U.S. patent application number 10/115954 was filed with the patent office on 2002-08-29 for computerized job search system.
Invention is credited to Evans, Andrew B., Farmer, Brian E., Koffman, Jennie A., McGovern, Robert J., Walker, Aaron P., Winchester, James A. JR..
Application Number | 20020120532 10/115954 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25315875 |
Filed Date | 2002-08-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020120532 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
McGovern, Robert J. ; et
al. |
August 29, 2002 |
Computerized job search system
Abstract
A method and apparatus for providing an interactive
computer-driven employment recruiting service. The method and
apparatus enables an employer to advertise available positions on
the Internet, directly receive resumes from prospective candidates,
and efficiently organize and screen the received resumes. The
method and apparatus further is capable of monitoring employment
advertisements for a job seeker and automatically notifying the job
seeker when a position for which the job seeker is suitable becomes
available. The method and apparatus further enables a plurality of
companies to advertise job positions at a single location
accessible via the Internet by a job seeker, and enables the job
seeker to communicate directly with a company via the Internet if
the job seeker is interested in exploring further information
pertaining to an available position at that company.
Inventors: |
McGovern, Robert J.;
(Potomac, MD) ; Winchester, James A. JR.; (Reston,
VA) ; Evans, Andrew B.; (Alderson, WV) ;
Farmer, Brian E.; (Reston, VA) ; Koffman, Jennie
A.; (Reston, VA) ; Walker, Aaron P.; (Vienna,
VA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Roylance, Abrams, Berdo & Goodman, L.L.P.
Suite 600
1300 19th Street, N.W.
Washington
DC
20036
US
|
Family ID: |
25315875 |
Appl. No.: |
10/115954 |
Filed: |
April 5, 2002 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10115954 |
Apr 5, 2002 |
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09389752 |
Sep 7, 1999 |
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6370510 |
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09389752 |
Sep 7, 1999 |
|
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08853376 |
May 8, 1997 |
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5978768 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/321 ;
705/1.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/1053 20130101;
G06Q 10/10 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/26 ;
705/1 |
International
Class: |
G06F 017/60 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An employment recruiting method, comprising the steps of:
creating a computer readable file including information pertaining
to a job opening; uploading a portion of the computer readable file
to a medium accessible via a computer network; searching
information in the uploaded portion of the computer readable file
for the presence of information corresponding to information
designated by a user; informing the user when at least some of the
designated information has been found in the searching step; and
making available to the user additional information present in a
portion of the computer readable file other than the uploaded
portion in response to a request by the user.
2. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of
permitting the user to send information via the computer network to
a location at which the computer readable file is maintained.
3. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of
automatically searching the uploaded portion of the computer
readable file at designated intervals for the presence of
information corresponding to information provided by the user in
response to a request by the user.
4. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the computer readable
file creating step comprises the steps of: entering information
pertaining to the job opening; and categorizing job openings in
accordance with a criteria of the job opening information.
5. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:
creating another computer readable file; uploading the another
computer readable file to a medium accessible via the computer
network; including the uploaded portion of the computer readable
file with the another computer readable file; and wherein the
searching step comprises the step of searching the uploaded portion
of the computer readable file via the another computer readable
file.
6. A method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising the steps of:
when the at least some of the designated information has been found
during the searching step, discontinuing searching the uploaded
portion of the computer readable file via the another computer
readable file; and after discontinuing the searching, accessing the
information in the other portion of the computer readable file
other than the uploaded portion in response to a request from the
user.
7. A method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising the step of
accessing the information sent by the user.
8. A method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising the step of
notifying the user when the information sent by the user is
received at the location.
9. A method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising the step of
storing the information sent by the user based on a criteria
thereof.
10. A method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising the step of
storing the information sent by the user based on a criteria of the
information found in the searching step.
11. A method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising the step of
displaying the information sent by the user.
12. A method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising the step of
forwarding the information sent by the user to another
location.
13. A method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising the step of
sending response information to the user in response to the
information sent by the user.
14. A method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising the step of
deleting the information sent by the user.
15. A method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising the step of
copying the information sent by the user.
16. An employment recruiting method, comprising the steps of:
creating and storing a computer readable file on a medium
accessible via a computer network; importing into the computer
readable file a first portion of another computer readable file
including information pertaining to a job opening; searching the
computer readable file at the medium for the presence of
information corresponding to information designated by a user;
informing the user when at least some of the designated information
has been found in the searching step; and making available to the
user additional information present in a portion of the another
computer readable file other than the first portion in response to
a request by the user.
17. A method as claimed in claim 16, further comprising the step of
permitting the user to send information via the computer network to
a location at which the another computer readable file is
maintained.
18. A method as claimed in claim 16, further comprising the step of
automatically searching the computer readable file at designated
intervals for the presence of information corresponding to
information provided by the user in response to a request by the
user.
19. A method as claimed in claim 16, further comprising the step of
forwarding the portion of the another computer readable file to
another medium.
20. A method as claimed in claim 16, further comprising the steps
of: importing into the computer readable file portions of other
computer readable files including information pertaining to job
openings; determining, based on the portions of the another
computer readable files, which of the portions of the other
computer readable files are to be forwarded to another medium;
creating a forwarding file including the portions of the other
computer readable files; deleting from the forwarding file the
portions of the other computer readable files other than those
determined in the determining step to be forwarded to the another
medium; and forwarding the forwarding file to the another medium
after performing the deleting step.
21. A method as claimed in claim 16, further comprising the steps
of: creating an information file; and forwarding the information
file to at least one additional medium accessible via the computer
network
22. A computer readable medium of instructions, comprising: a first
data structure adaptable to control a computer to generate a
computer readable file including information pertaining to a job
opening; a second data structure including instructions adaptable
to control a computer to search the information for designated
information provided by a designator, inform the designator when at
least some of the designated information has been found in the
searching step, and make available to the designator additional
information present in a first portion of the computer readable
file in response to a request by the designator; and a third data
structure adaptable to control the computer which generates the
computer readable file to upload a portion of the computer readable
file other than the first portion and a portion of the second data
structure to a medium external of the file generating computer.
23. A computer readable medium of instructions as claimed in claim
22, wherein the second data structure further comprises
instructions adaptable to control the file generating computer to
receive information from the designator.
24. A computer readable medium of instructions as claimed in claim
22, wherein the second data structure further comprises
instructions adaptable to control a computer to automatically
search the uploaded portion of the computer readable file at
designated intervals for the presence of information corresponding
to information provided by the designator in response to a request
by the designator.
25. A computer readable medium of instructions as claimed in claim
22, wherein the first data structure is further adaptable to
control the file generating computer to receive job opening
information pertaining to the job opening, and categorize job
openings in accordance with a criteria of the job opening
information.
26. A computer readable medium of instructions as claimed in claim
23, wherein the second data structure further comprises
instructions adaptable to control the file generating computer to
manipulate the information received from the designator.
27. A computer readable medium of instructions as claimed in claim
23, wherein the second data structure further comprises
instructions adaptable to control the file generating computer to
notify the designator when the information sent by the designator
is received by the file generating computer.
28. A computer readable medium of instructions as claimed in claim
23, wherein the second data structure further comprises
instructions adaptable to control the file generating computer to
store the information sent by the user based on a criteria
thereof.
29. A computer readable medium of instructions as claimed in claim
23, wherein the second data structure further comprises
instructions adaptable to control the file generating computer to
store the information sent by the user based on a criteria of the
information found in the searching.
