NAUKRI VS. GLOBAL RECRUITER

Abhi

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• Yahoo story $(p=9)$
• Naukri $''$ $(p=10)$ reverse

Yahoo Story

you may want to update yourself on Yahoo's MyWeb 2.0 (based on Flickr technology).

In my notes (Co-creation of Value) I have listed a few examples of how we can capture the knowledge/wisdom of HR mgrs/Jobseekers - in order to stay, far far ahead of Competition.

Naukri story

It always helps to know how your competitor's mind works.

So, whatever Bhikchandani is "thinking" of, must always interest us!

Right now, he is thinking

• "to put out all his 80,000 job-adds on aggregators such as Google and Yahoo (this will give his Clients, a larger response level).
• "His search algorithm will be a lot more robust than the single box searches of the US. (In the last year itself, Naukri changed its Search algorithm 20 times to take into account charging needs of the Client base).
• he admires Google Consumer Surplus model

With such thinking - and an expected revenue of Rs. 90 crores + a staff of 775 - Naukri is our FORMIDARLE Opponent!

But, longtime back, we concluded that, we cannot take on Naukri/Monster/timesjobs, on their turf, following their rules!¹

So, we have gone about creating for ourselves an altogether different "category" within online recruitment marketplace, where we are the ONLY (Single) player - where we have no competition.²

That is World-Wide-Jobs³

And we are trying to publicize/brand WWJ thru JAS - without spending a rupee.⁴

Even if Monster/Naukri/timesjobs notice WWJ, they are unlikely ditch/jettison their existing business-model and revenue-model. In order to compete with us. chances are that, for a longtim⁵e to come, they will consider us "insignificant" (- which would be good for WWJ).⁶

But the moment they feel threatened, they will try their best to see that we cannot download their job-advt (at least, not easily).⁷

To be prepared for such a situation,⁸

• we ar⁹e about to launch Global Recruiter
• we need to download job-advts from as many other jobsites as possible

(Including jobsites from USA-UK-Canada-Australia etc.).

Then, befor Bhikchandani succeeds in persuading Google (to partner with him), we must convince Google that it is best for them to tie-up with us.

Whereas Naukri can give Google 80,000 jobs, posted on Naukri only, we will/must give Google 8 million jobs - and posted on a large no. of jobsites - Indian & foreign!

From Aug till $14^{th}$ Dec (i.e. $4\frac{1}{2}$ months) we have downloaded 214,227 advts. If we take all from the day we started, this fig could be 500,000!

Before Naukri offers to Google 80,000, shall we offer Google 500,000?

Of course, Naukri will claim that their 80,000 are "CURRENT/LIVE" ads whereas our 500,000 are "OBSOLETE/DEAD"!

But Bhikchandani seems to think that, even in case of Job Advts (i.e. Classifieds, in American Terminology), Google will continue with a "Single box Search" (Single Search bar - as for any keyword based search today on all search engines).¹⁰

I agree with him that should Google continue with a "Single Search Box" even in case of Job Advts., it would¹¹ be indeed stupid!

I suppose Google is smart enough to know that.

If Google decides to make available "Job Search", it will be a database Search (involving multiple/simultaneous Search Criteria) - and not a mere

listing of "Webpage links". Even in its current model (Single Search box), Google knows that, returning 5 million results on 50,000 pages is STUPID! - NO one goes beyond 2/3 pages!

This aspect is brought-out again and again, in the book "Search", which I gave you.

And if Yahoo is working on giving a Searcher, just 50 "highly relevant" results (instead of 5 million) - then you can rest assure that Google will want to do the same - and much earlier than Yahoo!

And, our job is to convince Ashish Kashyap, Google India, that, if, in respect of Job-searching, we pioneers, a multi-box search, giving few but far more relevant search-results, then he (Ashish) may well become a "hero" amongst Google staffers! For the rest of the Google-worldwide, he would have taken a lead!

Somewhere in the article, Sanjeev justifies giving to Google, his 80,000 job-advts, by saying,

"this will give his clients a larger response level".

How?

If he thinks that Google India will continue with a "Single Box Search" in case of jobs, then his 80,000 jobs, will throw-up 2000 results, if someone types (in Single box) "Java"!¹²

Does he really believe that a jobseeker will painstakingly go thru 2000 results so that he can click "Apply online" against 20? If not, then, how are his Clients (Corpor¹³ate advertisers) likely to get "a larger response level"? Very doubtful.

And, unless, Naukri finds a way to upload its 5 million resumes as

well, on Google-server, how can a job seeker click "Apply Online"?

Unless this message gets passed-onto Naukri's server along with

• Jobseeker's ID (i.e. PEN)
• Advertiser ID/Jobcode No.

