AU2008243064A1 - Online recruiting system and method - Google Patents

Description

Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 ORIGINAL COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title: ONLINE RECRUITING SYSTEM AND METHOD Applicant: 2Vouch Pty Ltd The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: 1 2 ONLINE RECRUITMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD Field The present invention relates generally to recruitment, and in particular 5 to an online recruitment system for use in matching job profiles and candidates for the positions described in those job profiles. The present invention is suitable for use in an Internet based environment, and it will be convenient to describe the invention in relation to that exemplary application. It is to be appreciated however, that the invention is applicable to other technical 10 environments and other data networks. Background Recruitment involves sourcing and screening of one or more candidates, and selecting a candidate for a job or vacancy within a recruiting organization. 15 For many vacant positions, it is difficult to source an adequate number of candidates. To this end, .a recruiting organisation often places job advertisements in selected media, engages a recruitment agency or a head hunting firm, and/or utilises online job boards. Furthermore, some organisations offer a "finders fee" as a financial incentive to participating 20 persons who identify a candidate and refer them to the organisation for consideration for a vacant position. The finders fee is usually paid only if the candidate wins the position and exhibits a minimum longevity in the position. However, the group of participating persons is usually limited to persons already known to the organization, such as employees, so that the referral 25 network is relatively limited. Screening of candidates can also be laborious. Position descriptions must be carefully written to ensure that candidates appreciate the nature of the role. However, it remains common that unsuitable candidates apply or are nominated due to misunderstandings of the nature of the vacant position. 30 Furthermore, candidates skills and attributes are usually set out in a resume prepared by the candidate using their own lexicon, which may indicate a better or worse, match between the candidate's skills and the skills required of the W:\RNM\Spei4161 complete spci doc 3 vacant position than is usually the case. Candidate screening must therefore be rigorous and usually requires substantial human resources and staffing to resolve such issues, cost associated with this exercise being borne by the recruiting organisation. 5 It will be understood that any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which have been included in the present specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field 10 relevant to the present invention as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this application. Summary One aspect of the invention provides a method of recruitment for use with an online recruitment system which maintains electronic records of 15 profiles of a plurality of members, each profile including network information describing at least one interpersonal network of that member. The method including the steps of: applying a matching algorithm to match a job description to the network information of each member profile; and 20 notifying a particular member when the matching algorithm determines that a degree of matching of the job description to the network information for that particular member exceeds a predetermined threshold. Advantageously, in such a method members make their interpersonal networks available to an online recruitment system. These interpersonal 25 networks are then matched to job profiles to indicate a likelihood that either they or someone forming part of their interpersonal networks are a suitable candidate for a particular job profile. Such a method extends the number of candidates able to be accessed by a recruiting organisation beyond persons already known to that organisation to individuals forming part of the 30 interpersonal networks of those known persons. The network information may describe at least one social or professional interpersonal network of a member. For example, the network W:\RNM\SpMi\4161 I c plee sei dc 4 information may describe any one or more of a member's professional skills, experiences, professional locations or employers. In addition, or alternatively, the network information may describe any one or more of the professional skills, experiences, professional locations or employers of one or more friends 5 or acquaintances of the member. Preferably, the matching algorithm uses semantics to associate the job description and the network information. In other words, rather than searching for matching words in a job description and member profile, the context in which the matched information is used in the job description or member profile 10 is taken into account in order to determine whether the degree of matching exceeds a predetermined threshold. Prior to applying the matching algorithm, one or both of the job description and member profiles may be parsed to identify key words for use by the matching algorithm. 15 Once the particular member has been notified when the matching algorithm determines that the degree of matching of the job description to the network information for that particular members exceeds a predetermined threshold, the particular member may choose to further investigate and eventually apply for the position advertised in the job profile. 