30. A computer readable medium of instructions as claimed in claim
23, wherein the second data structure further comprises
instructions adaptable to control the file generating computer to
display the information sent by the user.
31. A computer readable medium of instructions as claimed in claim
23, wherein the second data structure further comprises
instructions adaptable to control the file generating computer to
forward the information sent by the user to another location.
32. A computer readable medium of instructions as claimed in claim
23, wherein the second data structure further comprises
instructions adaptable to control the file generating computer to
send response information to the user in response to the
information sent by the user.
33. A computer readable medium of instructions as claimed in claim
23, wherein the second data structure further comprises
instructions adaptable to control the file generating computer to
delete the information sent by the user.
34. A computer readable medium of instructions as claimed in claim
23, wherein the second data structure further comprises
instructions adaptable to control the file generating computer to
copy the information sent by the user.
35. A computer readable medium of instructions, comprising: a first
data structure adaptable to control a computer to create and upload
a computer readable file to an external medium; a second data
structure adaptable to control a computer to import into the
computer readable file a first portion of another computer readable
file including information pertaining to a job opening; a third
data structure adaptable to control a computer to search the first
portion of computer readable file at the medium for the presence of
information corresponding to designated information provided by a
designator; a fourth data structure adaptable to control a computer
to inform the designator when at least some of the designated
information has been found in the searching step; and a fifth data
structure adaptable to control a computer to make available to the
designator additional information present in a portion of the
another computer readable file other than the first portion in
response to a request by the designator.
36. A computer readable medium of instructions as claimed in claim
35, further comprising a sixth data structure adaptable to control
a computer to send information provided by the designator to a
location at which the another computer readable file is
maintained.
37. A computer readable medium of instructions as claimed in claim
35, further comprising a seventh data structure adaptable to
control a computer to automatically search the computer readable
file at designated intervals for the presence of information
corresponding to information provided by designator in response to
a request received from the designator.
38. A method as claimed in claim 35, further comprising an eighth
data structure adaptable to control a computer to forward the
portion of the another computer readable file to another
medium.
39. A computer readable medium of instructions as claimed in claim
35, further comprising a ninth data structure adaptable to control
a computer to perform the following: import into the computer
readable file portions of the other computer readable files
including information pertaining to job openings; determine, based
on the portions of the other computer readable files, which of the
portions of the other computer readable files are to be forwarded
to another medium; create a forwarding file including the portions
of the other computer readable files; delete from the forwarding
file the portions of the other computer readable files other than
those determined to be forwarded to the another medium; and forward
the forwarding file to the other medium after performing the
deleting.
40. A computer readable medium of instructions as claimed in claim
35, further comprising a tenth data structure adaptable to control
a computer to perform the following: create an information file;
and forward the information file to at least one additional medium
accessible via the computer network.
Description
[0001] This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
09/389,752, filed on Sep. 7, 1999, which is a continuation of U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 08/853,376 filed on May 8, 1997, now
U.S. Pat. No. 5,978,768, the entire contents of both of said
applications being incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for
providing an interactive computer-driven employment recruiting
service. More specifically, the present invention relates to a
method and apparatus which enables an employer to use a computer
network, such as the Internet, to advertise available positions and
receive resumes electronically from prospective applicants, and
enables prospective applicants to use the Internet to find those
available positions.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Many resources are presently available to assist businesses
in finding suitable candidates to fill available positions. Perhaps
the most common recruiting method is direct advertising by
employers in the employment section of a newspaper, or in a
magazine that is targeted to people having specific skills (e.g.,
engineers, attorneys, computer programmers, and so on). A typical
employment advertisement will generally include a brief description
of the available position, along with the address, telephone
number, facsimile number and/or e-mail address of the employer.
Applicants can apply for the advertised position by sending their
resumes directly to the employer by facsimile, regular mail or
e-mail. An employer will usually have a person in its employment or
human resources department screen the resumes to identify the
applicants best suited for the position.
[0004] Many disadvantages are inherent in this conventional
recruiting method. For instance, a magazine and especially, a
newspaper, has a limited amount of subscribers and generally
services only a limited region. Therefore, the company's
advertisement may never be seen by many qualified people outside of
that region. In order to distribute the advertisement more
universally, it may be necessary for the employer to run the
advertisement in several newspapers or magazines, thus
substantially increasing the advertising expense incurred by the
company.
[0005] Furthermore, this conventional method is also very
inefficient even after the resumes are received by the company. For
example, because the resumes must be manually organized and
screened, a person in the company's recruitment or human resources
department may need to spend a significant amount of time every day
performing this task. In a large corporation having many positions
becoming available on a daily basis, it may be necessary for
several people to devote most of their time to organizing and
screening applicants'resumes. Furthermore, because a large amount
of resumes may be received, the task of organizing and screening
those resumes may be particularly onerous and thus, a certain
resume may be overlooked or mishandled. As a result, a candidate
who is well suited for a position may never be considered.
[0006] In an attempt to increase the scope of their advertising,
some companies have begun using computer networks, such as the
Internet, to post employment opportunities. For instance, a company
may set up its own "home page" on the World Wide Web (the "Web") on
which various job openings can be posted. Anyone who subscribes to
the internet can thus access or "log on" to that company's home
page, determine which positions at that company are available, and
send a resume to the company via regular mail, facsimile or
e-mail.
[0007] Although a home page can be a useful tool in enabling a
company to expand its advertising capabilities, a home page
provides no mechanism for organizing or screening resumes that are
received. The received resumes still must be organized and screened
by a person in the company's human resources department in the
traditional manner. Hence, the possibility still exists that a
resume will be overlooked or mishandled.
[0008] Furthermore, in order for an applicant to see the company's
advertisement, the applicant must be aware that the company exists
and has a home page on the Web. Hence, if the applicant has never
heard of the company, the applicant would not be aware that that
company has a home page. Many highly qualified candidates therefore
may overlook a company's advertisement because they simply are not
aware that the company exists.
[0009] Several advertisement agencies have recognized these
potential shortcomings and have developed "career bulletin boards"
on the Web. A career bulletin board, such as CareerMosaic,
MonsterBoard, and the like, is an electronic bulletin board on
which messages can be "posted" as on a conventional bulletin board.
A career bulletin board is advantageous because it provides a
single location at which many companies can post employment
opportunities. A job seeker can log onto the bulletin board to
peruse the posted available positions. However, several problems
are inherent with career bulletin boards.
[0010] For example, if a company wants a job seeker to see complete
descriptions of their job openings, the company must send those
complete descriptions directly to the bulletin board provider. The
computer at the site of the bulletin board provider must store all
of the company's information and thus, must have access to a large
amount of memory.
[0011] Furthermore, the computer must be capable of continuously
accessing that information to display it on the bulletin board.
These accessing and displaying operations, which involve the
handling of large amounts of data, may slow the computer's
operation significantly. As a consequence, if many job seekers are
accessing the bulletin board at the same time, the computer may be
incapable of handling this high level of activity. Hence,
additional job seekers may be unable to access the bulletin board
at that time, or job seekers who are already logged onto the
bulletin board may experience very slow service. Also, if a failure
occurs with the computer, the entire bulletin board will become
unavailable and thus, every job, posting will become
unavailable.
