Example E-mail:

From:  SomethingMinnesotaSomethingJobsSomething.com/net/whatever
To: You
Subject: Very Best Regional Employment Web Site Wants Your Money!!!!!!

"SomethingMinnesotaSomethingJobsSomething.com/net/whatever has got a great deal for you. Fill out
some on-line forms, open your wallet, and give us your credit card number and we'll send lots of qualified job
 seekers to your company". 

Sound Familiar?

Recently the pundits have been touting regional employment Web sites as a cost effective and successful alternative to national employment Web sites and traditional methods (want ads, etc.). As employers grow frustrated with having to invest lots of time and money processing junk responses and unrelated e-mails coming from national Web sites, they are increasing their use of regional Web sites. Regional sites tend to provide recruiters with hire quality resumes and are more cost effective.

With the increased press, some opportunists have seized on a marketing bonanza. Recently, we at MinnesotaJobs.com, have seen an influx of employment Web sites using similar names and bragging about the benefits of using their regional Web site. The frustration for us is that employers are not getting the full story on these companies. Companies that invest in their services do not have a good experience.

Here's a story about one we encountered recently:

Some of our clients received an e-mail from SomethingMinnesotaJobs.com about a great deal on job postings (something like $300.00 per job). They blasted out the e-mail several times. We checked it out and pretended we were an employer posting a job. We filled out the employer registration form. In small print on the form was a phrase that said "Only job seekers local to the Portland area will be sending you resumes". Portland? Portland Minnesota? Probably not enough people in Portland Minnesota (if it exists) to fill my 50 customer services openings…..

We tucked the e-mail away in our "competitor" folder. Recently, we pulled up the e-mail. Guess what: SomethingMinnesotaJobs.com changed to SomethingVirginiaJobs.com - just like magic.

On closer examination of their Web site, they had a link that broughttes. They had HUNDREDS if not THOUSANDS of regional employment Web sites. Either they are very successful or not on the up-and-up. We suspect the later. They just swap a graphic file and they become another regional Web site.

The Rip-offs:
Have lots and lots of domain names (can they really effectively market to all those regions?)
Hide their company address and phone number (They don't want to hear the complaints)
Claim to be a Minnesota resource but are located in another state. (Afraid of the winters?)
Have only a Minnesota phone number but no Minnesota address (easy enough to get - just buy a cell phone)
Only take credit card payments (No invoices or purchase orders because they may not be around long enough to process them)
Hide information about their resume database (probably for good reason)
Have just started up but claim to have an astronomical quantity of resumes (The bought a list of old resumes from a "resume broker").

The Good:
Have been around for many years (repeat job seeking visitors)
Are involved in the community (Chamber of Commerce Members, HR organization members, put on and/or promote local job fairs, etc.)
Are recommended to you by colleagues
Rank high on Internet search results
Advertise extensively locally
Send you newsletters as a way to keep in touch
Work towards establishing a relationship with you (lots of calls). You are more than just a name on a purchased list to blast e-mails to.

In this field, being around a long time and striving for a solid reputation is paramount to successfully reaching job seeking and employer clients.

We'd like to hear about your horror stories. E-mail us at Support@MinnesotaJobs.com.