a fast connection. With the pop-ups you can quickly get the info you need without leaving your main candidate screen. A real time saver if you are making a lot of contacts in a call session. 

Your client’s screen contains the basic information you need. General information for each client including size and industry, plus a separate screen for all your contacts within that client with a notes area to log contact notes. Ditto for the job orders. The first screen has all of your open jobs on one screen then you can click to each job one by one. Thankfully, all the job order information is contained in one easy-to-read page. No silly page flipping just to see salary or skills information. Again, very important for a web-based program.  

An interesting concept, not seen with other programs is their ‘TearSheet’. This is a patented technology that is used for presentations to clients, making hard copy word docs obsolete. Your client receives an in depth profile featuring a digital portfolio, skills overview, and a confidential notes section. These TearSheets give your clients a full understanding of your candidates skills and abilities. 

The last screens are the administrative, where you can view a number of excellent reports (they can even recreate your current reports, ensuring data consistency), you can import calendar items, clients or candidates into Bullhorn from Outlook or actually any text file, and you can clock your projects if you charge your clients by the hour (this also sets them apart). 

See…I told you it was simple. I believe this program was designed with the Web in mind. For most of their screens…all the information you need is on one page. Others I have seen require several pages of information for each job order or candidate. Very tiresome when you have to watch the hourglass for each page to load. 

Pricing for Bullhorn Staffing is designed to be competitive with other quality ASP systems. The one time Installation charges start as low as $2500 and move up depending on the number of offices and the amount of customization the client requires. Data Migration from your current system to Bullhorn can be done by Bullhorn’s expert technical staff at a rate of $150 per hour with a typical 10-person firm requiring 10 to 20 hours of data migration. Monthly user fees vary again based on the amount of customization and selected options, such as job board posting, and start at $150 per month per recruiter.  Mention that you read about Bullhorn in the Fordyce Letter and you will receive special promotional pricing with substantial savings. 

You can get more information on Bullhorn Staffing by visiting their website at www.bullhornstaffing.com. My contact for this article Kevin McCarthy can be reached via email at kmccarthy@bullhorn.com or via voice at (617) 464-2440 ext. 116. 

CareerXroads 2002 

I opened the mail recently to find a book by Gerry Crispin and Mark Mehler that has a lot to offer to the Fordyce readership. Although this book seems to be written mainly for the job seeker (our candidates) and corporate HR (our clients), I felt the content of this book could be very useful to the Internet recruiter.  

Actually, parts of this book irked me a bit as the first 115 pages or so were devoted to articles from numerous “HR Experts” offering their opinions (called ‘Tips and Advice’) to both job seekers and HR recruiters on just about everything, including the demise of our entire industry. I had very little interest in these two sections and frankly, if you purchase this book do yourself a favor and skip directly to page 119 where the true value of this book begins. Actually, there are articles in there by Audra Slinkey and Karen Osofsky, two well respected Internet recruiting experts whose names Fordyce readers have seen before in this column. 

Having said that, I want you to know this is truly a great resource. Those that know me know that I wouldn’t let the fact that I did not care for some of the material presented stop me from utilizing a resource I felt could assist me in bringing money in the front door.  

Read on…  

Starting on page 119 there are 290 pages (in alphabetical order) of every Internet career site known to mankind and then, thankfully, there are another 74 pages offering cross references for all the sites listing them by specialty, industry, geography, cost, etc. There are also pages listing the websites for the Fortune 500 group and a number of colleges and universities, very handy, as some are difficult to locate.  

There are over 3000 site catalogued for the 2002 edition. They must be doing something right, as this is the seventh edition of this publication. They have listed 50 sites for communication (advertising, graphic arts, journalism) 55 sites for education, 167 for engineering, 95 for hospitality and retail. Health care recruiter will rejoice to know that there are 108 sites of possible interest and hospitality/retail recruiters will be kept busy perusing the 95 sites available for their industry. Although they do include the large, national sites I am happy to report that most of the 3000 consist of niche sites that cater to a specific industry and geographic areas. This isn’t the half of it.  

There are two ways I think we could make money from this information. One is by utilizing one or more of these services yourself. Many recruiters in specialized industries will be surprised to find a number of Internet sites exclusively devoted to their specialty. Sites that your clients may not know about. The other is to use this resource to turn yourself into an Internet consultant to your clients. Become the expert, if necessary, on what Internet resources are available to your clients and charge them for it. 

Normally I am bothered by anything hard copy as the Internet evolves so quickly that your book could be out of date before it hits the bookstore. They have solved that problem by offering free monthly email updates. They have also promised not to sell your email address to any third party…a nice twist. They also offer an on-line service that costs $3,500 a year for up to 10 users, or you can sign up for a one-time use for $19.95.  

One of the most amazing aspects of this book is its price. Everything I have mentioned above for the low price of $26.95. So I would say that anyone interested in this type of material should run to the computer and order this book right away. For more information visit their Web site at http://www.careerxroads.com/. To order this book online with a credit card, go to https://www.infofirstsecure.com/careerxroads/order/index.asp. You can also find this book at your local library or college placement office.  

FYI - ATS Report 

Boy…ATS this and ATS that. You’d think everyone that wants one has one already. Not true. Far from it. If you watch the recruiter discussions boards at all, which I do regularly, the most common questions are from recruiters asking other recruiters what they think about a particular ATS system. Now, in one place you can read up on 21 of the leading ATS systems. Per ERExchange, a well-known and respected recruiter community website that publishes the report, Applicant Tracking Systems: Industry Analysis & Product Guide; this report was based on interviews with over 750 ATS users. The report analyzes the product offerings of each, with detailed descriptions of product functionality, features, and performance. I have not reviewed nor seen this report and offer this information as a convenience to anyone thinking about purchasing one of these services. At $795 this is not an inexpensive report but the cost is reasonable when you consider these services can be quite expensive and choosing the wrong one for your business could be very costly. If you purchase the report through our friends at Recruiters Network, you may be able to receive some type of discount. Check it out at http://www.recruitersnetwork.com/reports/ere.htm. 

TIP 

This month’s tip is regarding one of the largest search engines of them all, Google. According to Search Engine Watch (www.searchenginewatch.com), Google has the largest index of any search engine with over 1.5 billion web pages indexed (yes, billion). That is more than double the number of pages of the next in line, FAST. My own favorite, AltaVista, has a paltry 550 million pages indexed as of 12/01. Why then, you might ask, does Google not get more press. Well, up until recently, Google had (for recruiters anyway) one of the worst interfaces. They had this AOL type of search engine interface where you had one text box for your search string. Your string had to be extremely basic and that is simply not acceptable for a lot of Internet recruiting assignments. Well, that has all changed now with the addition of their Advanced Search feature. You can now screen using about a dozen types of criteria including keywords, age of posting (want fresh resumes?), file format (looking for pdf files?). You can also limit your searches to specific domains (ever heard of x-raying a site?). Although AltaVista will, in all likelihood, will remain my search engine of choice due the Boolean query box, you should absolutely log onto Google (www.google.com) and check for resumes. Last count, a broad search offered about 6.5 million of them.

TIP II 

We are in the process of evaluating over 1,000 search engines, meta search engines and subject directories for "The Armory" on the SWAT Web site. One meta search engine came out of nowhere to become one of my favorites - http://www.citibay.com.  Try it on your next search - you will love the results!