Business 2.0 reports on a new social networking site that is banking on the lucrative, high-level job seeker. Blue Chip Expert, created with the intent of connecting executive-level talent with companies looking to recruit the best-of-the best, differs from other job boards like Monster.com in that its focus is solely on "free agents, the roughly 12 million contract workers in the United States." The company says it has a goal of getting "a lock on the high end - software engineers, creative directors, consultants."It's creator, Scott Langmack (himself a former C-Level exec), decided to start the company after a recent job interview during which the CEO across the table complained of having difficulty in finding qualified interviewees. After being offered the position of CMO, Langmack turned it down to focus his efforts on his new startup.
"The cream of the workforce never posts resumes on the big job boards," Langmack says, which is why companies have a hard time finding them."
Despite facing a daunting challenge- to truly be successful, the venture needs to take off immediately and rack up users before competitors with deep pockets can imitate and clutter the playing field- the founder seems upbeat and has some notable allys in his corner. Particularly The Association of Executive Search Consultants, an "umbrella group of headhunters" which has thrown its support and recommendations to Blue Chip Expert.
Some excerpts on how the whole process works:
The InvitationWalter, a Blue Chip Expert member, invites his friend Susan to register on the site and set up a profile outlining her credentials. Susan, in turn, invites her friend Patricia.
The SearchThe CTO at Company XYZ searches Blue Chip for a project manager with Six Sigma training. He sorts potential hires by ranking the universities they attended and their former employers.
The HireThe CTO picks Patricia and hires her for an eight month gig. Company XYZ pays $250,000 to Blue Chip, which pays Patricia $200,000.
The PaybackBlue Chip gives $4,000 to Susan, the member who referred Patricia, and $2,000 to Walter, the member who referred Susan, and nets $44,000 in profit.
via Business 2.0
Interesting, but I think the social networking platform is now too much of a commodity for this to be sustainable as a stand-alone venture against entrenched players. As you imply, a recruiting company with global reach can extend their web services to include an "exclusive" social networking platform and achieve the desired network effect more quickly.
ReplyDeleteBut could they deploy it as nimbly? Probably not.
Yeah I think the key for this to be a success story is getting some big partners and getting them fast, make those connections with the big companies and show them Blue Chip Expert can more intimately understand their talent needs and get quality execs every time.
ReplyDeleteSo, sure Monster.com has a larger reach, but they're so big they can't take the time to truly understand your specific biz needs, but Blue Chip can.
We'll see what happens...
I am glad to be a visitor of this perfect blog, thank you for this rare info! Chip Level Training in Hyderabad
ReplyDelete