Jobfox plays matchmaker

I've said before that I think the "holy grail" of selection will be matching quality measures of candidate values, interests, and competencies with those required for a position in a particular organization. (And I'm not alone here)

While job search search sites and applicant tracking software provide generic matching capability--say, letting candidates or employers search by full-time/part-time, geographic preference, etc.--I haven't seen anything more impressive, even though we know quite a bit about person-job and person-organization fit and its importance--until now.

Jobfox (previously Market10), developed by CareerBuilder founder and former CEO Rob McGovern, is taking things a step further by allowing job seekers and employers to find each other using a variety of "dimensions" (10, to be specific), including some of the aforementioned:

- Previous employment

- Education

- Skills (tied to particular employment)

- Desired salary

- Willingness to travel

Pretty basic stuff, right? Well here's where things get interesting. Look at the additional pieces of information a candidate can enter:

- Growth stage of company you want to work for (Start-up/Growing/Established)

- Dress code preference (Business Professional/Business Casual/Casual)

- Size of employer preferred (<500,>500)

- Location you work best from (home, work, part of each)

- Employer type desired (for profit, not for profit, government)

- Benefits desired (yes this seems basic but I don't recall seeing this before)

The other thing that's very different from traditional job boards is the job seeker doesn't SEARCH for jobs. Instead, results are generated based on data the individual enters/attaches and how well it matches specific opportunities.

From the employer's perspective, they get (for a fee) candidates whose profile best matches position/organization needs.

Less clutter to sift through for both sides--I love it. I see this as a great step toward eventually doing a much better of job of matching candidates and employers.

Results are looking positive with various employers signed up. Unfortunately right now they only serve the Atlanta and Washington, D.C. markets but they will be expanding to the San Francisco Bay Area in May, and Boston by June.

Downside? This is still active job seekers and employers. The next big challenge will be to not only have a database of valid individual assessment results (and accurate job descriptions) but to have this information for passive as well as active job seekers. And not just current job openings, but information for all employers. What would this look like? I'm not sure. Maybe an outgrowth of a popular social networking site, such as MySpace, mixed with organizational data from, say, Vault? All I know is it will be fun to watch!

Employer brochure available here. Other information, including press releases, here.