[0012] Additionally, bulletin boards are typically set up so that a
job seeker submits a resume directly to the bulletin board
provider. The resume is stored in a central repository along with
all of the other resumes, and must be forwarded to the company to
which the job seeker is applying for employment. This type of
arrangement decreases the confidentiality of the resumes, because
they are handled by the bulletin board provider instead of only by
personnel at the company. Also, this type of arrangement decreases
the company's confidentiality, since a complete job description is
sent to the bulletin board provider. Furthermore, once the resumes
are received by the company, they still must be manually organized
and screened. In addition, if a company updates its listing of job
descriptions, the updated list must be sent to every bulletin board
to which the company subscribes.
[0013] It is further noted that the direct advertising methods
discussed above require that a job seeker monitor the
advertisements on a regular basis in order to ascertain whether a
specific position is available. Hence, instead of relying on
advertisements, an employer or job seeker may use a professional
recruiter to find suitable candidates for available positions and
vice-versa However, the efforts of professional recruiters are
limited by the resources available to them.
[0014] For example, if a recruiter has been hired by an employer to
find suitable candidates for an available position, the recruiter
must undertake efforts such as "cold calling" suitable candidates
employed by other companies, networking with other recruiters to
obtain names of potential candidates, and the like. Conversely, if
a recruiter has been hired by a job seeker to find a suitable
position, the recruiter may need to undertake similar efforts to
locate such a position. Hence, it is likely that a recruiter will
overlook available positions and suitable candidates. Furthermore,
since recruiters charge a substantial fee for their services, many
companies and job seekers are reluctant to use a recruiter and
incur such expense.
[0015] In order to assist companies in facilitating their
recruiting efforts, several software companies have developed
resume screening programs which can be configured to screen a
collection of resumes for the most qualified candidates. Resumes
that are received by an employer who uses this software are first
scanned into a computer and stored. The computer running the resume
screening software can then be controlled to search those resumes
for various attributes, such as college degrees, prior experience,
special qualifications, and the like. The computer will then
provide a list of the most qualified candidates out of the entire
collection of resumes. This computerized screening and sorting
method allows human resource personnel to devote more time to other
tasks.
[0016] However, known resume screening software does not assist
employers in advertising available positions. Although the resume
screening software is useful once a resume has been received by the
company, it provides no advantage in enabling the company to seek
out the most qualified candidates. A company must still use either
the conventional methods of advertising (e.g., newspaper,
magazines, professional recruiter, etc.) or a career bulletin board
in order to solicit resumes. Hence, the drawbacks associated with
those types of advertising methods have not been resolved.
[0017] Therefore, a continuing need exists for a system which will
maximize the scope of a company's advertising efforts while also
providing a reasonably secure and efficient manner of forwarding
resumes to the company and enabling the company to efficiently
screen and categorize the resumes received. Additionally, a
continuing need exists to assist a job seeker in locating available
positions quickly and effectively.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0018] An object of the present invention is to provide a method
and apparatus which enables an employer to advertise available
positions on a computer network, such as the Internet, to directly
receive resumes from prospective candidates, and to efficiently
organize and to screen the received resumes.
[0019] A further object of the present invention is to provide a
method and apparatus which monitors employment advertisements for a
job seeker and automatically notifies the job seeker when a
position for which the job seeker is suitable becomes
available.
[0020] A further object of the present invention is to provide a
method and apparatus which enables a plurality of companies to
advertise job positions at a single location accessible via a
computer network, such as the Internet, enables a job seeker to
access those positions via the computer network, and then
disconnects a job seeker from the single location while enabling
the job seeker to communicate directly with a company via the
computer network when the job seeker selects an available position
at that company.
[0021] The above objects are substantially achieved by providing a
software program, recorded on a computer readable medium, for
controlling a computer of a potential employer to generate a
listing of available employment positions that can be accessed via
the Internet. Specifically, the software program is adaptable to be
run by an employer's computer to control the computer to generate a
computer readable file (position file) that includes information
pertaining to available employment positions and which can be
accessed from a remote site via the Internet. For example, the
position file can be posted as a Web site on the World Wide Web. A
job seeker can access the Web site and search the information in
the position file for a desired position.
[0022] Also, a portion of the position file can be uploaded to a
remote site computer to link the position file to a computer
readable file, such as a remote Web site, that is hosted by the
remote computer. Job seekers can access the remote Web site and
search the uploaded portion of the position file for a desired
position. The remote computer also is capable of automatically
searching the uploaded portion of the position file for data that
matches data provided by the job seeker, and is capable of
informing the job seeker's computer by an electronic message sent
via the Internet when a match is found.
[0023] Furthermore, the portion of the position file which includes
more detailed information about the available positions is
maintained by the employer's computer instead of by the remote
site. Hence, when a job seeker chooses to explore this additional
information, the job seeker's computer is disconnected from the
remote site, and reconnected to a new site which possesses this
additional information that has been provided to that site by the
computer of the employer offering the position. The position file
further includes linking data which enables the job seeker's
computer to send an electronic message, such as an e-mail or the
like, to the employer's computer and vice-versa via a computer
network such as the Internet.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0024] FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of a computerized job
search system according to an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0025] FIG. 2 is a state diagram illustrating an example of
operations performed by a computer running a software program
according to an embodiment of the invention;
[0026] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a sequence
of steps performed by a computer performing the create positions
operation shown in FIG. 2;
[0027] FIG. 4 is an example of a display screen generated by the
computer performing the sequence of steps set forth in FIG. 3;
[0028] FIG. 5 is a detailed view of a portion of the display screen
shown in FIG. 4;
[0029] FIG. 6 is a detailed view of another portion of the display
screen shown in FIG. 4;
[0030] FIG. 7 is a detailed view of a further portion of the
display screen shown in FIG. 4;
[0031] FIG. 8 is an example of a display screen generated by the
computer performing the position creating or position editing steps
of the sequence of steps set forth in FIG. 3;
[0032] FIG. 9 is an example of a display screen generated by a
computer performing the position editing, duplicating, deactivating
or printing steps set forth in FIG. 3;
[0033] FIG. 10 is an example of a screen display generated by a
computer performing the position duplicating steps set forth in
FIG. 3;
[0034] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a sequence
of steps performed by a computer running the program according to
the embodiment of the present invention described with regard to
FIGS. 1-10 when the computer is being controlled to add user
information;
[0035] FIG. 12 is an example of a display screen generated by the
computer performing the user information entry operations set forth
in FIG. 11;
[0036] FIG. 13 is an example of a screen display generated by the
computer performing the user information entry operations set forth
in FIG. 1 1;
[0037] FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of a sequence of
steps performed by a computer running the program according to the
embodiment of the present invention described with regard to FIGS.
1-13 when the computer is being controlled to enter information
pertaining to geographic locations;
[0038] FIG. 15 is an example of a screen display generated by the
computer when performing the operations shown in FIG. 14;
[0039] FIG. 16 is an example of a screen display generated by the
computer when performing the operations shown in FIG. 14;
[0040] FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a sequence
of steps performed by a computer when performing the create web
site operation shown in FIG. 2;
[0041] FIG. 18 is an example of a display screen generated by the
computer when performing the sequence of steps shown in FIG.
