`

`Case 2:13-cv-02486-JWL-JPO Document 1-1 Filed 09/17/13 Page 2 of 52
`
`US 7,424,438 B2
`Page 2
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`Clyde et ai, An Object Oriented Implementation of an Adaptive
`Classification of Job Openings, IEEE, pp. 9-16, Feb. 1995.
`Belanger et aI., Employment Interview Information Available Online
`vol. 10 No.1, Online Reviews, pp. 45-46, Feb. 1996.
`Dolan et ai, Top US Sources for an Online Job, Database, pp. 35-43,
`Nov. 1994.
`Sullivan, Kristina B., Vendors to Push Multimedia Wares at CD Roms
`Show, PC Week, p. 28, Oct. 1991.
`Ramsay, Martin, The USA at Your Fingertips, p. 89, Jun. 1993.
`
`APS Related Information, pp. 3-2, 3-3, 4-3, 4-4, 4-12, 4-26, 4-31,
`4-32,4-36.
`Chabrow, Eric; Online Employment, pp. 38-40, Jan. 1995.
`Newton, Harry, Resume: Resumix Announces Internet Services,
`Work-Group Computing, pp. 1-3, Jun. 1995.
`Riley, Resume Databases on the Internet, The Riley Guide, pp. 1-5,
`1995.
`MCI Communications Corporation, MCI, Job and Resumes posting
`related information.
`* cited by examiner
`
`Petitioner Exhibit 1001 p.2
`
`

`

`

`

`Educational
`Institution
`Referrals
`
`201
`
`Professional
`Association
`Referrals
`202
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`of Talent
`Profiles 203
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`Unions 223\
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`Search Interface
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`Certifications
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`224 \
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`Other Sources
`Yielding
`Employers
`208
`
`Employer
`Creates an
`Account
`209
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`Association
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`207
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`Petitioner Exhibit 1001 p.4
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`Case 2:13-cv-02486-JWL-JPO Document 1-1 Filed 09/17/13 Page 18 of 52
`
`u.s. Patent
`
`Sep.9,2008
`
`Sheet 16 of 21
`
`US 7,424,438 B2
`
`From Fig. 12
`
`Process Referral
`Fees and
`Commissions
`1301
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`a Message that
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`are Earned
`1303 ",r----
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`
`Petitioner Exhibit 1001 p.18
`
`

