Abstract:
A method, system, and program providing improved techniques for selecting candidates filling predetermined criteria. The techniques are particularly suitable for screening resumes, matching job applicants to specific employment opportunities, and for scheduling interviews for the selected applicants.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/173,724 filed Dec. 30, 1999, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates generally to scheduling of events over a computer network. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method, system, and program for scheduling meetings such as job interviews over the internet.  
           [0003]    Systems are known for conducting employment searches over the Internet. In fact, search sites for employment opportunities are some of the most-visited sites on the Internet. However, currently available employment-related sites on the Internet offer limited capabilities.  
           [0004]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,497 to Taylor discloses an electronic automated information exchange and management system. A computer-implemented system manages an exchange of information between job applicants and employers. A first database includes job postings, each of which is stored in a job record. The system can search on a plurality of keywords in the job record to identify a job record suitable for a particular applicant. The system can then facilitate creation of a resume record and designation of the resume record for a separate resume database. The resume database can be searched to identify candidates for a particular employment position.  
           [0005]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,978,768 to McGovern et al. discloses a computerized job search system and method for posting and searching job openings using a computer network. The system allows an employer to advertise positions on the Internet, directly receive resumes from prospective candidates, and efficiently organize and screen the received resumes. The system further includes the capability of monitoring employment advertisements for an individual job seeker and automatically notifying the job seeker when a position for which the job seeker is suitable becomes available. The system also allows multiple companies to advertise job positions at a single location accessible over the Internet by a job seeker, and allows the job seeker to communicate directly with a particular company if the job seeker is interested in further information relating to a particular position at the company. Typically, this last feature involves providing a link to the company&#39;s website which may include specific details about the particular position.  
           [0006]    While the foregoing and other systems facilitate employment-related searching and information exchange over the Internet, such systems are generally directed to a relatively early step in the employment or recruiting process- that is, the matching of potential candidates for particular job openings. Because of this focus, significant limitations prevent such systems from being useful during other steps in the employment process, particularly relating to scheduling interviews or other meetings. Further, even with respect to the matching of candidates and openings, the systems described above still present limitations.  
           [0007]    It would be desirable for a system, method, or program to provide for an automated matching between specific available job openings and particular candidates. It would further be desirable for such a system to be able to facilitate the scheduling of an interview or other meeting between an interested party, such as a job candidate, and one or more representatives of a particular entity, such as an employer. It would still further be desirable to facilitate an information exchange between the job candidate and the employer after the job candidate is selected for an interview.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    The present invention overcomes the limitations described above, and achieves additional advantages, by providing for a method, system, and program for facilitating a matching of candidates with available opportunities, including facilitating the exchange of information relevant to the candidate and/or to the specific opportunities, and facilitating the scheduling of an interview or similar meeting.  
           [0009]    In accordance with a preferred embodiment, a system is provided which stores (or has access to) position information relevant to a particular job opening, such as a job listing, and which stores (or has access to) candidate information relevant to a particular candidate, such as a resume. The system performs an automatic matching of candidates to particular job openings using keyword matching, natural language searching techniques, between the job listings and resumes to determine potential matches and to generate a list of candidates for an available position.  
           [0010]    The automatically generated list of candidates can be presented to the employer for approval of candidates, or the list can be used without modification as the basis for scheduling interviews. Candidates selected for interviews can be notified by electronic mail, facsimile, or other message automatically generated by the system, or can be notified by telephone. Once notified, the candidate can access on line additional information relevant to the position, such as company brochures, annual reports, application forms, or other literature, and can access an interview schedule, which can include a proposed date, proposed time, directions or other logistical information, and a identification of people whom the applicant will meet.  
           [0011]    Numerous aspects of the system, method and/or program of the present invention achieve significant advantages over known online employment systems, including allowing increased information exchange and facilitating the scheduling of an interview. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    The present invention can be understood more fully by reading the following Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments of the invention, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer network suitable for implementing a method, system or program according to the present invention; and  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 is a flow chart describing a method according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0015]    For purposes of explanation, the following description assumes the application of the present invention in an employment context; that is, to facilitate the exchange of information between a job seeker, applicant, or candidate and a company or other employing entity. However, it will be appreciated that the principles of the present invention can similarly be applicable in other contexts, such as work proposals submitted by companies, dating, or other contexts where persons or companies are matched to particular opportunities, situations, or other persons, and in which a scheduled meeting, telephone conference, or other interaction is desirable.  
         [0016]    An Internet computer system  10  is generally illustrated in FIG. 1. A conventional client computer system  12 , executing a client browser application that supports the HTTP protocol, is connected typically through an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to the Internet  14 . A server computer system  16  is also coupled typically through an Internet Service Provider to the Internet  14 . The server computer system  16 , controlled by a local console  18 , executes a Web server application conventionally known as a HTTP server. In addition, the server computer system  16  preferably provides local storage for at least one, though typically many, Web pages.  
