HRevolution: A Monster Of A Personal Story

Job boards are not dead.

How do I know?  Because Monster.com helped my husband find a job in 2010.  I have used Monster.com myself in the past both as a candidate and as a customer.  And, I am thankful to have Monster.com as a HReovlution sponsor for the third year!  So, instead of sharing about some of the services that Monster offers, I thought I’d ask my husband to share his personal story of how Monster.com helped our family.  I hope that if you are a candidate looking for work or if you are an organization needing to fill positions, you will continue to turn to Monster as your primary source.

My Monster Experience

by Dan McFarlane

Frightened.  Angered.  In a state of shock.  These were some of my reactions and feelings I had when I was unexpectedly unemployed in February of 2010.  With the economy in the dumps and unemployment at an all time high, I had severe doubts about quickly regaining employment.  I had all of the usual worries, how am I going to pay the bills, keep a roof over my family’s head and keep them fed.  I had a severance package, but the severance had an end date.  Basically,  I felt like crap with no relief in sight.

My first few days were spent getting my resume in order and reaching out to my network.  Having been employed at the same place for over 14 years made it difficult to gain references.  Once I finished my resume and compiling reference,s I started the job search.  The difficulties were not in finding positions posted, but competing with the overwhelming applicants that applied for each job.  I was attacking this search with every new method available to me.  I was using LinkedIn, FaceBook and Twitter.  I also searched company web sites and several job boards.

In the end it all boiled down to the one job board that gave me the most up-to-date postings and best job leads, Monster.com. Out of the 94 positions I applied for, at least one third came from Monster.  I created my profile on Monster and posted my resume.  This led to me receiving emails with all new job posting that met my qualifications.  This was a big advantage as I did not overlook any opportunities and, with my resume on file, it made posting for each position a ten minute processes.  The only new item I needed each time was my cover letter.  This service led to what I refer to as my dream job.

I was told once the job boards like Monster were outdated and surpassed by the social networking sites.  What do I say to people who feel like that?  You need to realize the vast majority of companies do not use social networking sites for recruiting a majority of their positions.  They use recruiters, job boards, web sites as well as social sites.  A job seeker needs to utilize all the tools available to them to find the right employment opportunities.

For more on the possibilities of the evolving world of work, visit Monster’s Thought Leadership Blog,www.monsterthinking.com.  For more Monster Thinking, follow @monster_works and @monsterww on Twitter and like us on Facebook!