17;
[0042] FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a sequence
of steps performed by a computer when performing the upload to
remote site operation shown in FIG. 2;
[0043] FIG. 20 is a state diagram showing an example of operations
performed by a computer running another software program according
to the embodiment of the present invention;
[0044] FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a sequence
of steps performed by the computer when performing the upload to a
specific remote site operation shown in FIG. 2;
[0045] FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing an example of a sequence of
steps performed by a computer when performing the uploading
operation shown in FIG. 20;
[0046] FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing an example of a sequence of
steps performed by the computer when performing the job search
operation shown in FIG. 20;
[0047] FIG. 24 is an example of a page of a Web site created by the
computer performing the operations shown in FIG. 20;
[0048] FIG. 25 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a sequence
of steps performed by a computer when performing the personal
search agent operation shown in FIG. 20;
[0049] FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a sequence
of steps performed by a computer when performing a job export
operation shown in FIG. 20;
[0050] FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing an example of a sequence of
steps performed by a computer when performing the magazine
distributing operation shown in FIG. 20;
[0051] FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing an example of a sequence of
steps performed by a computer when performing the receive resume
operation shown in FIG. 2;
[0052] FIG. 29 is a flow- chart showing an example of a sequence of
steps performed by a computer when performing the manage resumes
operation shown in FIG. 2;
[0053] FIG. 30 is an example of a display screen generated by a
computer performing an operation of selecting a resume for display
according to the steps of the flowchart shown in FIG. 29;
[0054] FIG. 31 is an example of a display screen generated by a
computer performing the operation of displaying a resume according
to the steps of the flowchart shown in FIG. 29;
[0055] FIG. 32 is an example of a display screen generated by a
computer performing a resume scoring operation according to a step
in the flowchart shown in FIG. 29;
[0056] FIG. 33 is an example of a display screen generated by a
computer performing an operation for e-mailing a resume as
discussed with regard to the flowchart set forth in FIG. 29;
[0057] FIG. 34 is an example of a display screen generated by a
computer performing an operation for e-mailing a resume to another
user as discussed with regard to the flowchart set forth in FIG.
29;
[0058] FIG. 35 is an example of a display screen generated by a
computer performing an operation for responding to an applicant's
resume as discussed with regard to the flowchart set forth in FIG.
29;
[0059] FIG. 36 is an example of a display screen generated by a
computer performing an operation for finding a resume as discussed
with regard to the flowchart set forth in FIG. 29;
[0060] FIG. 37 is an example of another display screen generated by
a computer performing an operation for finding a resume as
discussed with regard to the flowchart set forth in FIG. 29;
and
[0061] FIG. 38 is a flow chart illustrating a sequence of steps
performed by a computer when performing the create resume gateway
operation shown in FIG. 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0062] An overview of an embodiment of the present invention is
illustrated in FIG. 1. Specifically, this figure illustrates a
relationship between a computer 40 used by a person searching for a
position (job seeker computer 40), a plurality of employers or
companies 41 each having a computer 42 (company computer 42) which
runs computer readable software according to an embodiment of the
present invention, and a remote location 43 having a computer 44
(remote site computer 44) which runs additional computer readable
software according to the present invention. The remote location
computer 44 is maintained by a service provider which typically has
contractual relationships with the employers or companies 41. The
job seeker computer 40, company computers 42, and remote site
computer 44 are provided with suitable modems and communications
software so that they can communicate with each other via the
Internet 46.
[0063] The operations performed by a company computer 42 running
computer software according to an embodiment of the present
invention will now be described. The computer readable software is
written in the form of a computer executable program (hereinafter
"the company site program" or "company site software"), typically
in the form of a magnetic diskette, and is written, for example, in
scripting languages such as C, Visual C++, HTML, JAVA, SQL, and the
like.
[0064] Specifically, the company site program that is run by the
company computer 42 is compatible for use with Windows NT.TM. or
Windows 95.TM., but can be written in any language that is
executable by any type of computer, and can be configured to be
compatible for use with any type of operating system, software or
Web browser. The company site program can be stored on any computer
readable medium, such as a CD, floppy disk, or the like, and can be
transmitted from one computer to another by e-mail or in any other
known manner.
[0065] FIG. 2 is a state diagram illustrating examples of the tasks
that the company site program controls each of the company
computers 42 to perform. That is, the overall operation 48 of the
company computer 42 as controlled by the company site program
includes a position posting operation 50, a Web site creation
operation 51, uploading operations 52 and 53, resume handling
operations 54 and 55, and a gateway creation operation 56, all of
which are described in detail below. The position posting operation
50 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 3-10.
[0066] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the
operations performed by a company computer 42 when the computer 42
is controlled by the company site program according to an
embodiment of the present invention to create a new job posting for
an available position, or to manage an existing position.
Specifically, the program controls the company computer 42 to
display an interactive screen on its display screen which can be
used by a person, such as one of the company's human resource
personnel (e.g., a "hiring contact" for a specific position), to
control the computer to perform certain operations which are
described below.
[0067] The company site program can be configured to control the
company computer 42 to allow a user (hereinafter "hiring contact")
to interact with the program in any suitable manner. For example,
if the company site program is being used with Windows 95.TM., the
Windows 95.TM. display screen that is displayed on screen of the
company computer 42 can be configured to display an icon which,
when selected by the hiring contact (e.g., via manipulation of a
computer mouse or in any known manner), will enable the hiring
contact to interact with the program. Alternatively, if the program
is being used with Windows NT.TM., the hiring contact can also
select the icon representative of the program.
[0068] Once the icon is selected, the company site program will
control the company computer 42 to display on its display screen a
command requesting that the hiring contact enter his or her name,
pseudonym, or the like, which allows the hiring contact to interact
with or "log on" to the company site program. After the hiring
contact has logged on, the company site program can control the
computer 42 to display an interactive screen as illustrated, for
example, in FIG. 4. It is noted that the screen shown in FIG. 4, as
well as all of the exemplary screen configurations illustrated in
the attached figures, may be found in the "TeamBuilder.TM. Getting
Started Guide" (Netstart.TM., Inc., 1996), the entire contents of
which is incorporated by reference herein.
[0069] As stated, the interactive screen allows the hiring contact
to instruct the company site program to control the company
computer 42 to perform desired tasks. Specifically, as shown in
FIG. 4, the display screen 60 includes an administrative tool bar
display 62, a position tool bar display 64 and a resume tool bar
display 66. The positions at which these tool bar displays appear
on the screen can be changed by the hiring contact through the
manipulation of a computer mouse, for example, or by any other
method similar to that in which icons and display boxes in Windows
95.TM. or Windows NT.TM. are manipulated as would be appreciated by
one skilled in the art.
[0070] As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the administrative tool bar
62 has a log-on command key 70, a web settings command key 72, a
hiring contact address book command key 74, a location address book
key 76, and a help command key 78, all of which are described in
more detail below. These "keys" are software generated keys which
can be selected, for example, by manipulation of a mouse as would
be readily appreciated by one skilled in the art. It is noted that
the use of the term "selected" or its derivatives in this
application refers to selection by manipulation of a mouse,
depression of the "enter" key on a computer keyboard, or in any
manner as would readily be appreciated by one skilled in the
art.
[0071] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the position tool bar 64 has an
add position command key 80, an edit position command key 82, a
duplicate command key 84, a deactivate position command key 86, and
a print command position command key 88, all of which are software
keys as described in detail below. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the
resume tool bar 66 includes a score resume command key 90, an
e-mail resume command key 92, an e-mail to secondary contact
command key 94, a reply to candidate command key 96, an export
resume to disk command key 98, a print resume command key 100, a
delete resume command key 102, and a find resume command key 104,
all of which are software generated keys and described in detail
below.
[0072] Turning back to FIG. 3, an example of the interactive
process that occurs between the company site program and a hiring
contact will now be discussed. It is noted that the company site
program can control the company computer 42 to perform other tasks
and operations contemporaneously with the operations discussed with
respect to FIG. 3 and, for that matter, any of the operations
discussed herein.
