Abstract:
A website and method are disclosed for helping an anonymous individual to publicly disclose anonymous information about the anonymous individual so as to facilitate discovery of the anonymous individual by potential employers interested in hiring the anonymous individual. The website and method reduce risk to the anonymous individual of negative consequences of public disclosure of information about the anonymous individual. The website and method also inherently encourage disclosure to potential employers of more comprehensive information about the anonymous individual. The website includes a profile input capability for use by an anonymous individual to create a profile having anonymous information about the anonymous individual; a profile presentation capability for use by potential employers to view and select profiles of anonymous individuals; and a communication capability for potential employers to communicate with a selected anonymous individual so as to preserve the anonymity of the selected anonymous individual.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention relates generally to online employment search, and more particularly to employers searching for employees online. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Changing jobs or seeking new employment can be stressful. It often involves disclosure to unknown parties of personal information such as education, employment history, skills, and work-related objectives. Seeking employment usually involves contacting potential employers and communicating a value proposition to the employers in the hope of being selected. 
         [0003]    There are many online employment boards such as Monster.com™ CareerBuilder.com™, CombioSpace.com™ and hundreds more. Some online employment boards allow individuals to post their resumes online, free for all to see. Some online employment boards allow a short summary to be published while the full resume is only accessible by payment of a fee. Some employment boards publish job openings, often for a fee, and allow the general public to search the listings and apply. Some employment boards charge a fee to view the employment openings. 
         [0004]    All existing online employment boards share a common approach wherein the employer is empowered to review each candidate&#39;s resume and select whom to contact. The employer can usually remain anonymous. Organizations often do not wish to publicly disclose the fact that they are trying to fill a particular position because it may point to an organizational weakness, or to a strategic direction change. One more reason to keep an employee search private could be when an organization is looking to replace an employee who is not yet aware of the fact that he or she is about to be replaced or made replaceable. 
         [0005]    Unemployed individuals seeking to be hired will often be willing to list their resume online for all to see. While such publication of a resume exposes rather private information, many unemployed job seekers opine that the massive exposure of such online publication of a resume achieves more benefits than downside. 
         [0006]    However, many employed individuals that would like to improve their current employment conditions refrain from publishing a resume online due to, among other reasons, concerns about the negative impact such publishing might have on their relationship with their current employer. Currently employed individuals will usually refrain from publishing their resume online and focus their online activities on searching published job listings. Unfortunately, according to CareerMag.com™, job openings in newspapers or online through job search services represent only about 20-25 percent of the actual jobs available. That leaves 75% of existing job openings out of direct reach for employed individuals who do not make their new job search public. The hidden 75% of the job market can still be accessed through friends and networking, but that requires more time and effort than most of those that are fully employed can allocate. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    A website and method are disclosed for helping an anonymous individual to publicly disclose anonymous information about the anonymous individual so as to facilitate discovery of the anonymous individual by potential employers interested in hiring the anonymous individual. The website and method reduce risk to the anonymous individual of negative consequences of public disclosure of information about the anonymous individual. The website and method also inherently encourage disclosure to potential employers of more comprehensive information about the anonymous individual. The website includes a profile input capability for use by an anonymous individual to create a profile having anonymous information about the anonymous individual; a profile presentation capability for use by potential employers to view and select profiles of anonymous individuals; and a communication capability for potential employers to communicate with a selected anonymous individual so as to preserve the anonymity of the selected anonymous individual. 
         [0008]    The invention enables the creation of anonymous profiles in a way that encourages a true and comprehensive representation of one&#39;s self, beyond what one would typically include in a standard resume. The anonymous profiles include standard sections, and optional custom sections. The anonymous profiles can also be accompanied by recommendations written by others. The recommendations can be confidential. Such recommendations cannot be seen by the individual that is recommended, and such recommendations are distributed by means of optionally expiring links. 
         [0009]    Employers, and recruiters who represent employers, are encouraged to disclose their identity, while candidates are provided tools so as to remain anonymous. Such employers and recruiters initiate communications, while candidates accept or deny communications while remaining anonymous. Such employers and recruiters are responsible for paying to communicate with potential candidates. 
         [0010]    A general aspect of the invention is a website for helping an anonymous individual to publicly disclose anonymous information about the anonymous individual so as to facilitate discovery of the anonymous individual by potential employers interested in hiring the anonymous individual, while reducing risk to the anonymous individual of negative consequences of public disclosure of information about the anonymous individual, while also inherently encouraging disclosure to potential employers of more comprehensive information about the anonymous individual. The website includes: a profile input capability for use by an anonymous individual to create a profile having anonymous information about the anonymous individual; a profile presentation capability for use by potential employers to view and select profiles of anonymous individuals; and a communication capability for potential employers to communicate with a selected anonymous individual so as to preserve the anonymity of the selected anonymous individual. 
         [0011]    In some embodiments, the profile presentation capability includes a search capability for use by potential employers interested in hiring an individual to search a plurality of profiles. 
         [0012]    In some embodiments, the profile presentation capability includes a browse capability for use by potential employers interested in hiring an individual to browse a plurality of profiles. 
         [0013]    In some embodiments, the communication capability includes a capability to open a connection with a selected anonymous individual. 
         [0014]    In some embodiments, the communication capability further includes a capability to pay to open a connection with a selected anonymous individual. 