20 However, since the matching was carried out by comparing the job description to network information describing at least one interpersonal network of the member, the particular member may refer the job profile to a candidate forming part of their interpersonal network. Such referrals may take place by email, another form of electronic communication or by any suitable 25 electronic or non-electronic means. In this case, the method may further include the step of receiving a job enquiry from a candidate referred to the job description by a referring member. The method may further include the steps of prompting the candidate to become a member and provide member profile information for evaluation by 30 an employer; and receiving the profile information from that candidate. The method may further include the steps of prompting the referring member to provide vouching information for the candidate; and receiving the WARNM\Spe84I6II c plctespaidc 5 vouching information from the referring member. In this way, enquiring candidates can be authenticated by referring members for which a profile is already maintained by the online recruitment system. Advantageously, the step of notifying the member may include 5 suggesting non-members to whom the job description could be referred. Rather than simply relying upon a particular member to be aware of suitable candidates forming part of their interpersonal network or networks, suggested non-members may be automatically identified from social networking applications or weblogs associated with the member. A program or automated 10 script which browses a data network, such as the Internet, for the social networking applications or weblogs may carry out such automatic identification of suggested non-members. The method may further include the step of paying a fee to the referring member. The fee may only be paid upon notification that the candidate has 15 been recruited. Another aspect of the invention provides an online recruitment system including a data store for maintaining electronic records of profiles of a plurality of members, each profile including network information describing at least one interpersonal network of the member; and a processor and associated memory 20 device for storing a series of instructions to cause the processor to carry out a method as described above. Yet another aspect of the invention provides computer software for use in an online recruitment system, the system comprising a data store for maintaining electronic records of profiles of a plurality of members, each profile 25 including network information describing at least one interpersonal network of the member; and a processor and associated memory device for storing the computer software, the computer software including a series of instructions to cause the processor to carry out a method as described hereabove. Brief Description of the Drawings 30 The accompanying drawings which are incorporated in and constitute part of the description of the invention, illustrate the best mode so far W \RNM\SpecS41611 completespcidoc 6 contemplated for carrying out the invention, and serve to explain the principles of the invention. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of a computer enabled system for online recruitment; 5 Figure 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the flow of information and sequence of operations performed by the online recruitment system of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating parsing and semantic matching processes carried out by the online recruitment system of Figure 1; 10 Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating steps carried out by or in conjunction with the online recruitment system of Figure 1 upon referral of a job description to a candidate from a referring member of the online recruitment system; Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a variation to the embodiment of the online recruitment system shown in Figure 1 in which non 15 members to whom the job description could be referred are automatically identified and suggested to particular members of the online recruitment system; Figure 6 is a flow chart depicting steps taken by and in conjunction with the online recruitment system when a candidate either makes a job enquiry in 20 relation to a particular job description or refers that job description to a further candidate, including notably steps taken in a vouching process in which a referring member is prompted to provide vouching information for a candidate; and Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of various functional blocks of elements 25 forming part of the computer-enabled system shown in Figure 1. Detailed Description Referring now to Figure 1, there is shown generally a system 10 for online recruitment. The system 10 includes a client terminal 11 providing a graphic user interface 12, a web server or other central data processing 30 system 13 and databases 14 and 15 respectively in communication with the web server 13 and the client terminal 11. The client terminal 11 and the web W \RNM\Speci416LI cmpltepc ido 7 server 13 are interconnected by means of the Internet 16 or other suitable data network. It will be appreciated that the web server 13 or like data processing centre may be implemented in the form of a server or server cluster in a single 5 physical location accessible via the Internet 16 or like data network. Alternatively, the system 10 may comprise a plurality of physically distributed computing devices interoperable to affect a distributed server and provide the online recruitment functions described herein. Moreover, whilst databases 14 and 15 are illustrated as single entities, it will be understood that the data 10 accessed by the server 13 and client terminal 11 may be located in one or more data storage devices which may or may not be located at a same physical location. During use of the online recruitment system 10 to carry out the various recruitment functions described herein, various entities engage or interact with 15 the database server 13. These entities include employers, members of the online recruitment system who may also function as referrers of job descriptions, candidates unknown to the online recruitment system but known to the referrer members, as well as recruiters and other entities. It is to be understood that each of these entities may interact with the server 13 by use of 20 a client terminal, such as that referenced 11 in Figure 1. Each of these entities may interact with each other by means of such a client terminal. Interactions between these entities and between each entity and the server may take place by use of a conventional web browser maintained on the client terminal, by use of an email program maintained on the client terminal and associated email 25 servers (not shown) by which emails can be sent and received from the client terminal and server, or indeed any other suitable form of conventional electronic communication or data exchange between client terminals and from client terminals to and from the server. As shown in Figure 2, when an employer 20 has a need to recruit a 30 candidate to a particular job, the employer 20 generates or completes a job profile 22. The job profile is then submitted to a referral engine 24 posted at the server 13, for storage in the database 14. The referral engine 24 then acts to