July 2004 Column

Eliyon 

I have received a number of queries from Fordyce readers about this service asking me if I knew anything about it, which I didn’t, until now. I am very pleased to have the opportunity to review this excellent, comprehensive business research tool, Eliyon. 

First, they differ from many research tools in that this is not a front-end tool used to search the web. This service uses a unique system that continuously peruses the Internet in search of websites, press releases, electronic news services, SEC filings and other online sources. It then extracts information about the people and companies it locates and uses proprietary technology to create individual profiles of business people to populate their own, growing, continuously updated, proprietary database that, as of this writing, contains at least some information on 20,540,933 people and 1,192,634 companies in the U.S. and Canada. 

Subscribers are able to search this web-based database using criteria including job title, education, employment history, company name, location and company description or any combination thereof. Once you have run your search and have your results, clicking on a person’s name displays a page containing that person’s contact information, employment history, board memberships, educational background and other details - as well as information about the companies that they have worked for. There is also a link that lets you find other people who may know your target...who knows who. 

I had access to the site on a test basis for a while and ran some queries of my own. I decided I wanted to locate an IT executive I have known for years but haven’t talked to in a while. He has a very common name so I also put in one of his prior employers and he came right up. He had made a job change and I am glad to know where he is. Along with his employer information and contact information, there were 222 articles on this one person in their database. You could write a book on him if you wanted to. My next project was to find out what I could on two local firms we deal with. These two firms are companies you probably never heard of before. Not Fortune anything. One by one I searched by company and found both companies in the database, along with numerous contacts for each firm, which were very accurate as far as I could tell. I knew many of the names but there were some on both lists that were new to me. Finally, I ran a couple of searches using company descriptions. I was looking for small to medium sized firms that were DOD contractors. A bit more challenging than the other searches but using the right keywords I was able to pull a number of companies, along with the contacts within these companies, that met my criteria. As I got my results from these searches I was able to email them or save them in custom folders. 

As far as training and support goes they offer an online/telephone training session to get you going. There are also tutorials, faq’s and other help type items available. The service costs $1000.00 per month per user but is discounted based on the length of initial contract and the number of research seats.  Eliyon offers potential customers a short demonstration followed by a free trial. 

I want to thank Brian Payea, Director of Corporate Communications and Brendan Howard, Director of Training with their assistance in researching this review. Any recruiter with the need to research industries, companies and/or people can contact Nicole Chow, Sales Coordinator, via voice at 617-588-7515 or via email at chow@eliyon.com. Much information, including a tutorial, can be found at their website, www.eliyon.com. 

DBK Internet Consulting Services 

Here is one service to take a look at if you post jobs on the Internet. DBK Internet Consulting Services is an advertising agency specific to the Internet. Although it was not feasible to use the job posting service myself I feel this service could be of interest to anyone utilizing commercial job posting sites.  

They differ from some services of this type I have seen in the past in that they only post your jobs to employment sites you are registered with, be they fee-based or free. They can also suggest postings to industry-specific and association sites that allow job postings. A nice bonus is their ability to post to your own website if you have a jobs database on your site. Once the jobs are posted they can take care of editing and deleting jobs, refreshing active jobs and extending expiration dates. 

As part of their service they notify you when your employment site accounts are coming due and help you effectively utilize any site features and functions available. I really like the fact that they also track the job responses so you know what services are bringing in the candidates. 

Finally, they will help you evaluate what Internet employment sites are best for you. Although there are at least a couple of excellent directories available for employment sites, DBK will prepare a plan specifically for your recruiting specialty. They have an on-going site evaluation program. Even if you are not currently posting jobs on the Internet you might see if there is a site out there that specializes in your industry or specialty. 

I have to say DBK seems to be the one-stop service for managing your Internet job postings. Their typical client probably has a fairly high job posting volume and utilizes several employment sites but this could be a valuable service for smaller volume firms as well. I do not believe I have seen the combination of services they offer on a customized level. Looking at the Rate Sheet posted in their Internet site I see that the price for one posting is $7.50. There are discounts for higher volumes. There is also a $.85 per candidate charge for tracking reports.  

