Economically Speaking: GreatHires.org matches employees with jobs

Kelvin Simmons is director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

Missouri's economy is showing good momentum, and we have been experiencing steady job growth in the first two quarters of 2004. An improving economy means that more people will be entering the labor market in search of employment and more employers will be looking to fill positions again. And now the Department of Economic Development has a new work force development tool to ease the process of matching qualified job seekers with quality Missouri employers as the state's labor market expands.

On June 1, the Division of Workforce Development unveiled a new, streamlined online employment system GreatHires.org which is designed to better meet the needs of Missouri businesses and job seekers by easing the process of matching qualified job seekers with quality Missouri employers.

The new Missouri-based job matching system replaces Missouri WORKS!, which went online in August 1995 as the state's first publicly funded job bank system. The old job bank had become outdated over the last decade due to significant changes in advanced technologies and the way we now do business. In response to the need for change, the division sought out opinions from job seekers, business leaders, human resource managers and other work force professionals across the state to create the new GreatHires.org Web site.

The new system already boasts more 120,000 registered business locations and more than 12,500 job openings. There are also more than 270,000 individuals of varying skill and professional levels actively using the system to find employment. And, as before, there is no cost to either individuals or businesses that use this system.

How does it work? If you were registered on Missouri WORKS!, simply go to GreatHires.org and enter your user name and password on any computer at home, in the library or at a Missouri Career Center and your information will automatically be brought online. If you are a new user, simply click on "register" and enter the appropriate account information as prompted by the site.

How is it different? The new system literally goes to work for its clients 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For job seekers, GreatHires.org provides a multitude of valuable tools to help them take their careers to the next level. GreatHires.org also is designed to help businesses save time and money by offering a convenient, quick tool for locating and screening qualified employees.

GreatHires.org automatically matches an individual's qualifications with job openings in the database and, through a new messaging system, immediately notifies a business when there is a job/candidate match. The business then can send an instantaneous message to the qualified candidate to which he or she can respond. The site also allows businesses increased control over job matches through new screening options and an automatic ranking system, producing the best-matched applicants first.

An advanced profiling system showcases the job seeker's experience, education, skills and provides contact information. A streamlined five-step job posting process saves businesses more time and gives candidates quicker access to job openings than the state's previous system.

Another new feature is the personal homepage, which is automatically created for each user. The homepage is used to store search results, position descriptions or job postings, and contacts with applicants/businesses or Missouri Career Center staff.

Through a new automated process, the system now matches associate lay titles used by job applicants with industry titles. This feature provides businesses with greater flexibility in listing their job descriptions, while eliminating the difficulty that individuals once experienced when having to choose from outdated job titles.

The new site also allows individuals who have lost a job to use GreatHires.org to file for unemployment insurance with the Division of Employment Security and do the required reporting online.

Anyone can benefit from the new system, whether computer literate or not. Professional staff is available at Missouri Career Centers throughout the state to provide personalized help, from demonstrating how the new system works to providing a multitude of services available through a number of state and local agencies. To find the Career Center nearest you, call 1-888-728-JOBS (5627).

Whether you are a job seeker or an employer, we believe Missouri now has one of the most comprehensive job matching sites in the nation. I encourage you to put Missouri's workforce resource to work for you by logging onto GreatHires.org today.