It’s a jobseeker's market.  At least, that’s what I gather based on the technologies and tools which were presented to Zoe and me when we asked you to share with us the best of the best of the employment industry and let us give the tools the Zoe and Gretchen treatment. :)   A couple weeks ago, Zoe reported on Improved Experience, a business intelligence tool which allows companies to track their process highs and lows through the eyes of their candidates.

Today, I’m reviewing two tools which both aid jobseekers in navigating their job search:  JibberJobber and Isabont.  My conclusion is similar for both tools, so I'll first describe the tools and then give you my 2cents.

JibberJobber

JibberJobber was founded by Jason Alba who, as a jobseeker in early 2006, felt overwhelmed by the amount of information, contacts, appointments, and statuses he had to track.  Recruiters use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to keep appraised of this data, so he sought to level the playing field by creating a similar tool for jobseekers. 

At its core, JibberJobber is a CRM, and in fact, Jason says that small businesses have used it as such.  The site also offers a user-generated library to share links, book recommendations, advice, and personal experiences and an interview prep section which allows the jobseeker to save a 30 second pitch, power statements, and interview Q&A for easy review.

Basic membership, which includes limited but still generous use of the CRM functionality, reporting, and library features among others, is free.  Premium use is $9.95 per month (with discounts if you sign up for a longer term contract) and allows you more flexibility with the features such as entering in unlimited contacts, importing / exporting to Outlook, tracking expenses, and pulling summary reports.

For more information on JibberJobber, you can also visit Jason’s JibberJobber blog and listen to this podcast with Peter Clayton interviewing Jason.

Isabont

Isabont, created by Simon Clay Michael, had similar beginnings to JibberJobber.  Simon developed the site after struggling with data management during a 2004 job search, and in fact, Isabont is very similar in experience, cost and functionality to JibberJobber, with the added convenience of a resume creator (which, keep in mind, only outputs a resume as good as the information you input).  Isabont also has a strong advice section which, while not based on user generated content, currently boasts more information than JibberJobber’s library.  Premium accounts, allowing you to export calendar and contact items as well as email, download, and print documents like resumes and cover letters, run $9.95 per month.  For more info, check out Simon's isabont blog.

Gretchen's 2cents

Both JibberJobber and Isabont are perfect tools for high volume jobseekers who want to get organized in their current search and track activity and results for future searches.   The basic features for both services are free so if a motivated jobseeker wants to get his ducks in a row, there’s no harm in giving these services a test run.  Plus, each offers a different feel and flow so chances are the one you end up liking best will be personal tatse.  They also serve as good personal CRMs, whether you are looking for a new job or not.

If you aren’t an uber-organized type or dealing with lots of contacts, appointments, and recruitment processes during your search, these tools may be overkill.  I believe it was Jason who said that JibberJobber gives jobseekers access to the tools recruiters have had for years and hence levels the playing field.  But as a former recruiter, I can tell you that most of my ATS interaction was just a necessary evil I had to fullfill in order to globally track candidates and results along with all my other recruiter cohorts.  I'm all for data integrity, but as a one-woman operation, Outlook and Excel worked just fine for me and my hundeds of candidates.  But that's just me.  The point:  Don’t be that jealous of recruiters and their tools. :)

But fulfilling a need for organization or not, these tools do offer more outside of the CRM functionality like Isabont’s resume builder and advice center and JibberJobber’s library and interview preparation center.  Those are worth checking out even if you don't need help organizing your search.

gretchen