In a previous conversation we had a peek into next generation successful Web 2.0 recruitment/career websites and some of the things candidates have come to expect based on their consumer experience on the net. This post digs a little deeper and provides a checklist for you if you are currently on the fence about moving your recruitment career site to next generation.

Success Leaves Clues...

The top dogs of Web 2.0, ie. the popular consumer sites you and I visit, have created expectations for us about internet transactions.  Being involved in Web 2.0, information and internet marketing myself I know there are 5 characteristics

They are the following:

Interactivity

A key feature of the most popular sites around today

Personal

When you visit next generation site you feel like you are in some kind of a "personal" space...or is that just me?

Private

My daughter will guard her Facebook and MySpace to the bitter end. If I dare to ask "Hey, what is going on in your MySpace world?" I get the feeling I have just entered a no-go zone!

Dynamic

In the early days of the web, most information was static. It is a little ironic that quite a few career and recruitment sites are still...static. Maybe something to do with a lack of understanding of RSS and auto-updating content, feeds etc.

Easy to Use

This has to be the biggest benefit offered by popular consumer sites. They are easy to use. You have grandparents who are Ebay Powersellers and stars getting millions of hits on YouTube, which makes you wonder why any corporation is still operating in the dark ages when it comes to their corporate websites.

Better ROI Through Next Generation Career and Recruitment Sites

Using Web 2.0 to create your next generation career website will improve the candidate experience in ways you might not be able to imagine if you are not yet part of the revolution yet.

If nothing, it will make the application process similar (and create a great association) to the experience candidates have from their favorite consumer websites - That has got to be something good!