Abstract:
The present invention relates to a method for providing a virtual job market on a network comprising an application server and clients and/or electronic message systems allowing to input and output information, wherein the method comprises the following steps: providing primary dimensions information on industries, career levels and functional areas; providing secondary dimensions information on salary ranges and/or geo-data and/or educational information and/or languages and/or special expertises, entering the primary and secondary dimensions information in a three dimensional data base on the application server; collecting information chunks of open jobs and candidate profiles, and placing the information chunks in a distinct cell or number of cells in the three dimensional database. Further, the present invention relates to a system for providing a virtual job market on a network comprising an application server and clients and/or electronic message systems including at least a first database comprising candidate profiles, a second database comprising salary information and a third database comprising job information, wherein the information available in the three databases is matched in a three dimensional database model.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a method and a system for providing a virtual job market on a computer network, preferably on the internet. For providing such a virtual job market, a three dimensional database model is generated. 
       BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
       [0002]    Commonly, the job market is represented by classified adds—in print or on the internet—onto which a job seeker is reacting or alternatively by Human Recourses recruiters which are placing candidates in certain positions. Recently, virtual job market places were introduced. 
         [0003]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,873,964 B1 describes a method for recruiting personnel for a business entity including a plurality of distinct business units each having individual hiring requirements, wherein at least some of the distinct business units&#39; hiring requirements compete for common applicants, the method including the steps of: entering information related to a plurality of hiring needs, each of the plurality of hiring needs being respectively associated with one of the plurality of distinct business units, and information related to a plurality of candidates into a database, respectively; automatically cross-referencing the information related to the plurality of hiring needs with the information related to the plurality of candidates to identify candidates selected the plurality of candidates who satisfy entered information indicative of hiring needs; and, determining which of the identified candidates should be offered a job associated with the hiring needs; wherein, when it is determined that one of the identified candidates should be offered more than one job as determined by the hiring needs, all jobs pertinent to the one of the associated candidates are offered substantially simultaneously to the one of the identified candidates. 
         [0004]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,662,194 B1 describes an apparatus and method for providing recruitment information, including a memory device for storing information regarding at least one of a job opening, a position, an assignment, a contract, and a project, and information regarding a job search request, a processing device for processing information regarding the job search request upon a detection of an occurrence of a searching event, wherein the processing device utilizes information regarding the at least one of a job opening, a position, an assignment, a contract, and a project, stored in the memory device, and further wherein the processing device generates a message containing information regarding at least one of a job opening, a position, an assignment, a contract, and a project, wherein the message is responsive to the job search request, and a transmitter for transmitting the message to a communication device associated with an individual in real-time. 
         [0005]    WO 01/82181 A2 describes a method and system generating referrals for job positions based upon virtual communities comprised of members relevant to the job positions. This disclosure includes three primary methodical tools. The first tool implements a job recruiting toolkit. The second tool implements a method of generating referrals based upon a virtual community of people who relate to the job description. The third tool implements an enterprise recruitment toolkit. 
         [0006]    A major drawback of the existing systems is the lack of additional information regarding industries, career levels and functional areas. Also, in general no salary ranges, etc. are provided for certain jobs. 
         [0007]    It is one object of the present invention to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art and to provide a virtual job market place superior to existing methods and technologies. 
         [0008]    The method according to claim  1  and the system according to claim  6  of the present invention solve this object and provide a virtual job market place superior to existing methods and technologies. It addresses inefficiencies in the labour market created by inappropriate definition of the labour market and incomplete construction of existing systems. 
         [0009]    The present invention involves the following features:
       1. Creation of a complete marketplace: combination of labour demand, labour supply and a pricing mechanism (salary information on every job seeker and every job), establishing basic elements of a market place within one closed data system. Note: existing technologies on job markets exclude salary, which in turn creates a demand/supply match without pricing information. A market place without a pricing mechanism cannot create clearance with a period and suffers from imperfect information.   2. Unique structure of the labour market: Combining generally known concepts to a unique combination of dimensions creates a far more complex marketplace, yet easy to understand and more relevant for all participants.       
 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0012]    A comprehensive, distinct, and scalable aggregation of industries and sub-segments as provided by the invention creates a complete virtual job market place of an entire economy. It analyzes and allocates demand and supply of human resource into distinct “commodity markets” and/or segments of the labour market. The secondary dimensions qualify each individual job or profile within this marketplace with the relevant information. In this context the primary dimensions create efficient job marketplaces. The secondary dimensions match demand and supply along the qualitative features and provide the information for more efficient market clearance. This combination is unique, significantly more complex and processes richer data than existing technologies. Yet, due to the “standard nature” of each dimension it is intuitively to understand. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES 
         [0013]      FIG. 1  shows a simplified sketch of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  shows a simplified sketch of a job marketplace with unique taxonomy; 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  shows a simplified sketch of machine-to-machine interfaces; 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  shows a simplified sketch of one example of the architecture that may be used for the application; 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  shows a simplified sketch of a matching process used in another preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0018]    The present invention integrates the three defining factors of a market: (A) demand (for labour), (B) supply (of labour) and (C) a pricing mechanism which is provided by the invention. The pricing element, in particular, has traditionally been left out of data-driven labour market applications. The invention creates systems having (i) various functions, (ii) efficient market, and integrates them with (iii) increased transparency and (iv) reduced information pathology 
         [0019]      FIG. 1  shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention, which will be described as follows. 
       (A) Demand (Examples): 
       [0000]    
       