         [0015]    In some embodiments, the communication capability can take place via at least one of: text, voice, and video. 
         [0016]    In some embodiments, the profile input capability for use by an anonymous individual to create a profile having anonymous information about the anonymous individual includes a text entry capability for entering text information into a plurality of sections, each section having a section header. 
         [0017]    In some embodiments, the profile input capability for use by an anonymous individual to create a profile having anonymous information about the anonymous individual includes: a custom section capability for creating, editing, and presenting at least one custom section, the custom section having a custom section header provided by the anonymous individual. 
         [0018]    In some embodiments, the profile input capability for use by an anonymous individual to create a profile having anonymous information about the anonymous individual includes: an interview section having a plurality of questions, each question having an associated free-form answer. 
         [0019]    In some embodiments, the website further includes: a recommendation management capability, cooperative with the profile presentation capability, the recommendation management capability being for enabling the anonymous individual to request a recommendation of the anonymous individual from a recommender, the recommendation being presented in cooperation with the profile to potential employers. 
         [0020]    In some embodiments, the content of the recommendation of the anonymous individual remains under the exclusive control of the recommender at all times, such that only the recommender can update, at any time, the content of any recommendation that the recommender wrote. 
         [0021]    Another general aspect of the invention is a method for helping an anonymous individual to publicly disclose anonymous information about the anonymous individual so as to facilitate discovery of the anonymous individual by potential employers interested in hiring the anonymous individual, while reducing risk to the anonymous individual of negative consequences of public disclosure of information about the anonymous individual, while also inherently encouraging disclosure to potential employers of more comprehensive information about the anonymous individual. The method includes: providing a profile input capability for use by an anonymous individual to create a profile having anonymous information about the anonymous individual; providing a profile presentation capability for use by potential employers to view and select profiles of anonymous individuals; and providing a communication capability for potential employers to communicate with a selected anonymous individual so as to preserve the anonymity of the selected anonymous individual. 
         [0022]    In some embodiments, the profile presentation capability includes a search capability for use by potential employers interested in hiring an individual to search a plurality of profiles. 
         [0023]    In some embodiments, the profile presentation capability includes a browse capability for use by potential employers interested in hiring an individual to browse a plurality of profiles. 
         [0024]    In some embodiments, the communication capability includes a capability to open a connection with a selected anonymous individual. 
         [0025]    In some embodiments, the communication capability further includes a capability to pay to open a connection with a selected anonymous individual. 
         [0026]    In some embodiments, the communication capability can take place via at least one of: text, voice, and video. 
         [0027]    In some embodiments, the profile input capability for use by an anonymous individual to create a profile having anonymous information about the anonymous individual includes: a text entry capability for entering text information into a plurality of sections, each section having a section header. 
         [0028]    In some embodiments, the profile input capability for use by an anonymous individual to create a profile having anonymous information about the anonymous individual includes: a custom section capability for creating, editing, and presenting at least one custom section, the custom section having a custom section header provided by the anonymous individual. 
         [0029]    In some embodiments, the profile input capability for use by an anonymous individual to create a profile having anonymous information about the anonymous individual includes: an interview section having a plurality of questions, each question having an associated free-form answer. 
         [0030]    In some embodiments, the method further includes providing a recommendation management capability, cooperative with the profile presentation capability, the recommendation management capability being for enabling the anonymous individual to request a recommendation of the anonymous individual from a recommender, the recommendation being presented in cooperation with the profile to potential employers. 
         [0031]    In some embodiments, the content of the recommendation of the anonymous individual remains under the exclusive control of the recommender at all times, such that only the recommender can update, at any time, the content of any recommendation that the recommender wrote. 
         [0032]    Also a website and method are disclosed for helping a recommender to provide confidential recommendations for individuals. When an individual repeatedly requests confidential recommendations, as is common when applying to multiple institutions, the system enables the recommender to efficiently comply with the multiple requests. The system also enables the recommender to efficiently comply with a single request for a confidential recommendation to be sent to multiple institutions. The system eliminates the need to write multiple confidential recommendations of the same individual when the individual applies to multiple institutions by enabling the recommender to distribute multiple links to the same confidential recommendation. The system also enables the recommender to easily edit the recommendation at any time before or after multiple links have been distributed, thereby ensuring that the recommender retains control over the content of the confidential recommendation. 
         [0033]    A general aspect of the invention is a website for helping a recommender to provide confidential recommendations for individuals. The website includes: a recommendation creation capability for use by a recommender for enabling the recommender to create a confidential recommendation; a recommendation link creation capability for use by the recommender for enabling the recommender to create the link to the confidential recommendation; and a recommendation link control capability for use by the recommender for controlling the link to the confidential recommendation. 
         [0034]    In some embodiments, the website further includes: a recommendation creation request capability for use by an individual for sending to a recommender a request to create the confidential recommendation. 
         [0035]    In some embodiments, the website further includes: a recommendation forward request capability for use by an individual for sending a request to the recommender to forward a link to the content of the confidential recommendation to a third party. 
         [0036]    In some embodiments, the website further includes: a recommendation link sending capability for use by the recommender for sending the link to the confidential recommendation to the third party. 