match the job description to electronic records of profiles of members that W:\RNM\SpeiI4161I mpleepido 8 have previously subscribed to the online recruitment system 10 and provided their profile for storage in the database 14. Each profile includes network information describing at least one interpersonal network of that member. The network information may describe at least one social professional interpersonal 5 network of that member. For example, the network information may describe any one or more of the member's professional skills, experiences, professional locations or employers. Alternatively, or in addition thereto, the network information may describe any one or more of the professional skills, experiences, professional locations or employers of one or more friends or 10 acquaintances of that member. A matching algorithm is applied by a matching engine forming part of the referral engine 24 in order to match the job description 22 to the network information of each member profile. When the matching algorithm determines that a degree of matching of the job description to the network information for 15 that particular member exceeds a predetermined threshold, that particular member 26 is provided with a notification 28 of the job description. As previously mentioned, the notification may be by way of email caused to be sent to a client terminal associated with the member 26 by the referral engine 24 hosted on the server 13. The member 26 then considers whether any 20 person forming part of their interpersonal network or networks might be interested in the role described in the job description. If so, then the member 26 refers job information 30 to such a person, known as a candidate 32. That referral is typically made by way of email transmitted from a client terminal associated with the member 26 to a client terminal associated with the 25 candidate 32. Having received a job description referred from a member of the online recruitment system, the candidate 32 then reviews the job description and determines their level of interest. If the candidate 32 is sufficiently interested in the job description to apply for the advertised position, the candidate 32 30 registers as a member of the online recruitment system and applies for the advertised job to the referral engine 24. In other embodiments of the invention, the candidate may respond to the referral from the member 26, who may then advise the referral engine 24 of the candidate's interest. It will be W:\RNM\SpeM4161 copleepci doc 9 appreciated that the candidate is initially a person who is not necessarily known to either the employer 20 or the referral engine 24. The member 26 is preferably required to provide a personal reference for the candidate 32 to the employer, so as to vouch for the candidate. This 5 personal reference is provided by way of vouching information transmitted from the client terminal associated with the member 26 to the referral engine 24. The referral engine 24 gathers expressions of interest and then provides a short list of preferred candidates to the employer 20 in response to the vacant role. The referral engine preferably then goes on to arrange 10 recruiting interviews, from which the employer may elect to recruit an employee. Upon recruitment, the employer preferably pays a recruiting fee to the referral engine, and a royalty may also be provided to the member who referred the successful candidate. Accordingly, the referral engine 24 manages, tracks, monitors and 15 rewards referral activity. The engine provides an auditable, measurable way of keeping abreast of referral activity, and is available online in a systematic way that motivates members of the online recruitment system to provide relevant referrals by paying them significant rewards when a referral they make is hired. Preferably, the system provides for referrers to personally vouch for 20 people they refer. This embodiment of the invention thus recognises that employers prefer recommendations for people that come with personal endorsement from the person making the referral, providing significant value to the employer. In order to determine which members of the online recruitment system 25 to notify of a particular job description, the referral engine 24 includes a matching engine which applies a matching algorithm to match the job description to the network information of each member profile. In order to improve the accuracy of the matching, the matching algorithm, preferably uses semantics to associate the job description and the network information. 30 Figure 3 depicts one embodiment of the manner in which the network information of each member profile is matched to the job description. The completed job advertisement form is then parsed by a job parser 50 forming W:\LNM\Spei\416Ji copltespci doc 10 part of the referral engine 24. The job parser 50 searches the completed job advertisement form for words or phrases that are subsequently used to categorise the job described in the complete job advertisement form. The categorised job is then incorporated into a job index 52 maintained in the 5 database 14. In order to facilitate the accurate categorisation of advertised jobs, the job advertisement form may be completed by the inclusion of one or more predetermined key words which may be notified to an employer by use of a drop-down menu or like means. These key words may be selected from a predetermined range of categorisations associated with the job. 10 Each member profile 54 includes profile information 56 describing the particular member of the online recruitment system, as well as network information 58 describing at least one interpersonal network of that member. The network information may describe at least one social or professional interpersonal network of that member. The network information may describe 15 any one or more of the members professional skills, experiences, professional locations or employers and/or any one or more of the professional skills, experiences, professional locations or employers of one or more friends or acquaintances of that member. In one or more embodiments of the invention, the network information may be entered manually by each member into the 20 referral engine 24. A resume parser maintained by the referral engine 24 then acts to parse each member profile in order to identify key words used to categorise the member and their network information. . The parsed information is then used to create a resume index 62 for each member. 