         
           
             ( 1 )/( 2 ) HR Departments, independent recruiters and head-hunters can post job openings according to the marketplace taxonomy (see  2 .) 
             ( 3 ) Direct job aggregation from company websites through xml-interface, manual and/or crawler supported input of job data provided on company career websites 
             ( 4 ) Head-hunters searching for relevant individuals. Search covers existing job position, career history and career goals 
           
         
       
     
       (B) Supply (Examples) 
       [0000]    
       
         
           
             ( 5 ) Individuals can search job database 
             ( 6 ) Individuals define next career steps and receive matching openings 
             ( 7 ) Individuals can define career profile/CV and set confidentiality levels to be found by head-hunters 
           
         
       
     
       (C) Pricing—Salary Information (Examples) 
       [0000]    
       
         
           
             ( 8 )/( 10 ) A firm or a head-hunter leave salary range by posting an opening 
             ( 9 ) A firm provides an entire salary matrix for all internal levels and all functions (i.e. sales, finance etc.) 
             ( 10 ) An individual provides his/her existing salary range and current position 
             ( 11 ) An individual provides his/her desired salary range and desired position 
           
         
       
     
         [0030]    The invention organizes data on the job market along the following primary and secondary dimensions: 
       Primary Dimensions: 
       [0000]    
       
         
           
             (1) industries 
             (2) career levels 
             (3) functional areas 
           
         
       
     
       Secondary Dimensions: 
       [0000]    
       
         
           
             (4) salary ranges 
             (5) geo-data (country, city, ZIP code, IP address, GPS data, GSM information) 
             (6) educational information 
             (7) languages 
             (8) special expertises 
           
         
       
     
         [0039]    Furthermore, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the invention collects the following information chunks (jobs/candidate profiles) and places them in a distinct cell or number of cells. 
       Information Chunks (Jobs/Candidate Profiles) 
       [0000]    
       
         
           
             (D) open jobs, which are determined by one distinct cell 
             (E) candidate profiles, which are a sequence of cells determined by a candidates past jobs, current job and desired future job 
           
         
       