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`Case 2:13-cv-02486-JWL-JPO Document 1-1 Filed 09/17/13 Page 24 of 52
`
`US 7,424,438 B2
`
`1
`APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR
`PROVIDING CAREER AND EMPLOYMENT
`SERVICES
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`This invention relates to network connected infonnation
`systems, and, more particularly, to network connected infor(cid:173)
`mation systems providing data processing applications in
`connection with optimizing
`individuals' employment
`searches and career opportunities, and optimizing employers'
`recruiting and hiring processes and decisions.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`Finding and hiring highly qualified employees or talent for
`specific jobs is one of the most important objectives an
`employer undertakes. In furthering the employer's objective
`of hiring the best possible employees, an employer would
`ideally have access to detailed infonnation regarding as large
`a pool of talent as possible and the pool of talent would
`include prospective employees who are highly qualified for
`the particular job that the employer seeks to fill. Without such
`information, a great deal of time and expense is often
`expended by employers in connection with their recruiting
`and screening functions, while, nevertheless, achieving unac(cid:173)
`ceptable results.
`Traditionally, employers have found potential talent
`among new school graduates through school-related job 30
`counseling resources, in response to classified advertise(cid:173)
`ments for particular jobs, referrals from existing employees,
`and through the use of third-party recruiters ("headhunters").
`Each of these alternatives is inefficient, and some are costly,
`as well. Furthermore, employers' articulation of the skills 35
`they seek to hire are imprecise. Typically, school-related job
`counseling resources, classified advertising, and word-of(cid:173)
`mouth referrals deal in generalities.
`When an employer seeks to hire an experienced employee,
`the pool of talent, within which a search is conducted, is often
`limited to individuals who have already worked in a particular
`job within a particular industry. Although it may be merito(cid:173)
`rious that a prospective employee has current or prior expe(cid:173)
`rience in a particular job within a particular industry, indi(cid:173)
`viduals with experience in other jobs within other industries
`may possess the particular skills that an employer requires for
`a particular job. Yet there exists no efficient means for iden(cid:173)
`tifYing such individuals in other fields who may possess the
`precise skills sought by the employer. Consequently, an
`employer's employment recruiting and hiring processes and
`subsequent operations would be greatly enhanced if the
`employer could efficiently and cost-effectively identify
`highly qualified talent both within and without the industry
`and occupational categories of the employer.
`Another employment problem faced by employers is that
`they often do not know when a particular employment posi(cid:173)
`tion may become vacant. Specifically, while it is a business
`courtesy to provide two weeks notice oftenninationof at-will
`employment, employees occasionally terminate employment
`with less than two weeks notice. Additionally, it may occur
`that an employee may be tenninated for a reason necessitating
`less than two-weeks notice, and injury, illness, or death may
`cause an employee to become unavailable to perfonn his or
`her job function. Further, even if a full two weeks is available
`to hire a replacement employee, frequently two weeks is not
`enough time to hire a person, particularly for skills that are in
`high demand.
`
`2
`Another problem faced by employers is that they may stop
`searching for more highly skilled employee(s) than they have,
`if an employment position is currently filled. Consequently,
`an employer's recruiting and hiring processes, and subse(cid:173)
`quent operations, would be greatly enhanced if the employer
`could efficiently and cost-effectively identify highly qualified
`talent on a continuous basis. Accordingly, there is a need in
`the art for a practical continuous recruiting system.
`Another employment problem faced by employers is that
`10 there is no unifonnity among employers in how they commu(cid:173)
`nicate the requirements, compensation, and benefits of their
`employment positions to the public. As a result, it is difficult
`for talent to efficiently and cost-effectively identifY the uni(cid:173)
`verse of employment positions for which their skills may be
`15 suited. Consequently, an employer's recruiting and hiring
`processes, and subsequent operations, would be greatly
`enhanced if the employer could efficiently and cost-effec(cid:173)
`tively communicate detailed infonnation about the skills and
`experience they require, and the compensation and benefits
`20 they offer, in a structured manner that facilitates the search by
`talent for optimal employment opportunities.
`At the same time that employers are encountering difficulty
`in identifYing highly qualified employees ("talent") to fill
`specific employment positions, talent is struggling to find the
`25 employers and employment opportunities that best match the
`talent's skills and objectives.
`For talent, establishing and developing a career involves
`finding, researching, and targeting employers. Traditionally,
`talent has used the same sort of inefficient means to find
`employment opportunities as employers have used to find
`talent. Talent has generally relied on school placement
`resources, replying to classified advertisements, and word(cid:173)
`of-mouth referrals from persons who may already be
`employed by a particular employer, a process that is as inef(cid:173)
`ficient for talent as it is for employers. And traditionally, talent
`has relied on resumes to present their qualifications, yet there
`is no uniformity of resumes among talent. Talent generally
`must "tailor" their resumes to respond to particular employ(cid:173)
`ment opportunities, and talent may have only a limited under-
`40 standing of the skills being sought by a particular employer.
`As a result, resumes are often unwieldy devices for employers
`to consider.
`Also, it may be difficult for talent to determine which
`employers to target for potential employment, and which
`45 potential opportunity represents the optimal use of their
`skills. Accordingly, talent can waste much time and energy
`trying to find the right position and may, nevertheless, fail to
`find an optimal position.
`Furthermore, it is difficult for talent to identifY an appro-
`50 priate fonnat for expressing his or her skills to an employer. It
`is also difficult for talent to know what types of information to
`share with a prospective employer. Consequently, it is advan(cid:173)
`tageous for talent to have the ability to maintain his or her
`resume, including a detailed description of training, skills,
`55 and experience in a unifonnly structured manner on both a
`current and cumulative basis (a "talent profile").
`Even when a person is employed in a desirable position,
`economic or other circumstances may cause the unexpected
`tennination of his or her employment. Specifically, talent
`60 may be laid-off or tenninated at an unanticipated time. Even
`if a talent is not terminated, economic conditions may cause
`his or her employer to go out of business. In some circum(cid:173)
`stances, talent will be provided with adequate notice or sev(cid:173)
`erance pay to allow for adequate time to seek other employ-
`65 ment in the event of undesired tennination. However, in some
`circumstances, there is inadequate time. Accordingly, there is
`a need in the job placement industry for systems that allow
`
`Petitioner Exhibit 1001 p.24
`
`