25 In one or more embodiments of the invention, the member profile form may be manually entered by the member via a client terminal associated with that member. For example, a graphic user interface displaying various fields may be completed by a user. In other embodiments of the invention however, a conventional resume or curriculum vitae may be scanned or otherwise 30 transmitted from a client terminal associated with that member to the referral engine 24, and the resume parser 60 used to extract relevant key words for creation of a member record in the resume index 62. W.RNM\SpetB416L cmplte spi doc 11 A matching engine 64 then acts to apply a matching algorithm to match the job index created from a particular job advertisement to the resume indices created for each of the members of the online recruitment system. The matching engine 64 undertakes a semantic comparison of the entry in the job 5 index with entries in the resume index. When the matching algorithm determines that a degree of matching of the job description to the network information for a particular member exceeds a predetermined threshold, that member is notified of the advertised job. The semantic comparison is configured to produce a score between 0 and 100, and in this embodiment a 10 score of 70 or greater is considered to be a match. The semantic matching carried out by the matching engine 64 does not simply search for matching key words in the job description or member profile. Rather, when the matching agent 64 finds a key word, it goes on to evaluate relevant criteria to determine if the key word is a correct match or a false 15 positive. Such relevant criteria include the context of the match, in relation to which is consider whether the key word arises in the correct kind of data and matches that are the wrong data type are disqualified. For example, a word describing a technical skill may be a false positive if found in an address. Another criteria assessed by the semantic matching carried out by the 20 matching engine 64 is the meaning of the matching key word as used in the parsed document. For example, the matching agent may determine whether a matching key word has a meaning that describes a current or previous level of skill of the applicant, so that in cases where the matching key word arises in the past, the applicant can be deemed to be overly skilled for the role. Similar 25 semantic criteria may include minimum experience levels and/or minimum skill levels. The referral engine 24 thus automates parsing, tagging and deployment of individual resumes, social network profiles and network tags to create a skills, company, title and location cloud for matching. The referral engine 30 allows members to automatically input existing profile information and upload an existing resume, or to do so automatically. The referral engine then automatically extracts the tag information from the member and allows the W:\RNM\Speci\4I6 l cnpltepeci do 12 member to provide further details of their skills and experience within their interpersonal network or networks. Advantageously, instead of accessing only those job seekers who are actively seeking a career change, the referral engine 24 enables members to 5 refer job descriptions to individuals forming part of their interpersonal network or networks so that non-members of the online recruitment system are also able to be accessed by employers. Figure 4 depicts a series of steps during which such a candidate is able to interact with the system 10. Once a member of the online recruitment 10 system has been notified of a particular job description, that member may act to refer that job description to a candidate forming part of the interpersonal network, for example, by email. Upon receipt of that email by the candidate at step 70, the candidate will then review the job description at 72. That candidate will be invited to access a member invitation page at step 74. The 15 member invitation page can be accessed from a client terminal associated with that candidate, from which the referral engine 24 posted at the server 13 is accessed. At step 76, the candidate enters information to enable the referral engine 24 to create a profile for that candidate. Accordingly, the candidate becomes a member of the online recruitment system. Optionally, the 20 candidate may be required to log back in to the referral engine 24 at step 78, once basic information has been provided to the referral engine. Having logged back in, the candidate is provided with the opportunity at step 80 of deciding whether to apply for the position advertised in the job description, or alternatively to refer the job description to a candidate forming 25 part of their interpersonal network or networks. If the candidate decides to apply for the position advertised, the candidate is taken at step 82 to a page hosted on the server 13 to enable the candidate to apply for the job. At this stage, the candidate is then prompted at step 84 to create or upload more complete profile information and also provide a cover letter for submission to 30 the employer. Having completed this activity, the candidate is then directed to a dashboard. Alternatively, if the candidate decides to refer the advertised position to an individual forming part of the interpersonal network or networks, the candidate is directed to a referral page at step 88. WARNM\SpeiB416I complete spci do 13 In one or more embodiments of the invention, the member who has referred a job description to a candidate forming part of the interpersonal network or networks may be prompted to provide vouching information for that candidate. In this way, the candidate is provided with a personal endorsement 5 from an existing member of the online recruitment system, providing an increased level of confidence in that candidate by the employer. As shown in Figure 5, a candidate may receive an email or other electronic communication at step 100 alerting them to the presence of a job advertisement that may be of interest to them. In this example, the candidate 10 is required to click-on a link or otherwise access the job description posted on a web page maintained at the database 13. At step 102, the candidate then accesses that web page and reviews the job description. The candidate may choose to refer this job description to an individual forming part of that candidate's interpersonal network or networks. In this case, the candidate may 15 choose to click-on a "refer" button to indicate to the referral engine