     
         [0042]    In the system according to the present invention, the primary dimensions determine the structure of the data repository and place the information chunks (jobs and candidate profiles) in the proper position in the virtual job market established in the database. The secondary dimensions determine the quality of the information chunks. They enable a ranking of competing information chunks in the same job market segment. For example multiple jobs or multiple candidate profiles are placed in the same sub-segment of the virtual job market place, i.e. level—(e.g., “senior professional”), function (e.g., “sales”), and industry (e.g, ‘book publishing”). The secondary dimensions (e.g, salary range, special expertise etc.) qualify them in a fashion that generates a clear-cut matching between demand and supply. 
         [0043]    The primary dimensions determine the relevant marketplace within the system and distinctly position the job and candidate profile at the appropriate place in the system so that demand and supply can meet. By doing so the model generates a human resource commodity and allocates it to relevant “commodities markets” and/or job market segments. By placing pricing information to the commodity it enables a complete marketplace. 
         [0044]    Each of the primary dimensions are intuitive to understand and relate to common understanding and concept adopted by economic theory as well as practice. The innovative aspects of the invention involve the combination of the three dimensions to deliver a contingent system to cover the job market. 
       (1) Industries and Sub-Segments 
       [0045]    The first innovation is to analyse the job market in a very granular fashion according to industries and sub-segments of industries. This is crucial as job market competition by and large takes place as a function of the competition of firms in the markets for products and services. Special skills, know how, contacts and other resources acquired in a very specific industry segment strongly determine the returns a candidate can yield on the job market. This analysis will be conducted automatically as long as the required information is pre-processed according to the systems input rules.
       Industries are segmented in multiple levels: 4 levels and maximum 10 entries per level, e.g.:   0000 Main Industry 1 (i.e. services)
           0100 Segment 1 Level 2 (i.e. media)
               0110 Segment 1 Level 3 (i.e. print publishing)
                   0111 Segment 1 Level 4 (i.e. book publishing)   0112 Segment 2 Level 4 (i.e. trade magazine publishing)   0113 Segment 3 Level 4 (i.e. newspaper publishing)   0114 Segment 4 Level 4 (i.e. special interest magazine publishing)   0115 Segment 5 Level 4 (i.e. general interest magazine publishing)   And so forth   
                   0120 Segment 2 Level 3 (i.e. Music)   0130 Segment 3 Level 3 (i.e. TV)   and so forth   
               0200 Segment 2 Level 1 (i.e. Consulting)   0300 Segment 3 Level 1 (i.e. Financial Services)   and so forth   
           1000 Main Industry 2   2000 Main Industry 3   and so forth       
 
       (2) Career Levels 
       [0065]    Career Levels give an abstract representation of hierarchy, which exists in every company. To apply this invention the career levels should be customized depending on the target market. i.e. in the current application the following levels are distinguished for a market of very qualified white collar professionals and executives:
       executive management midsized and large companies   executive management small companies   business unit mgmt   senior management   management   senior professional   professional   junior professional/entry level       
 
       (3) Functional Areas 
       [0074]    Functional areas determine in which value-creating part of firm—or “where in the value chain”—a job is positioned. The concept of the value chain is generally accepted to describe all sorts of businesses and its internal functional organization, i.e. sales, research, development, production etc. Today the taxonomy of the value chain is understood common sensually in developed economies. 
         [0075]    For each industry the combination of 2-career levels and 3-functions establishes a matrix. Within this matrix various salary data can be calculated, such as salary ranges or average mid-points. In the following example, table 1, average mid-points are calculated. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Industry: Segment 0000 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Career Level 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Executive Board 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 Entry 
                   
                 Senior 
                   
                 Senior 
                 Business Unit 
                 medium/large 
                 Executive Board 
               
               
                   
                   
                 Level 
                 Professional 
                 Professional 
                 Manager 
                 Manager 
                 Manager 
                 company) 
                 (small company) 
               
               
                 Function 
                   
                 1 
                 2 
                 3 
                 4 
                 5 
                 6 
                 7 
                 8 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Management 
                 1 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 150 
                 150 
                 200 
               
               
                 Planing, Controlling 
                 3 
                 40 
                 50 
                 65 
                 90 
                 120 
                 140 
               
               
                 PR 
                 12 
                 35 
                 47 
                 60 
                 80 
                 100 
                 120 
               
