Finding right job more difficult than raising children,
getting a date according to new Canadian study

Jobshark.com finds lack of time, qualifications biggest challenges to achieving dream job

TORONTO (October 5, 2000) -- Canadians say landing the right job is more difficult than raising children, getting a date or commuting, according to a study released today, by jobshark.com, a leading online recruiter. The only thing Canadians find more difficult than a job search is understanding the opposite sex.

When asked why finding the right job was so difficult, Canadians cited a lack of qualifications and not having the time to look as the top two reasons. To overcome these obstacles, the study found that more Canadians are going online.

"Jobshark.com can't help you understand the opposite sex, but we can act as a personal online dating service in finding your dream job," says Matthew von Teichman, President of jobshark.com. "Jobshark.com helps both job seekers and recruiters use the Internet to screen out the duds and find the perfect match."

Internet becomes a preferred tool in job search

Nearly half (43 per cent) of Canadians are quickly jumping on the Internet bandwagon when making a career move. The study found that online job searches now rank third, behind only networking and newspaper ads as a preferred job hunting tool.

"Internet recruiting has existed for only about three years in Canada," says von Teichman, "yet it's already surpassed placement agencies and has almost caught up to newspapers as the preferred tool in the job hunt."

When asked why they were using the Internet to hunt for a better job, Canadians cited flexibility in being able to search for a job from home or the office, the enormous number of online job opportunities, ease of use and time saving as the main reasons.

According to Forrester Research online services are also catching on with companies as a means of hiring. By 2004, corporate recruiters plan to increase their online spending by 52 per cent and cut their newspaper and search agency spending by 31 per cent.

"The future of Internet recruiting depends on its ability to deliver quality matches, quickly, easily and cost effectively," says von Teichman. "A huge number of job matches alone won't satisfy recruiters or job seekers if the online screening process delivers unqualified candidates or uninteresting jobs."

Jobshark.com's study yielded further telling trends about Canadians' greatest career challenges, likes and dislikes:

We'd rather run a dot-com than be prime minister

When asked to define their dream job, one in three Canadians said it was to run a dot-com company. "Canadians clearly want a job like mine," says von Teichman.

Canadians may want to run a dot-com but they aren't keen on running the country, even if the job is up for grabs. When asked what job they most coveted, only five per cent of respondents said it was the Prime Minister's.

Who's happy, who's not

Only 39 per cent of respondents said they are extremely happy in their jobs. Women (43 per cent) were more likely than men (33 per cent) to say they are extremely happy in their jobs.

Across the country, Montrealers are happiest in their jobs, while Torontonians are the least likely to be happy.

More than 80 per cent of respondents who are happy in their jobs said they'd considered or changed jobs in the past year. Conversely, only 17 per cent of people who are not very happy considered or changed jobs in the past year.

What motivates those who are unhappy in their jobs? Canadians who are the least happy at work are 10 times more likely to say power and fame are important to them when making a career move than those who say they are extremely happy at work.

Power of online matching with offline HR support

Jobshark.com (www.jobshark.com) provides the most sophisticated industry-specific online skill matching technology available and is the only online recruiter to e-mail full job descriptions right to job candidates. Jobshark.com is also the only online recruiter to provide offline human resource services, such as copywriting and candidate screening.

The company, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, has Canadian offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa and Montreal and international offices in the UK, Ireland, Chile, Mexico, Argentina and Columbia.

The study, conducted in September 2000 by Market Facts of Canada, surveyed 500 individuals between the ages of 20 and 40 in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.

For more information or to arrange an interview with Matthew von Teichman, please contact:
Peter Boyce, Vanessa Bacic or Carla MacNeil at Harbinger Communications
(416) 960-5100