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Facebook Advertising recap

Posted By: Thomas Shaw, 3:12pm Sunday 25 April 2010    Print Article

Forget fan pages, applications, and searching for user profiles. One of the easiest ways to get in front of users on Facebook is by using Facebook Ads.

I first looked at Facebook Advertising options back in Jan 2009 with a brief explanation of using Facebook Advertising and also some examples of job boards, employers and recruiters using PPC ads to target users.

Fast forward to Apr 2010 and many organisations are using Facebook for recruitment by embracing targeted advertising. Here is a selection of ads I have found over the past few days from job boards, employers, recruiters and training providers.

Recruitment




Education & Training




A recent report by Nielsen/Facebook titled "The Value of Social Media Ad Impressions" found that consumers trust their friends and peers more than anyone else when it comes to making a purchase decision. It’s critical that we understand advertising not just in terms of “paid” media, but also in terms of how “earned” media (advertising that is passed along or shared among to friends and beyond) and social advocacy contribute to campaigns.




Article URL: http://www.recruitmentdirectory.com.au/Blog/facebook-advertising-recap-a356.html

Article Tags: facebook.com facebook using facebook for recruitment facebook advertising recruitment advertising display ads ppc pay per click nielsen social media ad impressions social recruiting social recruitment

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How cybermule jobs work

Posted By: Thomas Shaw, 2:08pm Sunday 25 April 2010    Print Article

Symantec has put together a short educational video on how cyber mule jobs work and why you need to avoid these types of job ads. Job boards work very hard to put in processes to validate each advertiser and the legitimacy of the job ads before they are posted on their site. But scammers are getting smarter and we all need to learn how to spot suspect job ads.

In this day and age we’re all aware of the threat cybercriminals pose to our personal information. If you’re not careful, items such as your credit card number could fall into the wrong hands, resulting in unauthorized goods and services being purchased in your name. What may come as a surprise is not everyone participating in these activities is a full-blown cybercriminal. Some are ordinary citizens - just like you and me - that unintentionally get caught up in illegal activity.

How does this happen? Let’s say you’ve recently lost your job and are desperate to find new work. So, you post your resume on a job recruitment website. A short time later you receive an email from a recruiter:

Acme Inc. is opening a vacancy for the Correspondence Manager position.

What luck! The job is done entirely from home, receiving and reshipping packages. It’s easy work that pays quite well:

Base Payment Mail handling managers receive $1000 salary per month and additionally $25 for every shipped package during the trial period.

It sounds too good to be true, right? Well, it is. The job, should you accept it, actually entails redistributing goods purchased online with stolen credit cards. Congratulations, you’re a cyber mule.





Article URL: http://www.recruitmentdirectory.com.au/Blog/how-cybermule-jobs-work-a355.html

Article Tags: job boards cybermule fake job ads scam jobs symantec job ads recruitment website

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New homepage design for MyCareer

Posted By: Thomas Shaw, 3:19pm Thursday 22 April 2010    Print Article

MyCareer has (finally) updated their homepage design with a smaller menu bar, large job search box and quick links for the various job seeker tools. The design is less "yellow" and creates a smoother job search entry.




What could be a case of the dreaded "1 step forward, 2 steps back" syndrome. It seems the same error I picked up on last year has resurfaced. The job search title of ads that were placed in the newspaper and also posted online, are truncated to 20 characters. Interesting.






Article URL: http://www.recruitmentdirectory.com.au/Blog/new-homepage-design-for-mycareer-a354.html

Article Tags: mycareer job board job board design mycareer.com.au print advertising job search job advert title job search results

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Are you using WordPress for your Recruitment Website? Check your security

Posted By: Thomas Shaw, 12:01pm Monday 19 April 2010    Print Article

Do you use WordPress? Are you aware of the security implications around the software? Over the past week, thousands of WordPress websites have been compromised with malicious malware code inserted into the database

If you use WordPress, you better check your site. Prevention is better than cure.
  • Wordpress stores the database credentials in plain-text at the wp-config.php file.
  • This configuration file should only be read by Apache, but some users (well, lots of users) left it in a way that anyone could read it (755 instead of 750 in Linux slang).
  • A malicious user at Network Solutions creates a script to find those configuration files that were incorrectly configured.
  • This same malicious user finds hundreds of configuration files with the incorrect permissions and retrieves the database credentials.
  • Yes, he again (the bad guy) launches an attack and modify the database for all these blogs. Now the siteurl for all of them just became [malicious website]. Easy hack.
The problem for just about any web application that requires access to a database is that there just isn't a good way to secure the database login credentials in a plain text file.

At some point, the web application has to be able to send those credentials to the database server. And if the web server can read/generate those credentials, then there is always the possibility that an unauthorized party on the same server might be able to gain access to them "if the server and app are not secured properly".