               
                 Finance, Accounting 
                 4 
                 40 
                 55 
                 70 
                 90 
                 120 
                 140 
               
               
                 Legal 
                 5 
                 40 
                 55 
                 70 
                 90 
                 120 
                 140 
               
               
                 HR 
                 6 
                 35 
                 45 
                 60 
                 80 
                 100 
                 120 
               
               
                 Administration 
                 7 
                 35 
                 45 
                 60 
                 80 
                 100 
                 120 
               
               
                 IT, Telecom 
                 13 
                 45 
                 55 
                 70 
                 90 
                 120 
                 140 
               
               
                 Purchasing, Logistics 
                 8 
                 40 
                 55 
                 70 
                 90 
                 120 
                 140 
               
               
                 Customer Support 
                 15 
                 35 
                 40 
                 55 
                 65 
                 85 
                 100 
               
               
                 Production 
                 9 
                 45 
                 60 
                 70 
                 90 
                 110 
                 130 
               
               
                 Consulting 
                 16 
                 45 
                 60 
                 70 
                 90 
                 120 
                 140 
               
               
                 Design 
                 17 
                 45 
                 55 
                 65 
                 80 
                 110 
                 130 
               
               
                 Documentation 
                 18 
                 45 
                 55 
                 65 
                 90 
                 110 
                 130 
               
               
                 R&amp;D 
                 14 
                 45 
                 60 
                 75 
                 90 
                 120 
                 140 
               
               
                 Sales 
                 10 
                 40 
                 60 
                 75 
                 90 
                 150 
                 180 
               
               
                 Marketing 
                 11 
                 45 
                 55 
                 70 
                 90 
                 120 
                 140 
               
               
                 Strategy, M&amp;A 
                 2 
                 55 
                 70 
                 90 
                 120 
                 150 
                 200 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0076]    The following secondary dimensions provide for job market-specific qualification of information chunks (e.g., open jobs, candidate profiles). By adding these informational dimensions, the human resource commodity allocated to a sub-segment of the labour market gets “de-commoditized” for the specific sub-segment of the labour market by adding qualitative information. This is important to assess the yield (salary potential) a specific job or candidate has in the relevant target market. 
       (4) Salary Ranges 
       [0077]    Salary ranges, representative for a market can be set up, whereas overlapping ranges created a perception, which prevents users from overstating their current salary as shown in Table 2. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 id 
                 no 
                 label 
                 min_salary 
                 max_salary 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 - current salary - 
               
             
          
           
               
                 13 
                 2 
                 50.000-60.000 
                 EUR 
                 50000 
                 60000 
               
               
                 1 
                 3 
                 55.000-65.000 
                 EUR 
                 55000 
                 65000 
               
               
                 2 
                 4 
                 60.000-70.000 
                 EUR 
                 60000 
                 70000 
               
               
                 3 
                 5 
                 65.000-75.000 
                 EUR 
                 65000 
                 75000 
               
               
                 4 
                 6 
                 70.000-80.000 
                 EUR 
                 70000 
                 80000 
               
               
                 5 
                 7 
                 75.000-85.000 
                 EUR 
                 75000 
                 85000 
               
               
                 6 
                 8 
                 80.000-90.000 
                 EUR 
                 80000 
                 90000 
               
               
                 7 
                 9 
                 85.000-105.000 
                 EUR 
                 85000 
                 105000 
               
               
                 8 
                 10 
                 90.000-110.000 
                 EUR 
                 90000 
                 110000 
               
               
                 9 
                 11 
                 100.000-130.000 
                 EUR 
                 100000 
                 130000 
               
               
                 10 
                 12 
                 120.000-150.000 
                 EUR 
                 120000 
                 150000 
               
               
                 11 
                 13 
                 &gt;150.000 
                 EUR 
                 150000 
                 200000 
               
               
                 12 
                 14 
                 &gt;200.000 
                 EUR 
                 200000 
               
             
          
           
               
                 -desired salary/job posting salaries 
               
             
          
