Firm to overhaul USAJobs

USAJobs

The Office of Personnel Management earlier this month awarded a contract to TMP Worldwide Government Services Inc. to redesign and operate the USAJobs Web site.

TMP, the parent company of online job portal Monster.com, will be called upon to improve USAJobs' look and operation. The first improvements — to be completed early this year — will include an enhanced search engine so that job seekers can search for a position in a variety of ways, a resume builder tool and online vacancy announcements that are shorter and easier to read.

Other changes in store include:

n A data-mining feature that allows federal managers to find job candidates with certain skills by sifting through resumes on file at USAJobs.

n A universal resume development and submission function that is compatible with all agencies' automated application-processing systems.

n An application-tracking feature for applicants.

Improvements to the site will likely draw more applicants to USAJobs, said Claire Gibbons, OPM's project manager for the Recruitment One-Stop Initiative. "We want to make it easier and more intuitive," she said.

"There is a window of opportunity now for the government to take advantage of the downturn in the private sector to attract individuals to public service," said Jocelyn Talbot, senior vice president of Monster Government Solutions, a division of TMP. Enhancing USAJobs will help attract the best and brightest job seekers, she said.

The performance-based contract is valued at $62 million over 10 years if all option years are exercised.