Details on the Network Solutions / Wordpress mass hack

Google Cloaking Hack Targeting WordPress & How to Fix It

wordpress blogs hacked, a new wordpress worm? or just a world readable wp-config.php file

10 Tips To Make WordPress Hack-Proof

Tips and Info for Network Solutions WordPress Customers

Latest WordPress Hack – Symptoms, Solutions & Resources

Don’t Get Hacked: WordPress Security Tips




Article URL: http://www.recruitmentdirectory.com.au/Blog/are-you-using-wordpress-for-your-recruitment-website-check-your-security-a353.html

Article Tags: wordpress wordpress recruitment website hack insecure software directory listings network solutions database password web application security wordpress job board software security

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Relaunch of Lifestyle Careers

Posted By: Thomas Shaw, 11:19am Monday 19 April 2010    Print Article

Over the past 2 weeks, we have worked on the relaunch of Lifestyle Careers onto our job board software platform. We welcome Leah and her team.

http://www.lifestylecareers.com.au/





Article URL: http://www.recruitmentdirectory.com.au/Blog/relaunch-of-lifestyle-careers-a352.html

Article Tags: website design recruitment website recruitment agency website job board software job board design recruitmentzoo recruitmentzoo.com lifestyle careers lifestylecareers.com.au

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Recruiters - Delete your social networking profile if you no longer use it

Posted By: Thomas Shaw, 4:19pm Wednesday 14 April 2010    Print Article

If you tried to recruit via Twitter, Facebook, MySpace etc and have since stopped. It may be a good idea to delete your social networking presence to avoid the embarrassment from clients, candidates and other recruiters from finding your profile and calling you a failure.

You can always start again, and do it correctly this time.

That is all.






Article URL: http://www.recruitmentdirectory.com.au/Blog/recruiters-delete-your-social-networking-profile-if-you-no-longer-use-it-a351.html

Article Tags: social media social recruitment social networking delete your social networking profile recruiters social recruiting strategy facebook twitter myspace deleteyouraccount.com

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Integrating Facebook Connect in your job site is not rocket science

Posted By: Thomas Shaw, 1:08pm Monday 12 April 2010    Print Article

Just over 12 months ago I wrote a blog post titled Integrating Facebook Connect with your Job Board on the pros of doing this. Since then, I have only seen a handful of job sites with Facebook Connect integration. Why? apparently it's too hard to do.

One of the most useful and powerful features of Facebook Connect is the ability to access a user's profile information as soon as they connect with your site. This can enable you to provide a much richer and personalised experience for the user without forcing them through multiple set-up screens.

Facebook claims that
  • 97% of users have full name
  • 85% of users have uploaded a picture
  • 8% of users have specified education history
Once a user connects to your site or application, you are able to access and use information that the user has shared on their profile to provide a richer experience. In addition, you can access information about the user's friends and others on behalf of the user of your app - basically any information that is available to that user on Facebook can be used through the lens of your site or application.

You should use this information to immediately create a personalised and social experience. For example:
  • Localise jobs to the users geography.
  • Feature content shared or created by the users friends
  • Identify other users in the same geography or industry and feature content or trends of those users.
  • Create tailored or different experiences based profile dat
  • Suggest a users friends to invite to your product and service based on the friends interests
  • Feature key information from a user’s stream that is related to your website or application
Integrating Facebook Connect is not rocket science. Yes, you need to understand programming to do so, but there is a wizard to help you through the process. Take this example I created last night - a total of 20 mins work and I am already half way there!

Once a user has authenticated with your application or website, you can use any of the Facebook APIs listed below to access data about the user that they have made available to applications. In addition, to provide a more social experience, you may access data for a user’s friends to bring those friends into the experience.

You may also request permission from the user to access information from the user’s stream to view information shared by the user’s friends.

When accessing and using the user's data, it's important to keep a few things in mind
  • Users have provided this data to Facebook in order to share it with their friends.
  • Users have discrete control over who can see this data via privacy settings - and your site needs to honor those completely.
  • Users may choose to make some of this data public, which you can then use to display publicly as well (often the case for name, picture)
  • Users can change this data at any time and often do. Most frequently changed fields are status or user posts to stream, profile picture, interests, friends, and privacy settings. Because of this, you should make sure you always have up-to-date information and may not only cache the data in your system for more than 24 hours
  • Contact information (email address, phone number) are not directly available via the APIs. However, they do provide other APIs and permissions for you to contact users by email or SMS, or for users to contact their friends via the Stream, requests, notifications, and more.



Article URL: http://www.recruitmentdirectory.com.au/Blog/integrating-facebook-connect-in-your-job-site-is-not-rocket-science-a350.html

Article Tags: facebook connect facebook.com api job board recruitment website integration facebook data candidate registration user information social recruiting social recruitment social networking social recruiting strategy

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Problems with highlighting text

Posted By: Thomas Shaw, 2:51pm Sunday 11 April 2010    Print Article

Highlighting keyword search terms in a search result list or job advert may look and feel nice. It can also be useful for quickly finding relevant words within large pages of text. But, it can have the reverse effect if you don’t script it correctly!