           
               
                 8 
                 1 
                 &gt;60.000 
                 EUR 
                 60000 
                 70000 
               
               
                 1 
                 2 
                 &gt;70.000 
                 EUR 
                 70000 
                 80000 
               
               
                 2 
                 3 
                 &gt;80.000 
                 EUR 
                 80000 
                 90000 
               
               
                 3 
                 4 
                 &gt;90.000 
                 EUR 
                 90000 
                 100000 
               
               
                 4 
                 5 
                 &gt;100.000 
                 EUR 
                 100000 
                 120000 
               
               
                 5 
                 6 
                 &gt;120.000 
                 EUR 
                 120000 
                 150000 
               
               
                 6 
                 7 
                 &gt;150.000 
                 EUR 
                 150000 
                 200000 
               
               
                 7 
                 8 
                 &gt;200.000 
                 EUR 
                 200000 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
       (5) Geodata (Country, City, ZIP Code) 
       [0078]    Each open job or current/past job in a candidate profile needs to be defined geographically, where the global ZIP code systems provides a sufficiently rich system 
       (6) Educational Information 
       [0079]    Educational information is defined along two data dimension: (i) study major, (ii) highest degree per major. 
       (7) Languages 
       [0080]    Language information is defined along two data dimension: (i) language (ii) level of proficiency 
       (8) Special Expertises 
       [0081]    In this field, certain free text data entry may be allowed to permit special expertise to be noted 
         [0082]    In a preferred embodiment, the databases themselves are maintained on an Application Server which is accessed by the stated demand- or supply-side users. Information is input, e.g. using pull-down menus or free-text data entry, where permitted. The application server calculates, based on the information input by the user, a specific job position within the matrix and correlates specific pricing information, which may include salary ranges, median salary, etc. 
         [0083]    The present invention may be used with Internet access technologies. This covers end user interfaces to the system of the present invention as well as machine-to-machine interfaces. Alternatively other network solutions may be used. 
         [0084]    The end user interfaces may be browser-based, whereas the invention supports both desktop/laptop and mobile browsers. In this case the IP address information may be used as geo-data information. Messaging interfaces may support e-mail or SMS. When using mobile phones as interface, the available GSM or GPS position information may be used as geo-data information. The user interface related geo-data information may be used to verify the geo-data information provided by a job candidate and/or as access control means. Alternatively, other systems, such as voice-activated telephone services, may be used as interface. 
         [0085]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , machine-to-machine interfaces may be used with API&#39;s for xml-feeds or crawlers that automatically access end user interfaces of web sites and pull data. 
         [0086]    One example of the architecture of that may be used for the application is described in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0087]    The positions within the job matrix may be limited to specified categories (e.g., 250 three-dimensional matrix positions/clusters), whereupon each position inquiry is forced into these positions. This allows the precise definition of each position and provides a more reliable specification of the provision, and therefore a more reliable pricing. It would also avoid double postings, making it less likely that the two different positions could define the same job. 
         [0088]    Each job being accessible via system gets an individual salary-benchmark information (in the following: SBI). For postings entered directly by HR representatives of a company or by Head hunters, the SBI is created by the posting person himself, selecting the appropriate SBI level out of a proposed range-list. For postings being collected and categorised by systems to be accessible to the creators corporate website or his commissaries, the SBI is calculated automatically out of the system. The calculation of the SBI follows a process of job-categorisation along primary dimensions including industry, function, career level and secondary dimension like geographical factor (i.e. CIP code) or company size. Data sources of the salary database are: 
         [0000]    1. external empirical information
       surveys and data of national statistic offices (distribution of income, GDP per capita etc.)   agencies providing salary information   Corporate compensation information
 
2. internal information:
   End user of the system insert salary information by   (a) Posting a job (HR departments or recruiters) and attaching salary information along with the primary and secondary dimensions applicable to a job.   (b) inserting candidate profile information, where an end user fills out its CV data and attaches a salary information to its current position, which is coded with the primary and secondary dimensions applicable to the respective job. (note: With every registration to the system of the present invention, the user has to select the annual gross-earnings of his last years profession out of a suggestions list offering defined ranges of earnings. When filling in an individual profile on the system—the system gathers the information of the current position corresponding to the date of sign-up including the dimensions of industry, function, career level and geographical factor of the individual position.)       
 