`

`Case 2:13-cv-02486-JWL-JPO Document 1-1 Filed 09/17/13 Page 25 of 52
`
`US 7,424,438 B2
`
`3
`talent to be continually in the job market or at least ready to
`enter the job market on short notice.
`Known methods of recruiting include the process by which
`a manager will prepare a job description, and send the
`description to a human resources ("HR") department, which
`may check its files of resumes to determine if a qualified
`applicant has previously contacted the company. The HR
`department may also consider qualifications of internal can(cid:173)
`didates, and finally, the HR department may place a classified
`ad in a newspaper or trade publication. The company may
`also retain the services of a professional recruiter, who may
`have connections with suitable talent. In addition to classified
`ads in printed publications, other media may be used to pub(cid:173)
`lish advertisements for talent.
`As distributed computer networks such as the Internet have
`become widely used, it has become possible to provide clas(cid:173)
`sified employment ads to mass markets via on-line databases
`and publications. Most major newspapers now have on-line
`editions that may be used to search classified ads for job
`positions. For example, the employment classifieds of the
`Kansas City Star newspaper may be searched on line at http://
`www.kansascity.com.
`Such on-line databases provide convenient access by
`employers to an audience that is potentially beyond the scope
`of coverage of subscribers to the printed newspaper. The
`on-line databases also have an advantage to talent in that
`talent is better able to search for jobs by geographic location
`or keyword. Of course, both of those features are present in
`regular newspaper classified advertising. Nevertheless, on(cid:173)
`line databases of classified ads share the same major draw(cid:173)
`backs as printed classified ads. First, both are highly unstruc(cid:173)
`tured and without uniformity of job parameters. Second, both
`solicit highly unstructured resumes without uniformity from
`prospective job candidates. Third, both involve the placement
`of advertising in exchange for an up-front payment obligation
`by the employer/advertiser.
`Because a cost is associated with posting a classified ad,
`there is an economic disincentive for employers to post jobs
`other than those for which there is a current (or currently
`expected) vacancy. Furthermore, the classified advertising
`model employed by newspapers and existing on-line employ(cid:173)
`ment sites attracts almost exclusively jobs for which there are
`current (or currently expected) vacancies. Accordingly, many
`fewer jobs are advertised than actually exist, and because
`much of the talent that is currently employed are not continu(cid:173)
`ally looking, the jobs that are advertised attract a much
`smaller pool of highly qualified talent than actually exists.
`This situation is bridged at significant cost to employers by
`their use of headhunters who recruit currently employed per(cid:173)
`sons who may be willing to change jobs for a better opportu(cid:173)
`nity, but are unwilling to continuously bear the burden of the
`search effort.
`For employers with on-going recruiting and employment
`problems, the inefficiencies of existing mediums of finding
`the best, and, in many cases, sufficient talent for a job is a
`serious problem that contributes to on-going operational inef(cid:173)
`ficiencies. Likewise, for talent who would like to have access
`to the complete picture of available jobs, the economic dis(cid:173)
`incentive placed on employers to provide information about
`all of their jobs is a serious problem that diminishes talent's
`ability to optimize his or her career.
`For employers, the classified ad system allows a company
`to develop a group of resumes of persons who have responded
`to ads. Employers may also consider classified ads placed by
`talent, indicating that they are available for employment.
`However, there is a similar economic disincentive for talent to
`pay for publication of a classified ad. Further, this combined
`
`4
`group of talent resumes is small in relation to the potential
`universe of talent, and it does not provide an employer with
`the detailed and comprehensive information necessary for
`employers to select an ideal candidate.
`Other recruiting systems are basically improvements to the
`newspaper-based classified ad system. Several improvements
`have been proposed and implemented. Specifically the Mon(cid:173)
`ster.com job board, which may be found at www.monster(cid:173)
`.com, collects resumes and allows posting of classified
`10 employment ads. Systems like Monster.com represent an
`improvement to the traditional classified ad system, in that
`these types of bulletin boards collect resumes for free. Nev(cid:173)
`ertheless, the posted jobs are essentially searchable classified
`ads, and the resumes posted on Monster.com are not search-
`15 able without payment of a significant fee. Again, this places
`an economic disincentive on employers to search out the best
`qualified candidate for ajob.
`The Monster.com site indicates that it is covered by U.S.
`Pat. No. 5,832,497 to Jeffrey C. Taylor ("the Taylor patent" or
`20 "Taylor"). The Taylor patent describes a system for managing
`classified employment ads, using of two databases to store
`information about resumes and about jobs.
`Taylor discloses providing job industries, company identi(cid:173)
`fiers, job disciplines and job titles. Taylor describes using a
`25 password system to specifY who has access to the job records
`for the purposes of adding, changing, and deleting job
`records. Employer-users are charged for contact information
`on applicant users. Fees are structured as a basic subscription
`charge allowing a predetermined number of accesses, with a
`30 predetermined fee associated with each access above the pre(cid:173)
`determined number of accesses.
`Several other on-line job sites collect information about
`applicants and provide this information to prospective
`employers in various ways; however, these systems suffer
`35 from drawbacks similar to those of the Taylor patent. Specifi(cid:173)
`cally, HotJobs.com, Ltd. (www.hotjobs.com)allowsauserto
`choose a city and also to specify a corresponding metropoli(cid:173)
`tan area. Using HotJobs, a user can search for ajob in New
`York, for example, and find jobs in nearby cities, without
`40 knowing the names of the other cities.
`To use the HotJobs site, a job search user first registers by
`providing his or her E-mail address and a password. Next the
`job search user is prompted to either paste in the text of an
`existing resume or to answer a set of questions that will
`45 provide for the automatic generation of a resume. In addition
`to asking questions pertinent to the resume, the HotJobs sys(cid:173)
`tem asks job search users about the types of jobs they are
`seeking, whether they are willing to relocate, and whether
`they would like their resume to be searchable by employers
`50 and/or recruiters. If the job search user elects not to allow his
`or her resume to be searchable, the resume will only be
`accessible by those employers that the job search user speci(cid:173)
`fies by using a process described below. An arbitrary job
`search user of the HotJobs web site may search all of the
`55 posted jobs. By registering and creating a resume, the job
`search user can apply to any of the postedjobs.
`Like Monster.com, HotJobs.com charges for posting jobs.
`Therefore, the same economic disincentives are placed on
`employers that would use the HotJobs system as is placed on
`60 employers that would the Monster system.
`Accordingly, known on-line job advertising systems rep(cid:173)
`resent only minor improvements over the traditional newspa(cid:173)
`per-based employment classified advertising system. And the
`known on-line job advertising systems retain the significant
`65 economic limitation of being based on the newspaper
`employment classifieds paradigm. The services charge
`employers for posting their jobs, just as in the newspaper
`
`Petitioner Exhibit 1001 p.25
`
`