         [0037]    In some embodiments, the recommendation creation capability for use by a recommender for enabling the recommender to create the confidential recommendation includes an upload capability for uploading the confidential recommendation to the website. 
         [0038]    In some embodiments, the recommendation link control capability for use by the recommender for controlling the link to the confidential recommendation includes a capability for at least one of: changing the link expiration date; changing the content pointed to by the link; temporarily suspending a link; re-activating a link; and deleting a link. 
         [0039]    In some embodiments, the website further includes: a recommendation link actuating capability for use by the third party for actuating the link so as to display the confidential recommendation. 
         [0040]    Another general aspect of the invention is a website for helping a recommender to provide confidential recommendations for individuals. The website includes: a recommendation creation capability for use by a recommender for enabling the recommender to create a confidential recommendation; a recommendation link creation capability for use by the recommender for enabling the recommender to create the link to the confidential recommendation; and a recommendation link control capability for use by the recommender for controlling the link to the confidential recommendation, the recommendation link control capability including a capability for at least one of: changing the link expiration date; changing the content pointed to by the link; temporarily suspending a link; re-activating a link; and deleting a link. 
         [0041]    In some embodiments, the website further includes: a recommendation creation request capability for use by an individual for sending to a recommender a request to create the confidential recommendation. 
         [0042]    In some embodiments, the website further includes: a recommendation forward request capability for use by an individual for sending a request to the recommender to forward a link to the content of the confidential recommendation to a third party. 
         [0043]    In some embodiments, the website further includes: a recommendation link sending capability for use by the recommender for sending the link to the confidential recommendation to the third party. 
         [0044]    In some embodiments, the recommendation creation capability for use by a recommender for enabling the recommender to create the confidential recommendation includes an upload capability for uploading the confidential recommendation to the website. 
         [0045]    In some embodiments, the website further includes: a recommendation link actuating capability for use by the third party for actuating the link so as to display the confidential recommendation. 
         [0046]    Another general aspect of the invention is a method for helping a recommender to provide confidential recommendations for individuals. The method includes: providing a recommendation creation capability for use by a recommender for enabling the recommender to create a confidential recommendation; providing a recommendation link creation capability for use by the recommender for enabling the recommender to create the link to the confidential recommendation; and providing a recommendation link control capability for use by the recommender for controlling the link to the confidential recommendation. 
         [0047]    In some embodiments, the website further includes: providing a recommendation creation request capability for use by an individual for sending to a recommender a request to create the confidential recommendation. 
         [0048]    In some embodiments, the website further includes: providing a recommendation forward request capability for use by an individual for sending a request to the recommender to forward a link to the content of the confidential recommendation to a third party. 
         [0049]    In some embodiments, the website further includes: providing a recommendation link sending capability for use by the recommender for sending the link to the confidential recommendation to the third party. 
         [0050]    In some embodiments, providing the recommendation creation capability for use by a recommender for enabling the recommender to create the confidential recommendation includes providing an upload capability for uploading the confidential recommendation to the website. 
         [0051]    In some embodiments, providing the recommendation link control capability for use by the recommender for controlling the link to the confidential recommendation includes providing a capability for at least one of: changing the link expiration date; changing the content pointed to by the link; temporarily suspending a link; re-activating a link; and deleting a link. 
         [0052]    In some embodiments, the website further includes: providing a recommendation link actuating capability for use by the third party for actuating the link so as to display the confidential recommendation. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0053]    The invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description, in conjunction with the following figures, wherein: 
           [0054]      FIG. 1  is a top-level schematic overview of a system showing the general interaction via the internet between an anonymous individual and a website, and between a potential employer and the website, so as to enable the potential employer to discover a desirable individual based on the individual&#39;s anonymous profile maintained by the website. 
           [0055]      FIG. 2  is a detailed schematic view of the system of  FIG. 1 , showing some modules of the website, and their interaction with the anonymous individual and the potential employer. 
           [0056]      FIG. 3  is a detailed schematic view of the system of  FIG. 2 , further showing a connection manager and a connection repository. 
           [0057]      FIG. 4  is a top-level schematic overview of a system showing the general interaction via the internet between a website and an anonymous individual that is anonymous to a potential employer, and between the website and a recommender, and between the website and a potential employer, and between the website and an other third party. The system enables the recommender to write for the individual either a regular recommendation or a confidential recommendation. The system also enables the individual to include the regular recommendation in the anonymous profile so as to enable the potential employer or to the other third party to view the regular recommendation as part of the anonymous profile. The system also enables the individual to ask the recommender to forward a link to a confidential recommendation to the potential employer or to the other third party. The system also enables the recommender to forward the link to the confidential recommendation to the potential employer or to the other third party. 
           [0058]      FIG. 5  is a detailed schematic view of the system of  FIG. 4 , showing the website modules and their interaction with anonymous individuals and potential recommenders, so as to create and manage either regular recommendations or confidential recommendations, and so as to enable inclusion of the regular recommendations in the public profile of the anonymous individuals. 
           [0059]      FIG. 6  is a detailed schematic view of the system of  FIG. 4 , showing the website modules and their interaction with an anonymous individual asking a recommender to forward a previously written confidential recommendation to a potential employer or to an other third party in a non-anonymous way. Also shown are the website modules that enable the recommender to forward the confidential recommendation to the potential employer or to an other third party. 