that a referral is about to occur. The referral engine 24 then determines at step 104 whether the candidate is an existing member of the online recruitment system 10. If the candidate is an existing member, then they are directed to a job referral page 20 at step 106 from which the referral may be made. Alternatively, the candidate is directed at step 108 to a page hosted on the server 13 to enable that candidate to join the online recruitment system 10 and become a member themselves. However, if the candidate was interested at step 102 in applying for the 25 particular job described, then the referral engine 24 once again determines at step 110 if the candidate is a member of the online recruitment system 10. If the candidate is not a member, then he or she is driven to a membership page at step 112. In either event, the candidate is then directed to a member profile page at step 114 in order to enable that candidate to provide their resume and 30 other details so that an employer can evaluate that candidate. If the candidate had previously been a member of the online recruitment system 10, then the candidate may be provided with an opportunity to simply update their existing details. W:\RNM\Spc 4161i canplete speci dc 14 At step 116 the referring member from which the candidate received the job description is then notified by receiving an email message that the candidate has applied for the position advertised by the job description. This email is automatically generated by the referral engine 24. The identity of the 5 referring member is alerted to the referral engine 24 when the candidate clicks on the link embedded in the email that the candidate has received from the referring member at step 100. Upon receipt of the email, the referring member is requested to click-on an embedded link in that email and then driven to a vouch page 118 where the referring member is prompted to provide vouching 10 information for that candidate. The referring member subsequently provides that vouching information to the referral engine 24, this vouching information being subsequently notified to an employer at step 120 by way of email or other electronic communication. In a further variation, when a member is notified that a degree of 15 matching of a particular job description to network information included in their profile exceeds a predetermined threshold, that notification may include information suggesting non-members to whom the job description could be referred. In other words, rather than relying upon that member to identify individuals forming part of the interpersonal network or networks who may be 20 interested in a particular job description, individuals who are identified by the online recruitment system as forming part of those interpersonal networks may be suggested to the member when the job description is notified to them. These non-members may be automatically identified from social networking applications associated with the member, such as MySpace, FaceBook and 25 the like, as well as weblogs associated with that member. These non members may be automatically identified by a program or automated script which browses the data network for such social networking implications or weblogs these programs or automated scripts are typically referred to as a "spider". 30 One advantage of the above-described online recruitment system is the ability to gain referral to passive candidates from largely passive referrers. The embodiments of the system described in Figures 2 to 5 supports the matching of job requirements to network information of members which may be W:\RNM\SpecimA 611 cmpcte s doc 15 interested in that particular advertised job themselves, or are able to generate potential referrals. However, as shown in Figure 6, the system is able in other embodiments to be deployed on social networking applications or weblogs. The social networking applications or weblogs are designed to give jobs wide 5 distribution by exposing them to individuals who look at members profiles. These individuals can click-on a job to review the job description and apply, with the member being marked as the referral. In other embodiments of the invention, the non-members are automatically identified by a program or automated script that "spiders" the 10 "social graph" of each member via their social network connections. The spider will reside within the applications and will search the profiles/resumes of the members/friends within their interpersonal network to identify potential matches for job requirements. Figure 6 depicts applications 130 to 134 associated with social networking applications and an application 136 15 associated with a weblog. The applications 130 to 136 interact with the referral engine 24 via a social application API 138 in order to provide access to the jobs to individuals who look at members profiles posted at the social networking applications or included on their weblog. Such a "spider", or in other words a program or automated script which browses the social 20 networking applications or weblogs, is referenced 140 in Figure 6. Figure 6 also depicts that in addition to employers, such as the employer 142, interacting directly with the referral engine 24, one or more recruiters 144 to 146 may interact with the referral engine 24, either acting directly or via an aggregator API 150. 25 In one or more embodiments of the invention, the referral engine may act to pay a fee to a referring member. Optionally, that fee may only be paid on notification that a candidate has been successfully recruited. The fee may be paid directly to a referring member 152 or alternatively the referring member may nominate a charity 154 to receive payment from the referral engine 24. 30 Accordingly, the online recruitment system enables employers to not only access active job seekers who have become members of the online recruitment system 10, but enables those members to make referrals to candidates forming part of the interpersonal network or networks. The online W:\RNM\Spcm4I611c ne spei do 16 recruitment system thus provides access to a passive candidate employment market, by enabling access to the social groups and business networks of participating members. It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that variations and/or 5 modifications may be made to the invention as described hereabove and depicted in the accompanying drawings without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. 10 W :RNM\Spec\B41611 cmplctespecidoc

