The information age now affects all aspects of our lives, including looking for a job. Accordingly, Websites devoted to bringing employers and potential employees together have become a common sight on the Internet. However, many insiders say laying all your hopes of finding a job on the services provided by a Website is unwise — rather, it is best to diversify one’s approach and use a variety of sources. This week, The Leader’s Lucas Romriell addresses the issue of finding a job on the early 21st Century’s favorite new tool and what’s good — and not so good — about it.

In a country where fewer than 10 percent of the population has access to the Internet, it might seem a little unreasonable for companies to build job-search engines to attract up-and-coming young professionals. However, countless Russian Websites have emerged over the last two years in an effort to take advantage of young people who do have access to the Web and would like to find work.

Even though many of the Russian Websites lack the services and additional features that have made ones like Monster.com such a success, they continue to plug away in an effort to tap a limited, specific market.

"Seventy percent of the resumes we receive come from over the Internet," said an enthusiastic Vyacheslav Sedleneg, president of Triza Exclusive, a recruitment company.
He said he believes that Internet job portals are the wave of the future and present a number of possibilities for job seekers and employers alike. Although most job Websites offer opportunities in Moscow and St. Petersburg, he says they help break down geographic barriers.

"We get resumes from all over Kazakstan, Moldavia, Moscow, St. Petersburg. The people who use the Internet are very active, energetic professionals," he added.
"I still think there is plenty of potential for our site," said Yevgeny Kozhevnikov, director of Internet development for Zarplata.ru, a recruitment Website run together with the publication Robota i Zarplata.
He said that, even though the market is limited, there are still plenty of opportunities to develop it further.

"Russian Websites still don’t offer a lot of the services available on Western ones, like articles on where to find a job and so on. There are still plenty of things we can do." However, experts are quick to point out that the poor phone lines in Russia mean job-searchers do not want to spend long hours online looking up tips for job interviews.
"First, people want to find out about job vacancies, then how to get a job," said Sedleneg.

"We have our job-search engine on our first page," said Olga Berukova, Internet-project director for RosBusinessConsulting (RBC). "One of the biggest problems now in Russia is the expensive price of Internet access, so we try to make a page that’s easy to use. We have a ‘one-click policy,’" she said.
She also said a lack of qualified personnel makes it difficult to create useful job-search Websites.

"People are learning, but it’s still not enough," she added. However, a job-search Website alone is not enough to guarantee success. Companies need to be backed up by off-line support, such as a recruitment agency or job-search publication, to be useful. Triza’s Sedleneg agreed that some sort of recruiting agency or publication is essential to the success of a job-search Website.
"It’s not interesting without off-line support. It doesn’t provide people with a service they need," he said.

RBC’s Berukova disagreed: "Our Website functions by itself just fine," she said noting that the year-and-a-half-old Website receives 30,000 hits a day. But, in the past, RBC has said that it views Web portals as more of a way to build a reputation for its business than use the sites as money-making propositions in themselves.
Most sites earn money from advertising or companies that pay to use the service to post vacancies or hunt for jobseekers. Experts are careful to point out that reputable sites will not ask users for money.

Users of the Websites are primarily for the "middle class," according to Zarplata, advertising jobs with salaries ranging from $500-$2,000 a month. "Anybody looking for more than that should find a head-hunting company," he added. Not all of the jobs are for professionals, though, and plenty of positions are available for people looking for jobs "servicing the middle class, like nannies and teachers," he said.
The Websites are focused almost exclusively on the St. Petersburg and Moscow regions. Berukova said that 50 percent of her Websites’ clients come from Moscow, with 15 percent from St. Petersburg and the rest from other regions.
"We’ve tried to work with the regions, but with little success. The same kinds of jobs just aren’t available there," she said.

Most employers sign contracts with Websites, allowing them to update their job listings on their own, but small companies make use of the employee databases as well.
Sergei Gugulev, a partner in a small company with fewer than 30 employees, said that his firm has no official agreements with any Websites, but uses them on occasion to find employees.

"We hire about one or two new people a year and find the sites an effective way to find qualified employees," he said.
Still, many young Russians remain skeptical about the likelihood of finding a good job on the Web.

"I’ve tried," said a young student identified only as Yevgeny, "but I didn’t find anything good." However, he noted that he found a job for his mother: "But she left after only two months. It wasn’t a very good job."