           [0060]      FIG. 7  is a web page view showing a top portion of the anonymous profile including the Summary section having a Personal summary heading, and including the Categories section having three different category headings. 
           [0061]      FIG. 8  is a web page view showing a bottom portion of the anonymous profile including the My Custom Categories section having six different custom category headings. 
           [0062]      FIG. 9  is a web page view showing a top portion of the anonymous profile including the Summary section having a Personal summary heading, further showing the content of the Personal Summary section. 
           [0063]      FIG. 10  is a web page view showing a top portion of the anonymous profile including the Summary section having a Personal summary heading, further showing the edit view of the content of the Personal Summary section. 
           [0064]      FIG. 11  is a web page view of the contact form used by a potential employer to contact an anonymous individual. 
           [0065]      FIG. 12  is a web page view of a Message Box showing all sent and received messages, message dates, message subjects and relevant commands. 
           [0066]      FIG. 13  is a web page view of a Connections list showing all connections to and from the anonymous individual, each connection including either the name or the nickname of the connected party and associated information. 
           [0067]      FIG. 14  is a web page view of a Search page used for finding anonymous individuals based on search criteria, also showing a Search Results list of nicknames of anonymous individuals matching the search criteria. 
           [0068]      FIG. 15  is a web page view of the New Recommendation Request form used by an anonymous individual known to a potential recommender to ask the potential recommender to write a recommendation. 
           [0069]      FIG. 16  is a web page view of the Write a Recommendation form used by the recommender to write a recommendation for a anonymous individual known to the recommender. 
           [0070]      FIG. 17  is a web page view of the My Recommendations page showing all recommendations received by the anonymous individual. 
           [0071]      FIG. 18  is a web page view of the anonymous profile of an anonymous individual, showing the recommendations that the anonymous individual chose to make public. 
           [0072]      FIG. 19  is a web page view of the Recommended by Me page showing all recommendations written by the anonymous individual that is logged in to the system. 
           [0073]      FIG. 20  is a web page view of a Links to a CONFIDENTIAL Recommendation page showing all links to a specific confidential recommendation written for a known anonymous individual by the recommender that is logged in to the system. 
           [0074]      FIG. 21  is a web page view of a Recommendation Requests page showing two sections: an “Others asked me to recommend them” section having a list of all recommendation requests from other anonymous individuals known to the anonymous individual that is logged into the system, the other anonymous individuals asking for a recommendation. Also shown is an “I asked others to recommend me” section having a list of all recommendation requests by the anonymous individual that is logged into the system, asking a recommender to recommend the anonymous individual that is logged in to the system. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0075]    The system is an online service, website, or method that provides a way for an individual seeking employment or business opportunities to create an anonymous public posting of information about that individual. The system empowers the individual to express what he believes to be his true self, while preserving his anonymity. The self-expressed description of an individual is stored in an anonymous profile and can be supplemented by recommendations from others. The system helps individuals to comprehensively express their true self, including information relating to education, experiences, skills, and general personality characteristics, while remaining anonymous. The anonymous nature of the posting of information enabled by the system is intended to encourage full disclosure, and to eliminate concerns of being identified by anyone such as friends, colleagues, employers, or potential employers. 
         [0076]    An anonymous individual is represented by a combination of what the individual writes in the anonymous profile, and recommendations received from others. The self-description of an individual represents what an individual believes about himself, while the recommendations represent what others believe about the individual. 
         [0077]    The system enables two types of recommendations: regular recommendations and confidential recommendations. Regular recommendations are included in each individual&#39;s public anonymous profile, unless the individual chooses to exclude them. Confidential Recommendations are hidden from the recommended individual, so that the recommended individual is not able to see the content of Confidential Recommendation. An individual can review the content of a regular recommendation and decide whether to include the regular recommendation in the recommended individual&#39;s anonymous profile. The recommended Individual has no control over confidential recommendations and cannot see the content of a Confidential Recommendation. Confidential recommendations always remain under complete control of the recommender. All an individual can do is ask the recommender to send to a third party a link that points to a confidential recommendation. It is up to the recommender to decide whether to send such a link to a third party, and for how long the link to a Confidential Recommendation will remain active. 
         [0078]    The system also provides search tools for potential employers seeking unique individuals. Individuals remain anonymous while potential employers are offered an opportunity to convince an anonymous individual to communicate. The anonymous individual is in full control, can block further contact attempts from any specific searcher, and always remains anonymous. 
         [0079]    The system includes:
       1. A Profile Manager and a Profile Repository that contains anonymous individual profiles.   2. A Communications Manager that along with a Message Repository enables communications between potential employers and anonymous individuals, while preserving the individual&#39;s anonymity.   3. A Search Manager that enables Potential Employers to search for anonymous individuals that match their search criteria, while preserving the individuals&#39; anonymity.   4. A Connection Manager that along with a Connection Repository enables the anonymous individual to control communications and prevent future contact from undesired potential employers.   5. A Recommendations Manager that utilizes a Recommendations Repository and establishes, along with the Profile Manager, a comprehensive representation of an individual. The comprehensive representation of the individual includes the anonymous profile containing anonymous information that an individual presents about himself, and recommendations that represent what others are saying about the anonymous individual.   6. Links Manager and Links Repository that enable a recommender to share confidential recommendations with other third parties, while never sharing confidential recommendations with the recommended individual.   7. A business model that discourages undesired communications by charging a fee for establishing a connection with an anonymous individual.       