[0073] It is further noted that before the company site program
controls the company computer 42 to permit a user to perform
certain tasks, such as adding a job description, faxing a resume,
and so on, the company site program will check the status of the
license key governing the particular tasks or feature to be
performed or used. As would be appreciated by one skilled in the
art, the license keys are provided by the organization which
provides the company site program to the company, and are set based
on the agreement between the provider organization and the company
using the company site program. For example, if the company has not
licensed the resume faxing feature from the provider, the provider
will not have activated the license key governing that feature
which would instruct the program to allow a hiring contact at the
company to use that feature. Also, if the company has only paid the
provider to use the company site program to post a certain number
of job openings, the license key governing the amount of job
postings will control the program to prevent the hiring contact
from posting a number of jobs in excess of that amount.
[0074] When the company site program is controlling the company
computer 42 to perform the position related operations beginning at
step 1000, the company site program in step 1010 will cause the
company computer 42 to monitor the position command keys of the
position tool bar 64. In step 1020, if the company site program
determines that the add position command key 80 has not been
selected, the company site program will continue to step 1030 where
it will monitor whether any of the position categories have been
selected. It is noted that in the upper left hand portion of the
display screen 60, as shown in FIG. 4, the listing of position
categories will be displayed next to a respective "plus" (+) sign.
A hiring contact can select any of those position categories by
selecting the "plus" sign next to that category by manipulation of
a mouse, for example, or in any manner that would be readily
appreciated by one skilled in the art. It is further noted that the
position categories can be displayed at any suitable location on
the display screen of the company computer 42, and can be displayed
in any suitable fashion.
[0075] If the company site program determines in step 1030 that
none of the position categories have been selected, then the
company site program will return to step 1010 where it will monitor
the position tool bar 64 and categories. However, if the company
site program determines in step 1030 that a position category has
been selected, the company site program will proceed to step 1070
as will be described below. Of course, steps 1020 and 1030, and any
of the steps discussed herein, can be performed in any suitable
order as would be appreciated by one skilled in the art.
[0076] If the company site program has determined in step 1020 that
the add position command key 80 has been selected, the company site
program will proceed to step 1040 where it will control the
computer 42 to display on its display screen a screen 110 as shown
in FIG. 8. Specifically, the company site program will control the
computer 42 to display on its display screen a plurality of
commands instructing the hiring contact to enter information
pertaining to the position for which an applicant is being
sought.
[0077] For example, as illustrated, the screen display 110 may
include a position entry location 112 in which the hiring contact
can enter the title of the position, a category location 114 in
which the hiring contact can enter the category of the position, a
brief description location 116 in which the hiring contact can
enter a brief description of the position, and a detailed
description location 118 in which the hiring contact can enter a
detailed description of the position.
[0078] As the hiring contact enters the information in step 1050,
the computer 42 will store that information at a location in memory
pertaining to that position which can be accessed with reference to
that position. That information can also be stored with respect to
the particular hiring contact.
[0079] When the hiring contact enters all of the information on
screen 110, the hiring contact can select the next screen command
120 to cause the company site program to control the computer to
display another screen having commands and locations in which the
hiring contact can enter further information and criteria
pertaining to the position, such as salary requirements, education
requirements, percentage of travel required, whether the position
is part time or full time, required hours per week, the dates
during which the position is open, whether the position is a high
priority, medium priority, or low priority position, and any
additional information which the hiring contact believes may be
pertinent in describing the position to a prospective candidate.
The company site program also enables the hiring contact to perform
a spell check on the entered information, if desired.
[0080] If the hiring contact then selects a command indicating that
the data entry has been completed, the company site program will
control the computer 42 in step 1060 to display on its display
screen a message indicating, for example, that the information has
been received and stored, and further indicating that the position
will be "posted" in the manner described in detail below. The
company site program can then return to controlling the computer to
display on its display screen, for example, display screen 60 as
shown in FIG. 4.
[0081] If the company site program has determined in step 1020 that
the add position command key 80 has not been selected, and has
determined in step 1030 that a position category has been selected,
the company site program in step 1070 will control the computer 42
to continue to display on its display screen a display screen 60 as
shown, for example, in FIG. 4. The program will then interpret the
selection of a position category as a request by the hiring contact
to manipulate (e.g., edit, copy, discontinue, and so on.) a
position stored with respect to that position category.
[0082] For example, if the hiring contact wishes to take action on
a "sales representative" position, the hiring contact selects the
symbol (i.e., the "plus" sign) next to the category "sales" by
manipulation of a mouse or in any manner known in the art. The
company site program will then control the computer to display, on
its display screen, a screen 130 as shown, for example, in FIG. 9,
in which the different types of sales positions (e.g., sales
representative, sales manager--West Coast, and so on.) that have
been previously added in the manner discussed above with regard to
steps 1020 through 1060 are displayed in a list 132. Of course, the
different types of sales positions can be displayed in any
particular order or fashion.
[0083] The hiring contact can then select the particular position
that is to be acted upon (e.g., "sales representative"). The hiring
contact can then select a particular command key (e.g., edit
position command key 82 from the position tool bar 64), and the
selection will be identified by the program in steps 1080 through
1120.
[0084] For example, if the company site program determines in step
1080 that the hiring contact has selected the edit position command
key 82 and thus wishes to edit the selected position (e.g., the
"sales representative" position) that has been selected in steps
1030 and 1070 in the manner described above, the program in step
1082 will control the computer 42 to display on its display screen
a screen as shown, for example, in FIG. 8. The hiring contact can
then edit the information in step 1084 in the position in a manner
similar to that described above in which the hiring contact enters
information pertaining to the position. When the hiring contact
indicates that the editing has been completed, the company site
program will control the computer 42 to display on its display
screen a message indicating that the information has been received
and stored, and further indicating that the position will be
"posted" in the manner described in detail below. In this regard,
it is noted that the updated information will automatically be
uploaded or reposted to all designated locations. Hence, a hiring
contact need not update the positions at each site
individually.
[0085] If the company site program determines in step 1090 that the
hiring contact has selected the duplicate position key 84 and thus
wishes to duplicate the existing position that has been selected in
the manner described above with regard to steps 1030 and 1070, the
company site program in step 1092 will control the computer 42 to
display on its display screen a display 136 as shown, for example,
in FIG. 10. The hiring contact can then enter the name of the new
position which is to be the duplicate of the selected position, and
thus create that duplicate new position in step 1094. The hiring
contact in step 1096 can then select to edit the new position by
selecting the edit position key 82 of the position tool bar 64 and
editing the position information in the manner described above.
After these steps have been performed, the company site program
will control the computer 42 to display on its display screen a
message indicating that the information has been received and
stored, and further indicating that the position will be "posted"
in the manner described in detail below.
[0086] If a position becomes filled or the company is no longer
interested in hiring a person for that position, the position can
be deactivated by the hiring contact. A deactivated position is
stored for access by the company site program, but is not posted in
the manner described in detail below. Of course, the company site
program can be instructed to deactivate the position automatically
based on information (e.g., the dates during which the position is
to be active) entered by the hiring contact during the position
adding step.
[0087] To deactivate a position manually, the hiring contact will
select the position in the manner discussed above with regard to
steps 1030 and 1070. Then, if the company site program determines
in step 1100 that the hiring contact has selected the deactivate
position key 86 from the position tool bar 64, the company site
program will deactivate that selected position in step 1102.
Alternatively, if the company site program determines in step 1100
that the hiring contact has selected a delete position command (not
shown) from the positions menu command 134, the program will delete
the position from the list of positions 132.
