An interview with Mr. N. Muralidharan, MD, JobStreet.com India

What makes Jobstreet.com different from other job sites on the Internet? Do you offer any value addition?JobStreet.com has many unique facets to it. We are the only Truste certified e- recruitment site in India. This means complete confidentiality about the job seekers' details. Truste is a public service body that monitors privacy on the Internet - the only organisation to do so.

We offer our clients the award winning ASP software - SiVA - for resume management. SiVA was awarded the Best ASP Software at APMITTA 2001(Asia-Pacific Multimedia Super Corridor Information Technology and Communications). SiVA undergoes enhancements with new features every 6 months which is passed on to our clients.

We have implemented end-to-end e-recruitment solutions to leading blue chip companies from across industries in India. Hindustan Lever, Colgate Palmolive, ICICI, Wipro, Novell, TCS, PCS, MBT, LG, Siemens, Orange, Allergan, Glaxo SmithKline Beecham, Asian Paints, iFlex and e-Serve to name a few.In addition JobStreet.com takes on the responsibility to customise corporate requirements to help fulfill quality talent.

More importantly, we have the experience and learning, being in the market for over 6 years.

Who are the people behind Jobstreet.com and how sound are yourfinancial commitments to this venture?

Mark Chang, a mechanical engineer from MIT, founded JobStreet.com in 1995. JobStreet.com is considered to have one of the best management teams with the founder list made up of people from ivy-league colleges.

They include:

Mark Chang, Founder &CEO, mechanical engineer from MIT

Dr. Albert Wong, CTO, MIT

Suresh Thiru, VP (Operations), a mechanical engineer from MIT

Malek Ali, VP (Marketing), Harvard.

The Indian operations is headed by me and I am also the founder and VP on the Board. I have been a vice-president with Wipro followed by stints as country head for Silicon Graphics and Informix.

JobStreet.com had a ``trial-by-fire'' when they faced one of the biggest recessions to hit Asia Pacific in 1997 in the form of ASEAN crisis. Not only did JobStreet.com survive the tough times but also became profitable. This is no mean achievement considering the fact that JobStreet.com had not been funded by any VCs.

In fact we went for funding only in 1999, a full four years after operation. Our financial and management strengths was one of the reasons that enabled a second round of funding in 2001- when most internet based companies closed down or were struggling to get funding. Today, we have 11 offices in the 4 countries we operate - Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and India.

All this is a clear sign of a company whose revenue model and commitment to the business of e-recruitment is beyond reproach.

Tell us something about your revenue model?

The service we offer to the job seeker is free. However, we charge the corporate who is on the look out for the job seeker. This is done in the following manner:

1. A ``plain vanilla'' offer of a job posting on our web site (something similar to space in a publication)

2. Providing an end-to-end solution to corporations to 'e' enable their recruitment process

3. By hiring our award winning ASP -SiVA for a time period to help corporations manage their resumes

4. Providing executive search & selection services for the time- strapped recruiters

With the dotcom dream turning into a nightmare how do you propose to sustain and make Jobstreet.com a profitable venture in the long run?

JobStreet.com has survived the test of time and has been growing annually at the rate of 400% every year. JobStreet.com is also in the business, which has stood the test of time - the business of e- recruitment.

E-recruitment as a model is made for the Internet. In fact, Forrester Research has gone on record saying that 30% of recruitment in Asia-Pacific will happen through e-recruitment by 2003. We are surely heading that way.

By continuously investing in technology (JobStreet.com invests over 30% of turnover in R&D) and adding value to our clients' business, we will not only survive but also hope to become a leader in the world of e- recruitment.

With the economic slowdown how are you motivating your employees to continue and excel in their jobs?

We believe that the best employee is one who is constantly ready to take on challenges - in good times and bad.

We have over 100 employees in the 4 countries we operate.

This might seem like a small figure compared to our competition. But this means that there is a lot more each employee has to contribute - a lot more for him or her to achieve.

There can be no better incentive for an employee than that.

To sum up, JobStreet.com's style of functioning enables the employee to identify their strengths and chart a career path that makes them happy.

What are your plans for the future?

``Stick to the knitting'' - this adage holds true for all successful companies and it also holds true for us.

We will continue to invest in technology, introduce innovative products and provide value to the clients' business.

This way we hope to expand our coverage to the rest of Asia and probably the world.

MALINI SURYANARAYANAN

maalini.mdsKcareercommunity.co.in