On the other hand, if Google India becomes a "partner" of Global Recruiter, not only the integration a matter of hours but Google has no need to worry about databases/servicing of jobseekers or corporates!¹⁴

As far as Yahoo India is concerned, it may not consider Naukri's offer favorably because of¹⁵ its tieup with timesjobs.¹⁶

Therefore, we can expect Naukri to market itself aggressively with Google.¹⁷

But, for us to come out ahead in this race, we need to upload 100,000 jobs on Global Recruiter - and fast!¹⁸

Lady luck, and a wife

Naukri.com's founder on how he managed to avoid being "a fully-kept man" while building the country's biggest jobs website

LUNCH WITH BS SANJEEV BIKHCHANDANI

PHOTOGRAPHER: PRIYANKA PARASHAR

Luck. It's a thought that keeps coming back while Sanjeev Bikhchandani built Naukri.com, India's largest entry-level web-based employment service. Unlike his rival, Monster.com's India offering, https://www.google.com/search?q=JobsAhead.com and Timesjobs.com, Naukri is an Indian company. Is it that he had the foresight to spot an incipient opportunity while others didn't? Or is it perseverance, writes Sunil Jain

We meet at the Royal Plaza, a Piccadilly in Connaught Place's heart. Bikhchandani's efforts to resemble the London businessman, whose life is all about lunches and bus in the middle of the week, have met him with the red coats and a lady that might have strayed by the Buckingham Palace guards. In any event, he has a long story which Bikhchandani grew up in Lucknow, moved to Delhi in 1975, which is what led him to change his name from the original Bikhchandani to Bikhchandani. His wife is quietly ordered. No booze, as is common with founders, and by an afternoon meeting, he's a very hot chicory drink, it's very hot indeed, a drink for starters and grilled fish for both of us.

Bikhchandani's story, or the sales pitch as he sees it, is pretty well-known now since it has been reported in all the newspapers, including the ones read by a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Bikhchandani quit a comfortable marketing job at HMM (where he earned Rs 8,000 a month) in 1990 to set up all his own job ventures. He was initially planning on setting up all the time to look at the 'HBR (Harvard Business Review) on loss-making magazine'. "You're a man who's looking for a job when you're not looking for a job," he remembers a company doing the field market research for consumer goods. But, the company was so broke that after the boss was looking after his wife who had just had a baby, his sales manager oversaw everybody's personal finances. He'd done School of Marketing, managed the company's computer SBS computer classes – in early 1990 he was a partner with the company, he got $\text{5\%}$ share. In the pursuit of this vision of the future, one of his first moves after being appointed was to persuade his new employer to spend some $\text{₹ 30}$ lakh on PCs, a filing system and a graphic store and share service.

"We were lucky since the dotcom bust happened soon after we got funding, but full marks to ICICI, they never negotiated that valuation, and kept the faith"

The Editor of The Flower and Fruit News, a monthly supplements, he'd previously made possible to make those meetings with all their splendor. Mitra — a very smart lady who helped him raise the money, his wife's sister — was working at the Department of Telecommunications, the government's official telecommunications service and wasn't confident her colleagues would get staffers to forward messages. Bikhchandani was left to fend for himself: his initial offering was a job-database — a lawyer and doctor could browse for jobs and choose the one they liked. However, he didn't provide details. The DoT project was approved in 1996, and in 1998, at a visit to IT Asia, Bikhchandani decided to do a search, rather than just provide the details. The search facility was a hit, and it led him to do a lot of research on it, using the DoT's service. The DoT was also very generous, giving him access to everything, including the service's media mentions. The service was a hit, and Naukri.com was born.

It wasn't easy: for the first few years, they didn't make a rupee. “I started thinking I was a fully-kept man. My wife’s income was the only one in the house,” he says. Then in 1999, JobsAhead launched the first cricket tournament on the internet, and was the first job website in India. Naukri.com went public in 2000, raising $\text{₹ 7.2}$ crore. “It was the first job website to go public. We were lucky since the dotcom bust happened soon after we got funding, but full marks to ICICI, they never negotiated that valuation, and kept the faith,” he says.

Since then, the company has done well, with an annual revenue of $\text{₹ 43}$ crore with a profit of $\text{₹ 8.4}$ crore.

Now, running a company of $\text{770}$ people and facing pressure is a nightmare, but how’s Google’s search engine, with all its power, affecting Naukri? Bikhchandani, ever the marketing man, tells you the reason his success has a lot to do with the fact that, to some degree, he's put all his $\text{₹ 8,000}$ into the business, which is what Google and Yahoo! did. "This ugly thing called $\text{Google}$ has done a service. Isn't Naukri dead because Google has searched for jobs for free? The answer is: the question is: will the average user of the internet be happy with the results of a simple search for jobs? For instance, Google might give you a resume for a CEO job at $\text{Citigroup}$ when you searched for an entry-level job."