[0088] Additionally, if the hiring contact wishes to print a
position, the hiring contact can select the position in the manner
described above with regard to steps 1030 and 1070, and select the
print position key 88 of the position tool bar 64. The company site
program will recognize selection of this key in step 1110, and
control the computer 42 in step 1112 to print the selected position
at a printer (not shown).
[0089] As discussed above, the company site program typically will
store the positions with respect to categories (e.g., sales,
marketing), hiring contacts, and geographic locations. Accordingly,
if a particular hiring contact is to be used as the contact person
for certain positions, it may be necessary to add the name of that
new hiring contact to the program.
[0090] In the add hiring contact process shown in FIG. 11 beginning
at step 1200, the company site program in step 1210 will monitor
the hiring contact key 74 of the administrative tool bar display 62
as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. If the company site program determines
in step 1220 that the key 74 has not been selected, the monitoring
will continue. However, if the company site program determines in
step 1220 that the hiring contact key 74 has been selected, the
company site program will control the computer 42 in step 1230 to
display on its display screen a screen display 140 as shown, for
example, in FIG. 12.
[0091] An existing hiring contact can then select a command key 142
(e.g., the "new" key) on the screen display 140, which causes the
company site program to control the computer 42 to display on its
display screen a new entry box 144 as shown, for example, in FIG.
13. In step 1240, the existing hiring contact can enter in the new
entry box 144 and screen display 140 the new hiring contact
information, such as the new hiring contact's name, e-mail address,
postal address, and the like, which will be used by the program.
The new name is then stored and displayed in step 1250 by the
company site program in the list of names 146 shown on the screen
display 140.
[0092] If a hiring contact wishes to add a location in the add
location process shown in FIG. 14 beginning at step 1300, the
company site program in step 1310 will monitor the location address
book key 76 of the administrative tool bar display 62 as shown in
FIGS. 4 and 5. If the company site program determines in step 1320
that the key 76 has not been selected, the monitoring will
continue. However, if the company site program determines in step
1320 that the location address book key 76 has been selected, the
program will control the computer 42 in step 1330 to display on its
display screen a screen display 150 as shown, for example, in FIG.
15.
[0093] A hiring contact can then select a command key 152 (e.g.,
the "new" key) on the screen display 150, which causes the company
site program to control the computer 42 to display on its display
screen a new entry box 154 as shown, for example, in FIG. 16. In
step 1340, the hiring contact can enter in the new entry box 154
and screen display 150 the new location contact information, such
as the city, state, country, and the like, which will be used by
the program. The new location name is then stored and displayed by
the program in the list of names 156 shown on the screen display
150.
[0094] It is noted that if, at any time, a hiring contact wishes to
receive help, the hiring contact can select the help command key 78
in the tool bar 62. In response to this selection, the company site
program will control the computer to display various informational
commands on its display screen.
[0095] In addition, by selecting the log-on command key 70 of the
administrative tool bar 62, a hiring contact can log-on to the
program again as himself or herself, or as another hiring contact.
That is, in response to the selection of the log on command key 70,
the company site program will control the computer 42 to display on
its display screen instructions requesting the hiring contact to
enter the name of the hiring contact logging on.
[0096] It is noted, for example, that positions are typically
stored with respect to a hiring contact responsible for that
position. Hence, by logging onto the company site program as
another hiring contact, the hiring contact can then access the
other hiring contact's positions as would be displayed on a screen
display (e.g., screen display 130 as shown in FIG. 9) for that
other hiring contact. Also, by again logging on as himself or
herself, a hiring contact can have access to resumes received for
those positions as described in detail below.
[0097] As described briefly above, once a position has been added,
or an existing position has been modified in the manner described
above, the company site program will control the computer 42 to
automatically upload the added or modified positions to all
designated locations, as described in more detail below. Also, the
company site program can be used to create a Web site for the
company 41 on the World Wide Web on which the positions can be
listed. A general description of the World Wide Web and Web Sites
(web pages) is set forth in a book by S. Harris and G. Kidder
entitled Netscape.TM. Quick Tour for Macintosh (Chapel Hill, N.C.:
Ventana Press, Inc., 1995), the entire contents of which are
incorporated by reference herein. The Web site can then be accessed
by a job seeker's computer (e.g., by a Web browser being run on the
job seeker's computer), and the job seeker can search the positions
listed on the Web site for a particular desired position. The
positions can also be uploaded to the remote site computer 44 as
will be discussed in more detail below.
[0098] Specifically, in the Web site creating process 51 (FIG. 2)
beginning in step 1400 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 17, the
program in step 1410 will control the computer 42 monitor the web
and company settings command key 72 of the tool bar 62 for
selection. If the company site program determines in step 1420 that
the command key 72 has not been selected, the company site program
will continue to monitor the command key. However, if the company
site program determines in step 1420 that the command key has been
selected, the company site program will control the company
computer 42 in step 1430 to create a Web site for the company which
will be accessible on the Web, and then in step 1440 will upload
the computer readable file for the Web site via the Internet to the
computer responsible for generating the Web site.
[0099] That is, the company site program will control the computer
32 to display on its display screen a screen 160 as shown in FIG.
18. The hiring contact can enter information pertaining to the
company in the available spaces in response to the commands set
forth on the display screen 160. The company site program
automatically will control the computer 42 to set up the Web site
based on the information pertaining to the position and, if
desirable, the company in general, as entered by the hiring
contact.
[0100] For instance, the hiring contact can select the format of
the Web site, insert a company logo on the Web site, and provide
information pertaining, for example, to the company's benefits plan
on the Web site. The hiring contact can further enter an Internet
e-mail address on the Web site so that e-mail messages can be sent
to the hiring contact, for example, by a prospective applicant
accessing the Web site. The Web site can be used as the company's
only Web site, or can further be linked to the company's existing
home page on the Web.
[0101] Typically, the Web site is configured to display the
information pertaining to the positions in a brief format and a
detailed format. That is, the Web site can include a "results"
page, which is a listing of the available positions, and a
"position detail" page which provides the more detailed information
pertaining to the available positions.
[0102] Additionally, the Web site can be configured to include a
"search" page. If the job seeker accesses this search page, the job
seeker's computer 30 will display commands on its display screen
instructing the job seeker to enter information, such as type of
position, salary requirements, geographic location, and the like.
The computer responsible for hosting the Web site will then search
the list of positions to determine if a match exists between any
one of those positions and the information entered by the job
seeker. The host computer will control the Web site to display a
listing of the matching positions on, for example, the results page
described above. The prospective applicant can then access the
position detail page to access the more detailed information
pertaining to those listed positions.
[0103] As stated, the company site program can be used to create
its own Web page which the company 41 will use to advertise
positions that are available. Furthermore, the program can be
instructed to upload a computer readable file including information
pertaining to those positions to an remote site computer 44 that
runs a program (hereinafter "the remote site program") which
creates its own Web page that a job seeker can access via the job
seeker's computer (e.g., through the use of a Web browser) and
search for a particular position.
[0104] For example, when the company computer 42 is being
controlled by the software to perform an uploading operation 52
(FIG. 2) beginning at step 1500 in FIG. 19, the computer 42 will
determine in step 1510 whether an external gateway has been
configured giving the company computer 42 access to the Internet.
If no gateway has been configured, the program will control the
company computer 42 to create a gateway in step 1520.
[0105] Once the computer 42 determines that a gateway has been
created, a position to be posted can be created in step 1530 by a
hiring contact in the manner described above with respect to FIG.