 
         [0087]    Unlike conventional employment boards where employment candidates list their resumes for potential and often anonymous employers to consider, our individual profiles are anonymous while potential employers are identified. It is the potential employer&#39;s responsibility to convince an anonymous individual that the potential employer is worth engaging in communication. 
         [0088]    Individuals remain anonymous during all stages and can discontinue communications at will. The system discourages unwarranted communications, general announcements and spam by charging a communications fee for contacting new individuals. 
         [0089]    With reference to  FIG. 1 , this is a top-level overview of the system showing the general interaction between anonymous individuals  100 , potential employers  102 , a website  104 , and the Internet  106 . Anonymous individuals  100  and potential employers  102  connect to a website  104  over the Internet  106 . There is never a direct interaction between potential employers  102  searching for talent and anonymous individuals  100 . All communications are facilitated by the website  104  over the Internet  106 . 
         [0090]    The individual  100  creates and maintains an anonymous profile on website  104 . Potential employers  102  search the anonymous profiles in the website  104  and utilize the website  104  to communicate with anonymous individuals  100 . Individuals  100  always remain anonymous to the potential employers  102 . 
         [0091]    With reference to  FIG. 2 , this is a detailed view of the system, showing the website  104 , profile manager  200 , profile repository  202 , communications manager  204 , message repository  206 , and search manager  208  as part of the website  104 . Anonymous individuals  100  and potential employers  102  communicate with the website  104  over the Internet  106 . 
         [0092]    Anonymous individuals  100  create and submit their anonymous profile  210  to the profile manager  200 . Profile manager  200  deposits profiles  210  into profile repository  202 . 
         [0093]    Potential employers  102  utilize search manager  208  to find anonymous individuals with whom they might want to communicate. Potential employers  102  retrieve anonymous profiles  210  of individuals  100  matching their search criteria, as submitted to search manager  208 , and review the profiles  210  to further decide which individuals  100  the potential employer  102  would like to communicate with. 
         [0094]    When potential employers  102  decide to communicate with a chosen anonymous individual  100 , the potential employers  102  submit a message  212  to the communications manager  204  with a reference to the anonymous profile  210  belonging to the anonymous individual  100  for whom the message is intended. Communications manager  204  stores the message  212  in message repository  206 , and sends an email to the anonymous individual  100 . The email contains identifying information of the potential employer and a standard html link  214  pointing to a webpage that can display the message  212 , if the anonymous individual  100  properly authenticates by providing proper credentials, such as username and password. 
         [0095]    The anonymous individual  100  can view the message by clicking on link  214 . If the anonymous individual  100  decides to send a reply  216  to the potential employer  102 , he can use the communications manager  204  to do so without ever disclosing his identity or email address, as the reply  216  will be delivered to the potential employer  102  from communications manager  206 , and not from the anonymous individual&#39;s  100  email address. 
         [0096]    With reference to  FIG. 3 , this is a detailed view of the system from  FIG. 2 , further showing a connection manager  300  and a connection repository  302 . The connection manager  300  manages all connections between potential employers  102  and anonymous individuals  100 . The connection manager  300  keeps all connection data in connection repository  302 . 
         [0097]    The semi-anonymous communications process  210 ,  212 ,  214 ,  216 , where the potential employer  102  is identified while the individual  100  remains anonymous, can continue as long as both sides desire. The anonymous individual  100  has the ability to block all additional messages from a specific potential employer  102 . Such block can be permanent, or be for a time limit, and is managed by connection manager  300 . A block with a time limit will automatically expire at a preset time and the potential employer  102  will again be able to communicate with this specific anonymous individual  100 . At anytime, the anonymous individual  100  can instruct the connection manager  300  to remove any block, regardless of the existence or expiration of a time limit. 
         [0098]    With reference to  FIG. 4 , this is a top-level schematic overview of a system showing the general interaction via the internet  106  between the anonymous individual  100  and the website  104 , and between a recommender  400  and the  104  website, and between the potential employer  102  and the website  104 , and between an other third party  402  and the website  104 , so as to enable the individual  100  to identify himself to a potential recommender  400 , and so as to enable the recommender  400  to write either a regular recommendation or a confidential recommendation for the identified individual  100 , and so as to enable the individual  100  to forward the regular recommendation to the potential employer  102  or the other third party  402 , or to enable the individual to request the recommender  400  to forward a link to a confidential recommendation to the potential employer  102  or to the other third party  402 , and then to enable the recommender to forward the link to the confidential recommendation to the potential employer  102  or the other third party  402 . 
         [0099]    With reference to  FIG. 5 , this is a detailed view of the system, showing the website  104 , profile manager  200 , recommendations manager  500 , recommendations repository  502  and their interaction with anonymous individuals  100 , recommenders  400 , potential employers  102 , and other third parties  402  when creating regular or confidential recommendations. 
         [0100]    The individual  100  sends a non-anonymous recommendation request  504  to a potential recommender  400 , via recommendations manager  500 . The recommendation request  504  specifies whether the recommended individual is interested in a regular or a confidential recommendation. Recommendations manager  500  verifies that the potential recommender  400  has an anonymous profile and forwards the recommendation request  504  to the recommender  400 . If the potential recommender  400  does not have an anonymous profile in the system, he will be asked to create one. The individual  100  requesting a recommendation has to include his identifying information in the recommendation request  504 . 