I want to thank Dave Kihm of DBK for his help with this article. Anyone interested in this type of service can reach Dave via voice at 866-777-9183 or via email at dkihm@dbkics.com. For more information you can also visit the DBK website at www.dbkics.com. 

Press Release - BullhornSTAFFING Version 8 

Here is a press release from Bullhorn, Inc. announcing their new version of their excellent web-based database, BullhornSTAFFING. Anyone seeking a database is encouraged to put these people in your lineup. Straight from the email: 

Boston, MA – June 1, 2004– Bullhorn, Inc., the leading provider of web-native software for the Staffing and Recruiting Industry, today announced the immediate availability and deployment of BullhornSTAFFING version 8 to customers around the globe. Robust, infinitely scalable and flexible, version 8 performs at 5 times the speed as the fastest web-native applications available. The application is the world’s first staffing software system to offer unlimited view and layout customization. Customers can decide what data is recorded and how it is presented, allowing massive gains in end-user efficiency and making conversion from legacy systems virtually seamless. “For the past five years, Bullhorn has consistently lead the industry in functionality and innovation. Our customers are facing greater challenges than ever in the marketplace. Our mission is to provide them an unfair technical advantage and raise the bar for the entire industry”, said B. Barrett Hinckley, President and co-Founder of Bullhorn, Inc.  

The 85 innovations and enhancements released in version 8 include major advancements in look and feel, workflow tools, communication tools and reporting services. Bullhorn has partnered with Panscopic, the leading provider of web-based self-service reporting to provide unparalleled flexibility and functionality in their reporting needs. Customers can now “build” their own reports directly within the BullhornSTAFFING application from a base set of templates and manipulate data into almost any format.  

Also with version 8, Bullhorn has introduced version 2.0 of the BullhornSTAFFING API. Open, secure, scalable and flexible, the BullhornSTAFFING API allows customers to develop their own software applications that interface directly with the BullhornSTAFFING application. BullhornSTAFFING is now fully compliant with the HRXML standards and specifically, the Staffing Industry Data Exchange Standards (SIDES).  

Bullhorn also announces a partnership with Broadlook Technologies, a leading provider of sales productivity software. “Bullhorn’s web-native staffing solution is among the most powerful in the industry. Our customers have been clamoring for a way to integrate our products with Bullhorn’s. The release of version 2.0 of the BullhornSTAFFING API has allowed Broadlook to provide seamless integration with our entire product suite. The API is feature-rich and easy to implement. We’re very please with the results,“ said Donato Diorio, Broadlook Technologies Founder and CEO. ”Broadlook’s software provides recruiters and sales people with tools that dramatically enhance their prospecting activities, we are very pleased to be able to create this partnership. We are delivering real value to our customer bases,” said Arthur Papas, Bullhorn’s CEO and co-Founder.

JobsInTrucks.com 

From an email: “Talk about driving traffic. The job site, JobsInLogistics.com, has announced the debut of its latest service, JobsInTrucks.com. The service will target truck drivers and already includes more than 4,000 jobs from carriers in the trucking industry. JobsinTrucks is conducting a media campaign to attract top drivers to the site. JobsinLogistics the parent of the new site, offers jobs in the logistics, transportation, supply chain and distribution channels.” 

I have not used this service but did check the site recently and found 5916 truck driver jobs posted. Quite an increase since I got the email. Seems like a booming industry. Check them out at www.jobsintrucks.com.

Tip 

I know I have written about http://websearch.about.com/ before but I do like to mention this site at least once a year or so as it has so much detailed information about web searching. They have one section, Search 101 – A Beginner’s Guide to Web Searching that is a perfect resource for anyone interested in learning more about searching the web for resumes or anything else. The primer can be seen at http://websearch.about.com/library/weekly/bl-search101.htm. Inside here they have articles on search engines, directories, meta-searching and the invisible web. Another area this web site can be of a lot of help is in helping you enhance your website placement in search results. If you have your own company website and want your website to come up every time someone goes to Google and types in: Accounting Jobs Missouri, there are ways to do that that are explained in detail on these pages. Good luck!!