3. In step 1540, the hiring contact can then select (e.g., by name)
the external site or sites to which a computer readable file
including the position information is to be uploaded. The computer
readable file is then uploaded to the external site or sites, such
as MonsterBoard, CareerMosaic, or the like, in step 1550.
[0106] An external site, such as remote site computer 44, can also
run a program for hosting a Web site on which the uploaded
positions can be posted. For example, a service provider at the
remote site 43 can maintain a job search program which enables job
seekers to perform an employment search at many companies
simultaneously. As indicated in operation 52 illustrated in FIG. 2,
the company site program run by the company computer 42 can be
instructed to control the company computer 42 to upload a computer
readable file including the position information to the remote site
computer 44 running the remote site program.
[0107] As shown in FIG. 20, which is a state diagram illustrating
examples of the operations 170 that the remote site computer
program controls the remote site computer 44 to perform, the remote
site program is capable of controlling the remote site computer 44
to perform an uploading operation 172 in which a computer readable
file is uploaded from the company computer 42. As further
illustrated, the remote site program controls the remote site
computer 44 to perform a job search operation 174, a personal
search agent operation 176, a job export operation 178 and a
content magazine operation 180, all of which are described in
detail below.
[0108] As indicated in the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 21, when
the company site program controls the company computer 42 to
perform the uploading process 53 (FIG. 2) beginning in step 1600,
the program in step 1610 controls the computer 42 to read the
database in which the position information is stored. In step 1620,
the company site program will then control the company computer 42
to establish a connection, such as a TCP/IP connection or an SMTP
mail connection, with the remote site computer 44, by which the
portion of the computer readable file including the position
information is uploaded to the remote site computer 44. It is noted
that not all of the detailed information pertaining to the
positions is uploaded to the remote site computer 44. Rather, as
described below, the portion of the position file including such
detailed information is maintained by the company computer 42.
Also, it is noted that in step 1620, the company site program can
control the company computer 42 to send the portion of the position
information file to the remote site computer 44 via e-mail.
[0109] The uploaded portion of the computer readable file is then
received by the remote site computer 44 in step 1630 and stored by
the remote site computer 44 in step 1640 in the manner shown in the
flowchart of FIG. 22. Specifically, in performing the uploading
operation beginning at step 1700, the remote site program controls
the remote site computer 44 to perform a validation operation in
step 1710 to determine whether uploading of the computer readable
file from the company computer 42 is permitted.
[0110] If the remote site computer 44 in step 1720 ascertains that
the uploading is not permitted, the computer 44 will reject the
file in step 1730 and thus, refrain from uploading the file.
However, if the remote site computer 44 determines in step 1720
that uploading of that particular file is permitted, the file
uploading is completed in step 1740, and the file stored in place
of any previously stored file including information pertaining to
the positions available at company 41. It is noted that the data is
stored as records in a database with data elements corresponding to
certain fields in the uploaded data. That is, the job postings each
can be stored as individual records in the database with data
elements corresponding to certain fields (e.g., salary, location
and so on) of the record. The remote site computer 44 then
generates a Web site on which the positions are listed and
accessible by a job seeker.
[0111] The program being run by the remote site computer 44
generates a search page on its Web page which enables a job seeker
to enter information pertaining to a particular position in which
he or she is interested, and will control the remote site computer
44 to search the posted positions for positions compatible with
that information. Specifically, in performing the job search
operation 174 beginning at step 1800 shown in FIG. 23, the job
seeker will access the remote Web site hosted by the remote site
computer 44 running the remote site computer program. FIG. 24
illustrates an exemplary first page 185 of the remote Web site.
[0112] In step 1810, the remote Web site will provide instructions
to the job seeker soliciting information from the job seeker
pertaining to the position in which the job seeker is interested.
That information may include, for example, type of position, salary
expectations, geographic location and the like. In step 1820, the
remote site program will control the remote site computer 44 to
compare the entered information with the uploaded information
pertaining to the posted positions to determine whether any of the
positions are compatible with the job seeker's request.
[0113] If one or more matching positions are found, the remote site
program will control the remote site computer 44 in step 1830 to
display the results of the comparison on the remote Web page. For
example, if the job seeker is looking for a sales representative
position, the remote Web site will display a summary listing of
sales representative positions available at the company 42 from
which the position information file has been uploaded.
[0114] If the job seeker is not interested in investigating that
position further, the remote site program in step 1840 will stop
any further searching or displaying operation, and will allow the
listed information to be displayed on the Web site. However, if the
job seeker is interested in receiving more information about an
available matching position, the job seeker can select that
particular position (e.g., by manipulation of the mouse on the job
seeker's computer, or in any other suitable manner). The remote
site computer 44 will detect this selection in step 1840 and, in
step 1850, the remote site program will control the remote site
computer 44 to release the job seeker's computer 40 while
hyperlinking the job seeker's computer 40 directly to the Web site
generated by the company computer 42.
[0115] Accordingly, the job seeker can access this additional
information pertaining to the matching position directly from the
Web site generated by the company computer 42 without intervention
by the remote site computer 44. The remote site computer 44
therefore need not continue servicing the job seeker computer 40
unless the job seeker returns to the remote Web site.
[0116] When the job seeker is linked to the Web site generated by
the company computer 42, the job seeker can peruse the information
pertaining to the particular position that he or she has selected
which was found as a result of the search performed by the remote
site computer 44 hosting the remote Web site. The Web site
generated by the company computer 42 will generate a display screen
allowing the job seeker an option of forwarding an e-mail or a
resume to the company 42 to apply for that available position.
[0117] The off-site program is also capable of controlling the
off-site computer 44 to perform a personal search agent operation
176 (FIG. 20) for the job seeker beginning at step 1900 in FIG. 25.
Specifically, if the job seeker select this feature, the
information at the remote Web site, which has been created by the
remote site computer 44, causes the job seeker's computer 40 in
step 1910 to display on its display screen instructions for the job
seeker to enter information pertaining to the position in which the
job seeker is interested. The job seeker can also enter information
in step 1920 indicating that the "search agent" is to be a constant
search agent which monitors new position postings on, for example,
a daily basis.
[0118] When the information has been entered by the job seeker in
steps 1910 and 1920, the remote site program will then control the
remote site computer 44 in step 1930 to compare, on a daily basis,
the entered position information with the information pertaining to
the positions which has been uploaded to the remote site computer
44 and stored in a data base. If the remote site computer 44
determines in step 1940 that no match between the entered data and
the uploaded position information has occurred, no action will be
taken.
[0119] However, if the computer 44 determines that a match has
occurred, the remote site program will control the computer 44 in
step 1950 to send a message, such as an e-mail message, to the job
seeker's computer 40. The message includes, for example, the names
of the positions and their corresponding companies. The e-mail
message further includes hyperlinks embedded therein. Hence, the
job seeker can hyperlink to that company's Web site in the manner
described above to explore additional information pertaining to the
available position. The job seeker can also forward his or her
resume to the company 41 via e-mail, facsimile or regular mail, as
desired.
[0120] Additionally, the remote site program which is run by the
remote site computer 44 is capable of controlling the computer 44
to export the uploaded positions to an external site. Specifically,
in the exporting operation 178 (FIG. 20) beginning at step 2000 in
FIG. 26, the remote site program controls the remote site computer
44 in step 2010 to read from the database a file including the
position information that has been uploaded from company computers
42. In step 2020, the remote site program controls the remote site
computer 44 to compare the companies included in the read database
to a previously stored list of companies wanting their position
information to be exported to other external sites.