         [0101]    Potential recommender  400  writes a recommendation  506  and submits it to the recommendations manager  500  over the Internet  106 . Recommendations manager  500  stores the recommendation  506  in recommendations repository  502 . If this is a regular recommendation, then the recommendations manager  500  enables the recommended individual  100  to view the content of the regular recommendation  506  as stored in the recommendation repository  502 . The recommendations manager  500  does not enable the recommended individual to view the contents of confidential recommendations. The recommended individual  100  has no access to the content of confidential recommendations. 
         [0102]    The recommended individual  100  utilizes the profile manager  200  to include or exclude each regular recommendation in his public profile. Regular recommendations that are included in the public profile  508  can be viewed by potential employers and other third parties. 
         [0103]    A recommendation is created by a recommender  400  and is stored in the recommendations repository  500 . Recommendation content remains under the exclusive control of the recommender  400  at all times, thus the recommender  400  can utilize recommendations manager  500  to update, at any time, the contents of any recommendation that the recommender  400  wrote. If the recommendation is a regular (non-confidential) recommendation, then the recommended individual  100  can choose to include that regular recommendation along with the recommended individual&#39;s public profile. If the recommendation is a confidential recommendation, then the recommended individual  100  has no access to it at all. However, the recommended individual  100  can ask the recommender  400  to forward a link to the confidential recommendation to a potential employer  102 , or to an other third party  402 . 
         [0104]    With reference to  FIG. 6 , this is a detailed view of the system, showing the website  104 , recommendations manager  500 , recommendations repository  502 , links manager  602 , links repository  604 , anonymous individuals  100 , recommenders  400 , potential employers  102 , the other third party  402 , and showing the process of sending a link to the content of a confidential recommendation  610  to the potential employer  102  or the other third party  402 . 
         [0105]    Anonymous individual  100  utilizes recommendations manager  500  to create a request  606  to forward the content of a specific confidential recommendation to the potential employer  102  or to the third party  402 . The anonymous individual  100  has no way of knowing the actual contents of the confidential recommendation he is asking to forward. 
         [0106]    Recommendations manager  500  forwards the request  606  to forward a confidential recommendation to the recommender  400 . The recommender  400 , at his discretion, utilizes the link manager  602  to create a link to a confidential recommendation  608 . The links manager  602  records the link information in the links repository  604  so that the link can later be interpreted by the website  104 , and the content of the appropriate confidential recommendation displayed. The recommender  400  utilizes the links manager  602  to send the link  610  to the confidential recommendation to the potential employer  102  or to the third party  402 . 
         [0107]    The recommender  400  can utilize recommendations manager  500  to update the content of the confidential recommendation he wrote at any time, before or after sending a link  610  to the potential employer  102  or to the other third party  402 . 
         [0108]    The link to a confidential recommendation  610  can be valid forever, or can have an expiration date. Any link to a confidential recommendation  610  that has an expiration date can only be used prior to such expiration date. The recommender  400  can change the expiration date at any time, before or after sending the link  610  to a confidential recommendation to the potential employer  102  or to the other third party  402 . 
         [0109]    With reference to  FIG. 7 , this is a web page view showing a top portion of the anonymous profile including the Summary section  700  having a Personal summary heading  702 , and including the Categories section  704  having three different category headings  706 : Education, Experience, and Interview. Clicking on any of the section headers  700  or  706  will expose content associated therewith and enable editing of the content. 
         [0110]    The Education section contains the institution, department, degree and year completed for each education experience. 
         [0111]    The Experience section contains a title and associated free-form text for each experience of any type that the anonymous individual desires to include in the public profile. 
         [0112]    The Interview section contains a question and associated free-form answer text for each question that the anonymous individual desires to include in the public profile. 
         [0113]    Save Search Results menu option  708  is used to access a list of all saved search results, as further described in  FIG. 14 . 
         [0114]    With reference to  FIG. 8 , this is a web page view showing a bottom portion of the anonymous profile including the My Custom Categories section having a plurality of different custom category headings  800 . The number of custom category headers is determined by the number of custom categories created by the user (i.e. the anonymous individual). To create a new custom category, or to edit an existing custom category, the user clicks on the Edit Custom Categories button  802 . Each custom category has a category header and an associated free-form text. 
         [0115]    With reference to  FIG. 9 , this is a web page view showing a top portion of the anonymous profile, including the Summary section  700  having a Personal summary heading  702 , further showing the content  900  of the Personal summary heading  702 . To edit the content  900  of the Personal summary heading  702 , the user clicks on the edit link button  902 . 
         [0116]    With reference to  FIG. 10 , this is a web page view showing a top portion of the anonymous profile including the Summary section  700  having a Personal summary heading  702 , further showing the edit view of the content  1000  of the Personal Summary section  700 . Save and Cancel buttons  1002  will save or cancel the latest edits. 
         [0117]    With reference to  FIG. 11 , this is a web page view of the contact form used by a potential employer  102  to contact an anonymous individual  100 . The contact form includes identifying information  1100  about the potential employer  102 . The identifying information  1100  can include a name, and one of the potential employer&#39;s  102  email addresses. The contact form also includes a message  1102 , which can also include a Subject line. 
