Goodbye Classifieds, Hello Internet

It seems that the Internet has changed just about everything in the world of business: investing, banking, entrepreneurship - even searching for employees in the business world has evolved because of the Internet revolution.

Newspaper classified advertisements were once the tried and true method of searching for employees. But today many employers have left print ads behind, and find that the Internet is the best place to hire. In fact, some experts are saying the Internet will eliminate classifieds altogether. Employers want low costs, quick results and no hassle, and many believe the Internet has the newspaper beat, hands down.

In a recent study on newspaper and Internet classifieds released by the Forrester Research, experts predict that classified advertisers are shifting their money online and newspaper classifieds will drop dramatically over the next five years, with as much as $4.7 billion in revenue loss. Why such a change?

The Forrester study found that classified advertisers are flocking to the Internet because it is a more cost-effective recruiting method than print media.

"In two years, we have received 140,000 resumes via the web, made 1,900 offers and 1,600 hires," said one of the recruiters interviewed in the report. "Hires run at a cost of $10,000 in print - that's $16 million in savings."

Advertisers also like the power of the Internet; the speed, broader exposure and depth of the ads that they can place online make the Internet more effective than the average classified ad in a newspaper.

"The web improves our cycle time," noted a recruiter in the study. "One candidate told us that we made an offer before other firms had even acknowledged receiving a resume."

The Forrester study is also forecasting a substantial change in the budgets of advertisers. They predict that online spending by employers will grow from $105 million in 1998 to $1.7 billion in 2003, and that the number of companies recruiting online will be eight times what it is today.

As the business world progresses in the electronic age, job seekers and employers alike will continue to find a more effective means of career development services online. Advertisers will pour billions of dollars more into the online career site industry, and both employers and employees will save time and money by achieving faster, more successful placements with the Net as their new "classified ad" of choice.