[0121] The remote site program will control the computer 44 in step
2030 to delete from the read file those positions of companies
which do not want their position information exported. Then, in
step 2040, the remote site program will control the computer 44 to
export the read file to external site computers via the
Internet.
[0122] The remote site program is also capable of controlling the
remote site computer 44 to send a "magazine" to a subscriber
electronically over the Internet. For example, in the magazine
sending process 182 (FIG. 20) beginning in step 2100 in FIG. 27,
the remote site program controls the computer 44 to read a file
including a list of subscribers from a database. In step 2120, the
remote site program controls the remote site computer to send the
magazine electronically over the Internet to the computers of those
subscribers on the list.
[0123] Turning now to the handling of resumes by the company
computer 42, it is noted that the company site program controls the
company computer 42 to perform the operations 48 and 50 (FIG. 2) of
receiving and handling the resume beginning at step 2200 in FIG.
28. The company site program can be configured to control the
company computer 42 to automatically send an e-mail to the job
seeker informing the job seeker that the resume has been received.
The company site program will then control the computer 42 to
determine in step 2010 whether the received resume is in e-mail
format.
[0124] If the resume is in e-mail format, or any popular word
processing format, such as Microsoft.TM., Word.TM. or WordPerfect
.TM. (e.g., sent as an attachment to the e-mail), then the company
site program will control the company computer 42 to perform an
HTML and text conversion process on the data representative of the
resume in step 2020 before the resume is stored in the database in
step 2030. If the resume is not in an e-mail format, but rather has
been determined in step 2040 to have been received as a fax or
scanned image, an OCR conversion will be performed in step 2050
prior to the HTML and text conversion step so that the converted
resume can be stored in the database in step 2030.
[0125] The company site program will typically control the company
computer 42 to store the resume in relation to the position for
which the job seeker is applying, and further, in relation to the
hiring contact responsible for that position. Hence, if the job
seeker is applying for a sales representative position, the resume
will be stored in a file which relates to that sales representative
position. The company site program can control the company computer
42 in step 2060 to access and display a stored resume on its
display screen. An example of the resume displaying and handling
process is described beginning at step 2300 in the flow chart shown
in FIG. 29.
[0126] In viewing a screen as shown, for example, in FIG. 4, the
hiring contact in step 2310 will select the position for which he
or she wishes to view received resumes in a manner similar to that
described above with regard to steps 1030 and 1070 in FIG. 3. For
example, if the hiring contact wishes to view the resumes received
for the sales representative position, the company site program
will control the company computer 42 to display on its display
screen a screen display 190 as shown, for example, in FIG. 30. A
brief description 192 of the position appears on a portion of the
screen display 190.
[0127] In step 2320, the hiring contact can then select the
position to cause the company site program to control the computer
42 to display on its display screen a screen 200 including a list
202 of resumes received for that position as shown, for example, in
FIG. 31. The resumes are listed by name of applicant. The hiring
contact can then select a particular resume for display in step
2330, and the company site program will control the computer 42 to
display the resume on a portion 204 of the screen as shown in FIG.
31.
[0128] Once a resume has been selected, in step 2340 the hiring
contact can utilize the control keys on the resume tool bar 66 as
shown, for example, in FIG. 7, to manipulate the resume as desired.
For instance, the hiring contact can rate on score the resume to
indicate whether the applicant is suitable for the position. To do
this, the hiring contact will select the score resume key 90 of the
resume tool bar 66. Upon selection of the score resume key 90, the
company site program will control the computer 42 to display on its
display screen a screen display 210 as shown in FIG. 32. The hiring
contact can then enter information in response to the displayed
information on the screen to score the resume in the appropriate
manner depending on the suitability of the candidate for the
position. The scoring will appear as a mark 206 next to the resume
as shown, for example, in FIG. 31.
[0129] A selected resume can also be e-mailed to anyone with an
Internet e-mail address. To perform this function, the hiring
contact will select the e-mail resume control key 92 on the resume
tool bar 66, which causes the program to control the computer 42 to
display on its display screen a screen display 220 as shown in FIG.
33. The hiring contact can then enter in the spaces provided on the
screen display 220 the Internet e-mail address of the person to
which the resume is to be sent.
[0130] A selected resume can also be sent via e-mail to a secondary
hiring contact. This secondary contact is defined in advance. When
the hiring contact selects the e-mail to secondary contact control
key 94 on the resume tool bar 66, the program will control the
computer 42 to display on its display screen a screen display 230
as shown, for example, in FIG. 34, with the secondary hiring
contact's e-mail address automatically appearing in the "To:"
location. The hiring contact can also enter a message to be sent
with the resume.
[0131] The hiring contact can also send a reply to a candidate by
selecting the reply to candidate control key 96 of the tool bar 66.
In doing so, the company site program will control the computer 42
to display on its display screen a screen display 240 as shown in
FIG. 35, with the e-mail address of the candidate automatically
appearing in the "To:" section. The hiring contact can then enter a
message to the candidate in the box provided. The company site
program will control the computer 42 to forward the reply to the
candidate in an e-mail format via the Internet. A message, such as
a form rejection letter, also can be imported from a database into
the e-mail message prior to transmission.
[0132] By selecting the export resume to disk key 98 on the resume
tool bar 66, the hiring contact can cause the company site program
to control the computer 42 to save the selected resume to any
particular drive, such as a hard drive, floppy disk, or the like.
The selected resume also can be printed by selecting the print
resume key 100.
[0133] Furthermore, the hiring contact can select the delete resume
control key 102 of the tool bar 66 to manually delete the selected
resume. Alternatively, the company site program can be configured
to automatically delete a resume after a selected period of time
from receipt (e.g., 180 days), or to save the resume indefinitely
if desired. The resume can also be copied to another position if,
for example, the person applying for one position is also qualified
for that other position.
[0134] The hiring contact can also search for a particular resume
by selecting the find resume control key 104 on the resume tool bar
66. In response to the-selection of key 104, the company site
program will control the computer 42 to display on its display
screen a screen display 250 as shown, for example, in FIG. 36. The
hiring contact can then enter the key word information in the
location 252 provided on the screen display 250, and the company
site program will control the computer 42 to search the resumes in
the database to find any which contain that key word. The resumes
containing the key word will appear on a screen display 260 as
shown in FIG. 37 which is displayed on the display screen of the
computer 42. Those resumes can then be selected for display on the
display screen of the computer 42. The program further can be
instructed by the hiring contact to control the computer 42 to
generate a position activity report summarizing the activity for
each position.
[0135] The program is further capable of controlling the company
computer 42 to perform a resume gateway creating operation 52 (FIG.
2) beginning at step 2400 in FIG. 38. The computer 32 will
determine in step 2410 whether an external gateway has been
configured giving the company computer 32 access to other sites,
such as CareerMosaic, MonsterBoard, and the like, via the Internet.
If no gateway has been configured, the program will control the
company computer 32 to create a gateway in step 2420.
[0136] Once the computer 32 determines that a gateway has been
created, the gateway attributes can be configured in step 2430 by a
hiring contact. In step 2440, the hiring contact can then select
(e.g., by name) the external site or sites to which a computer
readable file including the resumes is to be uploaded. Hence, the
resumes are effectively copied to the external site or sites.
[0137] Although only a few exemplary embodiments of this invention
have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will
readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the
exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel
teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such
modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this
invention as defined in the following claims.
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