         [0118]    With reference to  FIG. 12 , this is a web page view of a Message Box page, the message box is capable of containing a plurality of sent messages and plurality of received messages. Each message is shown in a grid by a row containing a status  1200 , a date  1202 , a subject  1204 , and respective relevant commands  1206 . 
         [0119]    For two parties to communicate between each other, there must be a connection. Only an employer can create a connection, and the employer must pay to create the connection. Once a connection is created, it can be used at any time by either the employer or the anonymous individual. Both the potential employer and the anonymous individual can initiate a new message within a connection, or can reply to an existing message. 
         [0120]    When an employer sends a message, in the receiver&#39;s Message Box, the Status  1200  of the message includes the real name of the employer, and an indication of whether the message was unopened or viewed. The Date  1202  of the message indicates the date that the message was sent. The Subject  1204  indicates the subject of the message. The relevant commands  1206  includes the options Reply, New, and View. Clicking on Reply enables the user to reply to the message from the potential employer  102 . The potential employer  102  receiving such a reply will see only a nickname representing the anonymous individual  100 , along with the status (viewed or unopened). The commands available to the potential employer  102  in a message that is a reply from an anonymous individual  100  are: New and View. Thus, it is not possible to reply to a reply with a reply message. Instead, one must initiate a new message if further communication is desired after a reply to a message is received. The same message in the sender&#39;s Message Box appears with the nickname of the anonymous individual  100  in the Status field  1200 , and the Reply command will not be included. 
         [0121]    When the anonymous individual  100  replies to the message, the reply message appears in the anonymous individual&#39;s Message Box with the potential employer&#39;s real name in the Status field, and only New and View commands are available. The same reply message will appear in the Message Box of the potential employer  102  (the recipient of the reply message) with the nickname of the anonymous individual  100  and all three commands Reply, New, and View are available. 
         [0122]    An anonymous individual  100  can also initiate a message to a potential employer  102  by clicking on the New command of a message in the Message Box from that potential employer. An anonymous individual can communicate only with those potential employers  102  that have created a connection by paying a fee to send messages to the anonymous individual  100 . 
         [0123]    A person can assume the role of either a potential employer  102 , or an anonymous individual  100 . Thus, a Message Box of a person can include messages from both anonymous individuals  100  and from potential employers  102 . Consequently, the Message Box can also include messages representing replies to messages from both potential employers  102  and anonymous individuals  100 . Thus, there are four types of messages. Any message received from an anonymous individual  100  will include a nickname of the anonymous individual  100 , and any message received from a potential employer  102  will include the real name of the potential employer  102 , regardless of whether the message is a new message, or a reply message. Any message sent to an anonymous individual  100  will include a real name of a potential employer  102 , and any message sent to a potential employer  102  will include the nickname of the anonymous individual  100 , regardless of whether the message is a new message, or a reply message. 
         [0124]    Any new message will include a Reply command when seen in the recipient&#39;s Message Box. That same new message when seen in the sender&#39;s Message Box will NOT include a Reply command. 
         [0125]    Any reply message will NOT include a Reply command, regardless of the owner of the Message Box, because it is not possible to reply to a reply message. 
         [0126]    With reference to  FIG. 13 , this is a web page view of a Connections list showing all connections to and from the anonymous individual, each connection including either the name or the nickname of the connected party and associated information, to be described below. 
         [0127]    To/From column  1300  indicates the originator of the connection. Any connection initiated and paid for by the user to communicate with an anonymous individual  100  means that the user is acting as a potential employer  102  with regards to this connection. Such a connection will be indicated by “to” and the Name column  1302  will include the nickname of the anonymous individual  100 . The command column  1308  includes an active “Send a message” command if the connection is open, or a disabled “Send a message” command if the connection is either rejected by the anonymous individual  100 , or if the connection is temporarily suspended by the anonymous individual  100 . 
         [0128]    Any connection not initiated and therefore not paid for by the user indicates that with regards to this connection, the user is acting as a anonymous individual  100 . Such a connection is indicated by “from” in the To/From column  1300 , and the Name column  1302  of the connection contains the actual name and email address of the potential employer  102 . The command column  1308  includes commands Block, Unblock, and “Send a message”. The “Send a message” command is disabled whenever the connection is blocked. 
         [0129]    The date column  1304  will always include the date that a connection was initiated. 
         [0130]    The status column  1306  indicates the status of the connection, and can include “new”, “active”, “rejected”, or “suspended until” along with a date indicating when the suspension ends. 
         [0131]    With reference to  FIG. 14 , this is a web page view of a Search page used for finding anonymous individuals  100  based on search criteria  1400 , also showing a Search Results list  1404  of nicknames of anonymous individuals  100  matching the search criteria  1400 . 
         [0132]    When a potential employer  102  enters the search criteria  1400  and clicks on a Find button  1402 , the Search results list  1404  is populated with a list of nicknames belonging to all anonymous individuals  100  whose anonymous profiles match the search criteria  1400 . Clicking on Save profiles  1406  saves the search results list  1404  for later use. 