Claims (16)

1. A method of an online recruitment in a system which maintains electronic records of profiles of a plurality of members, each profile including network information describing at least one interpersonal network of the 5 member, the method including the steps of: applying a matching algorithm to matching a job description to the network information of each member profile; and notifying a particular member when the matching algorithm determines that a degree of matching of the job description to the network information for 10 that particular member exceeds a predetermined threshold.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the network information describes at least one social or professional interpersonal network of the member. 15

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the network information describes any one or more of the member's professional skills, experiences, professional locations or employers. 20

4. A method according to either one of claims 2 or 3, wherein the network information describes any one or more of the professional skills, experiences, professional locations or employers of one or more friends or acquaintances of the member. 25

5. A method according to any one of the previous claims, wherein the matching algorithm uses semantics to associate the job description and the network information.

6. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, and further 30 including the step of: prior to applying the matching algorithm, parsing one or both of the job W:\RNM\SpecS4I61I coplte spi do 18 description and member profiles to identify keywords for use by the matching algorithm.

7. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, and further 5 including the step of: receiving a job enquiry from a candidate referred to the job description by a referring member.

8. A method according to claim 7, and further including the steps of: 10 prompting the candidate to become a member and provide member profile information for evaluation by an employer; and receiving the profile information from that candidate.

9. A method according to either one of claims 7 or 8, and further including 15 the steps of: prompting the referring member to provide vouching information for the candidate; and receiving the vouching information from the referring member. 20

10. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the step of notifying the member includes: suggesting non-members to whom the job description could be referred.

11. A method according to claim 10, and further including the step of: 25 automatically identifying the suggested non-members from social networking applications associated with the member.

12. A method according to claim 11, wherein the suggested non-members are automatically identifying by a program or automated script which browses 30 a data network for the social networking applications. WARNM\Speci\84J61 spec.pidoc 19

13. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, and further including the step of: paying a fee to the referring member. 5

14. A method according to claim 13, wherein the fee is only paid upon notification that the candidate has been recruited.

15. An online recruitment system including: 10 a data store for maintains electronic records of profiles of a plurality of members, each profile including network information describing at least one interpersonal network of the member; and a processor and associated memory device storing a series of instructions to cause the processor to carry out a method according to any one 15 of claims 1 to 14.

16. Computer software for use in an online recruitment system, the system comprising a data store for maintains electronic records of profiles of a plurality of members, each profile including network information describing at least one 20 interpersonal network of the member; and a processor and associated memory device storing the computer software, the computer software including a series of instructions to cause the processor to carry out a method according to any one of claims 1 to 14. W :RNM\SpeS4t6I I cmplepeidoc