JobShark.Com voted as one of Canada's hottest dot-coms!!!
by Bain & Company and The Globe and Mail

Montreal -- In the increasingly cutthroat world of on-line recruiting, JobShark.com thinks it's found just the right tool for keeping its teeth cutting-edge sharp.

Instead of relying on the number of daily hits, the Toronto-based careers Web site concentrates on delivering round-the-clock service that e-mails employment opportunities to the job seeker as they occur.

"We're really cutting down the time it takes to recruit the good applicants," said Matthew von Teichman, president of parent company JobShark Corp. "We're not interested in getting people back to our site again and again."

JobShark.com believes that its competitive advantage is offering more detailed, refined information on job seekers to recruiters, who pay about $575 for a job posting.

The firm also prides itself on providing companies with many well-educated, well-trained prospects who are currently employed but seeking something better.

Bain & Company gives JobShark.com high points for executing this strategy in the face of surging competition and for building up an impressive base of established clients and a high level of awareness among strategic groups.

The company was founded three years ago by Mr. von Teichman, 26; chief executive officer Christopher Klotz, 33; and chairman Hamish Somerville, who they refer to as "a grey hair" at 55.

In the study, however, JobShark.com did not rate as high for strategic innovation, although it does boast two proprietary software programs: JAWS, a search agent that matches jobs to job seekers; and Recruiter 2000, an on-line résumé management package that helps recruiters process the flow of applications.

With about 1,000 companies and 320,000 active job seekers in Canada, and offices in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver and Calgary, the thrust now is to roll out the business in Britain, Ireland and South America, said Mr. von Teichman, a former restaurateur in the Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont. area with Mr. Klotz. "Our strategy is internationally focused. We think we have a pretty definitive advantage moving into new markets."

On the home front, though, some tough rivals -- Monster.ca and Workopolis.com in particular -- are not standing still.

Workopolis.com is a powerhouse combination made up of The Globe and Mail's and Toronto Star's on-line job classifieds. Monster.ca is the Canadian offshoot of TMP Worldwide Inc.'s Monster.com, a beast of no mean proportions.

Bain said JobShark.com has only a "medium chance" to dominate the market, and warns that Workopolis.com "has caught up quickly."

Workopolis.com is now neck-and-neck with JobShark.com in market share, according to Bain.

But Mr. von Teichman says he's confident JobShark will prevail because of its high level of service and accountability.

To grow, the company is raising "tens of millions of dollars" in private financing through RBC Dominion Securities Inc., Mr. von Teichman said. Bain praised JobShark's management capability, citing the founders' "wealth of experience," the new talent being added to the board and the "many testimonials from satisfied clients." Site design, however, presents a few problems, Bain said.

JOBSHARK.COM
Toronto
On-line recruitment and job-seeking service provider
http://www.jobshark.com
Founded: May, 1997
Number of employees: 35 in Canada
Principals: Hamish Somerville, chairman and co-founder; Christopher Klotz, CEO and co-founder; Matthew von Teichman, president and co-founder
Financing: Private. Major investor is London-based Marle Group
How it scores:
Strategic innovation: 15
Strategic impact: 20
Execution: 24
Funding: 3
Fame: 3.5
TOTAL: 65.5

For more information please contact:

Christopher Klotz
JobShark.com
613-789-3219

Matthew von Teichman
JobShark.com
416-944-2444