         [0133]    With reference to  FIG. 15 , this is a web page view of the New Recommendation Request form used by an anonymous individual  100  known to a potential recommender  400  to ask the potential recommender  400  to write a recommendation for the requesting anonymous individual  100 , the recommended anonymous individual  100  not being anonymous to the recommender. 
         [0134]    The recommender  400  is designated by entering the recommender&#39;s email address  1500  and clicking on the Lookup button  1502 . The requesting party  100  can enter a text message  1504  to the recommender  400 . Clicking the Send button  1506  sends the recommendation request to the recommender  400 . 
         [0135]    With reference to  FIG. 16 , this is a web page view of the Write a Recommendation form used by the recommender  400  to write a recommendation for a anonymous individual  100  known to the recommender  400 . The form contains the original message  1504  from the New Recommendation Request form, an edit area  1600  where the actual recommendation text can be entered, and a Done button  1602  that when clicked completes the recommendation process by making the recommendation available to the recommended party  100 . The recommended party  100  can include the recommendation in the public profile, if desired. Clicking on Save Draft button  1604  saves the recommendation text for further editing without making the recommendation available to the recommended party  100 . 
         [0136]    With reference to  FIG. 17 , this is a web page view of the Recommendations of Me page showing all recommendations received by the user (anonymous individual  100 ), in a grid view, each row representing a recommendation. 
         [0137]    Recommender Name column  1700  contains the name of the recommender. Last Updated column  1702  contains the date when the recommendation was last updated. 
         [0138]    If the recommendation is a regular recommendation as opposed to confidential recommendation, then Public column  1704  contains a checkbox that determines whether the recommendation is included in the recommended anonymous individual&#39;s  100  public profile. Also, the command column  1706  contains a View link that enables the recommended individual to view the contents of the recommendation. 
         [0139]    If the recommendation is a confidential recommendation, then the Public column  1704  does not contain a checkbox, and the command column  1706  contains an “Ask to send a link” button. Clicking on the “Ask to send a link” button enables the recommended individual  100  to ask the recommender  400  to forward to a potential employer  102  (or to an other third party  402 ) a link that points to the confidential recommendation. 
         [0140]    With reference to  FIG. 18 , this is a web page view of the public profile of an anonymous individual  100 , showing the regular (non-confidential) recommendations  1600  that the anonymous individual  100  chose to make public. 
         [0141]      FIG. 19  is a web page view of the Recommended by Me page showing all recommendations written by the user  400  (the recommender) that is logged in to the system. 
         [0142]    Name field  1900  contains the name of the recommended anonymous individual  100 , known to the recommender. Last update field  1902  contains the date that the recommendation was last updated. Status field  1904  contains the status of each recommendation that can be either Active or Suspended. The Status field  1904  also marks all confidential recommendations with the text “(CONFIDENTIAL)”. 
         [0143]    Commands field  1906  contains a Review button for all recommendations. Clicking on the Review button displays the recommendation. In case of a confidential recommendation, the Commands field  1906  also contains a View Links button, and a Create link button. Clicking on the Create link button creates a new link that points to a confidential recommendation. Clicking on the View links button displays all links to this specific confidential recommendation. 
         [0144]    Clicking on “Manage links to CONFIDENTIAL recommendations”  1908  displays all links to all confidential recommendations written by the logged in user (recommender)  400 . 
         [0145]      FIG. 20  is a web page view of a Links to a CONFIDENTIAL Recommendation page showing all links to a specific confidential recommendation written for a known anonymous individual  100  by the recommender  400  that is logged in to the system. 
         [0146]    Name field  2000  contains the name of the recommended anonymous individual  100 , known to the recommender  400 . Date created field  2002  contains the date when the link was created. Status field  2004  contains the status of the link, and can be one of active, suspended, or expired. Expiration field  2006  contains an optional expiration date of a link. If a link was emailed to a potential employer  102  or to an other third party  402  using the system, then the Sent to field  2008  contains the email address of the recipient of the link. If the link includes a personalized note, then the Note field  2010  contains a “+” mark. The command field  2012  contains a Review button that enables the recommender  400  to review an existing link. 
         [0147]      FIG. 21  is a web page view of a Recommendation Requests page showing two sections: an “Others asked me to recommend them” section having a list of all recommendation requests from other anonymous individuals  100  known to the recommender  400  that is logged into the system (the user), the other anonymous individuals asking for a recommendation. Also shown is an “I asked others to recommend me” section having a list of all recommendation requests by the anonymous individual  100  that is logged into the system (the user), asking a recommender  400  to recommend the anonymous individual  100  that is logged in to the system. 
         [0148]    Name field  2100  contains the name of the recommended individual or the recommending individual. Email field  2102  contains the email address of the recommended individual or the recommending individual. Status field  2104  contains the status of the recommendation. Last update field  2106  contains the date and time when the recommendation was last updated. 
         [0149]    Command field  2108  contains a Decline button and a Recommend button. Clicking the Decline button removes the recommendation request from this list. Clicking the Recommend button enables the recommender (the logged in user) to write a recommendation. 
         [0150]    Command field  2110  contains a Resend button and a Cancel button. Clicking the Resend button resends the recommendation request. Clicking the Cancel button cancels the recommendation request. 
         [0151]    Other modifications and implementations will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as claimed. Accordingly, the above description is not intended to limit the invention except as indicated in the following claims.