         [0095]    The permanent analysis of all gathered user-information enables the system to provide an automatic and permanent adjustment of all salary-matrix information. Calculation algorithms used are based on statistical models as well as on averaging. 
         [0096]    Another preferred embodiment of the present invention involves a so called matching process. The matching process provides a selection of relevant positions for a candidate, that is superior to the results of a search for a given list of criteria. This is shown in  FIG. 5 . 
         [0097]    As a prerequisite, a candidate provides information about the positions, he/she is interested in by
       describing one or more career goals   A minimum information of at least one of career level or salary expectations and one of targeted industries or functional area must be provided.   Besides this information additional data like the names of companies the candidate is interested in, a list of expertises a candidate seeks to use, a list of countries and an area defined by a location and distance can be provided depending on the preferences of the candidate.   describing his/her job history   A candidate describes his professional experience by providing data on the positions he/she worked at. The system therefore knows about past functions and industries the candidates is experienced in.   describing general expertises and skills   A candidate lists special expert skills that makes him stand out from other candidates.   describing her/his education   describing the list of languages she/he is familiar with       
 
         [0107]    For positions a list of classifications is maintained:
       the industry   the functional area   career level   the salary benchmark for the position   the company   the location   required languages   required education   the description of the position       
 
         [0117]    The matching process scores each position held in the system by comparing it&#39;s classification to the candidates direct (by career goal) and indirect (by the description of his/her history) description of the positions she/he is interested in. Matching is done for each career goal of the user independently. 
         [0118]    Scoring uses a configurable system of weighting factors. 
         [0119]    Weighting factors reflect the relative importance of the entered criteria. 
         [0120]    Factors for industries and functions further depend on the values provided: the relative weight for industry matches and function matches depends on the functions in question, since some functions allow for easily changing the industry while others don&#39;t. 
         [0121]    Weighting factors also distinguish between data provided in the career goal and data provided in the history of a candidate since the former is more relevant for the results a user seeks. 
         [0122]    Depending on the input provided, a maximum score is calculated and a threshold is derived from this maximum score. 
         [0123]    The dynamic calculation of the maximum and threshold scores allows to adapt the system to different degrees of user input. While the system works best for detailed career goals and history data, results are provided for brief goals with minimum input and no job history as well. 
         [0124]    All positions that qualify for a score larger than the threshold are considered a match. Within all matches the score provides a ranking criterion. A larger score means a better fit to the candidates interests. 
         [0125]    The matching is implemented as a search for any of the information provided by the user using a full text index of the positions containing all information on the positions. Thus all positions that do not have any overlap with the candidates matching criteria, that is positions that have a score of 0, are excluded from the matching process from the beginning. 
         [0126]    All other positions that fit at least one criteria are scored in the sense described above. Criteria—such as location and distance—that cannot be searched on a full text index, is implemented by filtering the result and modifying the score appropriately. 
         [0127]    Finally the result list is filtered by removing all results having a score less than the required threshold score. 
         [0128]    Matching provides results that are superior to the results of searching a number of criteria provided by the user as
       the results of such a search are included in the matching result perfect matches will have the highest score and occur first, when sorting by score   matching provides results that fail to fulfil all criteria but still are close to the characteristics a user searches for. These matches are likely to be relevant to the user as well.   This allows to see chances in the proximity of the precise goal definition that would be invisible else.   This is especially helpful for users where no perfect matches exist, that is users that would get an empty result in the case of a simple search.       
 
         [0133]    Matching thus provides sophisticated means to enable the user to find relevant positions. 
         [0134]    Although the invention has been described and pictured in a preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example, and that numerous changes in the details of construction and combination and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.