         [0017]    The client computer system requests a Web page by issuing a URL request through the Internet  14  to the server system  16 . A URL consistent with the present invention may be a simple URL of the form: 
         &lt;protocol identifiers&gt;://&lt;server path&gt;/&lt;web page path&gt; 
         [0018]    A “protocol identifier” of “http” specifies the conventional hyper-text transfer protocol. A URL request for a secure Internet transaction typically utilizes the secure protocol identifier “https,” assuming that the client browser and Web server are presumed to support and implement the secure sockets layer. The “server path” is typically of the form “prefix.domain,” where the prefix is typically “www” to designate a Web server and the “domain” is the standard Internet sub-domain.top-level-domain of the server system  16 . The optional “web page path” is provided to specifically identify a particular hyper-text page maintained by the Web server.  
         [0019]    In response to a received URL identifying an existing Web page, the server system  16  returns the Web page, subject to the HTTP protocol, to the client computer system  12 . This Web page typically incorporates both textural and graphical information including embedded hyper-text links that permit the client user to readily select a next URL for issuance to the Internet  14 .  
         [0020]    The URL issued from the client system  12  may also be of a complex form that identifies a common gateway interface (CGI) program on a server system  16 . Such a HTML hyperlink reference is typically of the form: 
         &lt;form action-http://www.vendor.com/cgi-bin/logon.cgi method=post&gt; 
         [0021]    A hyper-text link of this form directs the execution of the logon.cgi program on an HTTP server in response to a client side selection of an hyperlink. A logon form supported by a logon CGI program is typically used to obtain a client user login name and password to initiate an authenticated session between the client browser and Web server for purposes of supporting, for example, a purchase transaction.  
         [0022]    It is assumed that the system of FIG. 1 has access to at least a first database including information descriptive of one or more job opportunities and a second database including information descriptive of one or more candidates. The first database can be created manually by human resources or other personnel having knowledge of the particular job opportunities to be included in the database, and access to the database. While the second database can also be generated manually, by human resources or other personnel having access to candidate information supplied by resumes, employment applications, or other sources, the second database can also be generated automatically in accordance with one aspect of the invention. More particularly, the second database can be generated by scanning resumes or other materials submitted by applicants. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the resumes, whether submitted as paper copies or as electronic documents, can be scanned to extract keywords, and matched to keywords descriptive of the job opportunities which are similarly extracted from the first database. Alternatively, the resumes and job opportunities in the first database can be scanned using natural language searching techniques, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,884,302, 5,836,771, 5,404,295, 5,309,359, or 5,794,050, to determine suitable matches. It should also be noted that the matching technique can be supplemented by other employer-specific criteria- for example, the matching method or program can be designed to automatically exclude candidates having more than a threshold number of jobs within a certain period of time, or to assign a more favorable status to job applicants whose resumes include certain keywords having a more favorable status (e.g., resumes which mention specific degrees, certifications, or other credential can be assigned a more favorable status).  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 2 is a flow chart describing one implementation of a method in accordance with the present invention. Such a method can be implemented in the system of FIG. 1, by loading a software program onto a machine readable storage medium, where the program includes specific machine readable instructions for performing the various steps of the method. The method of FIG. 2 begins in step  200 , where it is assumed that the first and second databases have been established as described above. In step  200 , matches between job applicants and specific job opportunities are determined, for example by keyword searching of resumes and job opportunities, natural language searching of resumes and job opportunities, or manually by human resources personnel reviewing resumes, and a list of matches is generated. In step  202 , the list is presented to human resources or other decision-making personnel (e.g., via a computer display) for modifications. In step  204 , a final list of applicants is approved by the human resources or other decision-making personnel. In step  206 , the applicants are notified, by electronic mail, facsimile, or other means over the computer network. The notification to the applicants in step  206  preferably includes information such as: a proposed date for an interview or other meeting, a proposed time for the interview, representatives of the employer who are expected to be present for the interview directions or other logistical information to assist the applicant in making plans to attend the interview, copies of forms to be completed by the applicant in advance of the interview, company literature (which can be general or specific to the particular job opportunity involved), or other similar information. It will be appreciated that the notification in step  206  can be provided as an electronic mail message with links written in hypertext markup language (HTML) to allow the notified applicant to access any or all of the information included in the notification over the Internet.  
         [0024]    While the foregoing description includes numerous details, it is to be understood that these are included for illustrative purposes only, and that these details are not limitations of the invention. Many modifications can be made to the examples described above without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined by the following claims and their legal equivalents.