Bikhchandani is a master salesman, with an energetic service to both charter his and others' needs. He says the company’s success, and that of his competitors, comes down to his willingness to pay, and his willingness to work hard. He also shares his own search for the answer:

“I have two search engines for jobs now, one is a paid one, and one is a free one. The free one is for everyone, and the paid one is only for the companies who pay for it. The free one is more effective than the paid one, and it is a good way to see how effective the company is in finding the right person for the job.”

He is also open about the challenges he faces:

“The Indian newspaper companies are a nightmare. They have all got their own job websites, and they are all competing with us. The Hindu, The Times of India, and all the rest of them. They are all after us, and they all want to take a cut of our profits. I have to be careful not to let them in the door.”

He is also very clear about the future:

“I want to be the best job website in the world. I want to be the company that everyone comes to when they are looking for a job. I want to be the place where everyone is happy.”

It is clear that Bikhchandani is a man who knows what he wants and how to get it. He has a great story to tell, and he is a great salesman.

PERSONAL BUSINESS 9

How to free the slaves from the webmasters

ALAN CANE

Bradley Horowitz comes to the web because he loves the freedom he enjoys at Yahoo! (chief executive, Terry Semel, once said Horowitz was “leading me all the way in the world. He's got his finger on the pulse of the web, and he's going to make it sing for me.” He grins, mixing metaphors with an enthusiastic zeal.

Horowitz, a California-based Yahoo, now more than 10 years old, has invented the technology for the next generation of the web, but, in recent years, Google has been his rival, by the upstart Google, contributor of the verb "to Google" to the English language, and by an increasingly popular Microsoft. Now it is fighting on several multiple fronts, not least those of its core business: web search.

Horowitz, an entrepreneurial graduate of the Wharton School, co-founded Virage, a media indexing company, and worked for the UK Group Autonomy two years before he became technology director, search and messaging group, in 2004. Ago. It is a gregarious little guy who reflects the speed that characterises the time the way society interprets. A man who wants to regain its former lustre.

His first priority is to usher in a new concept of web search. He is part of a part of a Google or Microsoft's MSN will be augmented, if not wholly replaced, by a personalised expertise and experience of the web. This is what Yahoo calls this, “social search,” which goes a long way towards defining characteristic of the next generation of web search tools.

In pursuit of this vision of the future, one of his first moves after being appointed was to persuade his new employers to spend some $\text{\$ 30}$ m on “Flickr,” an online photographic store and share service, and a social network technology that makes it easy for friends to create a personal hierarchy of favourite images.

The result is an innovative, an experimental service based on the technology called by web 2.0, which allows customers to tag their favourite websites and share them to 50 websites or to share with other people's friends: two degrees of separation and a great deal of it. Horowitz gives the example of typing "bicycle" into a corporate search engine that produces millions of results, but the same search he gives to you, for your neighbour and the neighbour's neighbour, across the world. MyWeb 2.0, or social search, allows content that you have already tagged as being of interest, or as being selected by Friends and acquaintances. It is the equivalent of "Who knows your tastes? "Who knows a good bike shop?"

To Yahoo, it is the fourth

chapter in the web search story. The first chapter was Yahoo!'s founders, the Stanford University graduates, David Filo and Jerry Yang, was a general directory, a manually prepared classification of all the web's sites and services.

As the web expanded, this became impossibly laborious, however, and the second chapter was heralded by Google’s new, automated search engines such as Alta Vista, HotBot and Inktomi, which sent out software robots to crawl the web. They did it by garner pages of information on content, on text, on images, and they used conventional text indexing.

The advent of page ranking, for which Google devised a means to classify, marked chapter three: a new engineering of modern search.

Rather than simply representing the undifferentiated mass of pages of the web, the page ranking software sorted the information, or pages, to bring the most significant first. This is still the core of the computer giant's home page at the top of the list.

But, as Horowitz points out, the hierarchy is decided by the webmasters, the controllers of website content: "We are slaves to the internet by proxy on what's important. We vote on what's important, we are slaves to the webmaster's idea of what is important."

He goes on: "This next phase is our second and social search means that we'll move from a webmaster's privilege of voting on what's important to a user's right to pose that so communities and groups can leverage that information into social search." The key is a consensus-based social search on open standards in order to spread the information and create a 'who's who' environment.

 

Summary Table

File Name	Topic/Subject	Key People Mentioned	Key Companies/Websites
Scan_0010.jpg	Naukri.com's founder, Sanjeev Bikhchandani, discusses his journey and the challenges of building the company.	Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Sunil Jain, Mitra	Naukri.com, Monster.com, https://www.google.com/search?q=JobsAhead.com, Timesjobs.com, ICICI, Google, Yahoo!
Scan_0011.jpg	How to "free the slaves from the webmasters" by moving from conventional search to "social search" (Web 2.0).