Same job advert, 3 different keyword searches. Notice how the search function searches within the HTML code and breaks the formatting tags.


keyword=S





keyword=P





keyword=DIV





Article URL: http://www.recruitmentdirectory.com.au/Blog/problems-with-highlighting-text-a349.html

Article Tags: job search results user experience job advert taleo highlight text job board recruitment system html code

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Job Board Statistics - March 2010

Posted By: Thomas Shaw, 7:02pm Tuesday 06 April 2010    Print Article

Australian Job Board Statistics measuring the total unique browsers during March 2010. Data source - Nielsen NetRatings. SEEK 4.26m, CareerOne 1.789m, MyCareer 1.493m





Article URL: http://www.recruitmentdirectory.com.au/Blog/job-board-statistics-march-2010-a348.html

Article Tags: nielsen netratings job board statistics job board mycareer careerone seek march 2010 job board report

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What will my job site look like on the iPad?

Posted By: Thomas Shaw, 8:00am Tuesday 06 April 2010    Print Article

The iPad has finally been released into the wild, and everyone is now scrambling over it to see what changes it will have on the way people view and experience web sites.

I have uploaded an iPad emulator script for you to see how your website will look in a landscape and portrait mode on the iPad. Click on the top border to rotate the iPad canvas from landscape to portrait mode. Please note that Flash is not yet available on the iPad, and you may be able to view Flash components in this script.

Before you go spend money building an iPad job search application or specific optimised website, consider the following...

The iPad will affect the way we design websites. There is no RIGHT way of viewing websites. That means you can view it either in landscape or in the portrait mode. But for the designer that means two completely different layouts for which to design. It is for this specific reason that the iPad highlights the need for smart fluid width design.

Macworld points out that one major difference between Safari on the iPad and the iPhone is which version of a web page, (desktop or mobile) you see when visiting a site. While the iPhone version of Safari is usually served the mobile version of a page - one with a tighter layout, fewer images, and other design differences that make the page easier to view on a tiny screen - Safari on the iPad usually gets the full-blown desktop version of the page.

In most cases, this is a good thing, as the iPad’s larger screen means you’ll want to see that full version. The exceptions would be sites where the mobile versions of pages are optimized for touch screens, or ones where the desktop version uses Flash for video while the mobile version uses H.264 or another non-Flash format; in those cases, you’d want to view the mobile version.

Assuming a Web server provides both mobile and desktop versions of its Web pages, which version you get depends on how the server is configured. When a Web browser contacts a Web server to request a page, the browser identifies itself to the server; based on that identification, the server sends (what the server administrator thinks is) the appropriate version of the requested page: a mobile-phone browser gets the mobile version, a Mac or Windows browser gets the desktop version. Most, but not all, dual-version sites serve mobile-optimized pages to the iPhone. (There are exceptions, however: some sites prefer to send desktop versions to iPhones, given that the iPhone handles desktop sites much better than the typical mobile phone.)

As with the iPhone, users will have the ability to add bookmark icons to the home screen of the iPad. These will offer direct links to specific web sites through Safari. You should consider adding a custom Apple bookmark icon to your website code. The browser also features a drop-down bookmarks menu that looks similar to the one on the iPhone.

The iPad (and iPhone) use the Apple Safari internet browser.
  • Search engine choices include Google and Yahoo
  • Search bar includes suggestions from the set search engine
  • The larger screen will allow you to view entire web pages at once, unlike what you see on smaller mobile devices.
  • To open a link found on any page, simply tap it. In the case of a URL shortener or “disguised” link, you can tap and hold to see what the url is prior to actually opening it.
  • Rotate your iPad to change easily for Portrait to Landscape view, and Safari automatically adjusts itself to fit your entire screen.
  • Tap the + sign on any page to quickly add it to your bookmarks. You can add pages to home screen, copy text and images, etc. Remember to add the Apple icon to your website code.
  • Security settings include fraud warning, in addition to cookie and auto fill settings
  • Flick your finger across the screen to scroll up or down a page.
  • Pinch your fingers on the page to zoom in or out.
  • The text will be large enough on the screen to actually see and read it easily.
  • The Thumbnail view allows you to see all of the pages you have open in a small grid pattern. This lets you quickly change from one site or page to another.
  • Safari on the iPad supports the latest video innovations found in HTML5. You can watch compatible videos from within the page, or double-tap them to watch full screen.
  • Sync your bookmarks from your Safari install on your Mac or PC. It only takes a moment. This ensures that you always have your favorite sites right at your fingertips.



Article URL: http://www.recruitmentdirectory.com.au/Blog/what-will-my-job-site-look-like-on-the-ipad-a347.html

Article Tags: ipad recruitment applications ipad recruitment ipad job search recruitment website job board ux website design mobile recruitment desktop version mobile version apple bookmark icon iphone job search what will my job site look like on the ipad ipad emulator ipad simulator seek.com.au mycareer.com.au careerone.com.au

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