`

`Case 2:13-cv-02486-JWL-JPO Document 1-1 Filed 09/17/13 Page 26 of 52
`
`US 7,424,438 B2
`
`6
`interview. In one embodiment, follow up surveys to employ(cid:173)
`ers and talent are used to provide feedback to career site
`participants.
`In one embodiment, employers provide information
`regarding multiple divisions, including geographical and
`access scope information.
`In one embodiment affiliate marketing arrangements are
`utilized to promote use of the career site. In another embodi(cid:173)
`ment' wholesale marketing techniques are employed. In yet
`10 another embodiment, a multi-level retail marketing system is
`applied to develop employer participation in the career site.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`5
`model, and then they charge fees for merely having the ability
`to search through the database of talent resumes.
`Because the pay-to-post and subscribe-to-search systems
`impose upfront economic barriers on employers, the systems
`have the disadvantage of providing a disincentive for all
`employers to post all of their jobs. Further, when talent knows
`that only a subset of available jobs are posted and that
`employers are charged to search resumes, talent will not be
`optimally motivated to use the career site.
`In order to avoid the economic barriers presented by tradi(cid:173)
`tional print and on-line media to the comprehensive posting
`of employment opportunities, some employers have estab(cid:173)
`lished employer-owned Internet sites wherein they list some
`or all of their employment positions. Such sites, to the extent
`that the employer has listed all of its employment positions, 15
`can provide a prospective employee with a comprehensive
`view of opportunities with that employer, but not with any
`other employer. Therefore, while employer-owned sites avoid
`the economic barriers of classified advertising, they do so at
`another cost-the loss of broad exposure to the available pool 20
`of prospective employees, most of whom are unaware of the
`employer-owned sites.
`While the Internet theoretically allows an unlimited num(cid:173)
`ber of prospective employees to visit an employer's web site
`to view potentially all of such employer's positions at little or 25
`no cost to the employer, that benefit is accomplished via the
`transfer of economic burden to the prospective employee who
`must search countless employer sites hoping for a compre(cid:173)
`hensive view of employment opportunities. Some people 30
`have attempted to reduce the cost-transfer defect of
`employer-owned sites by creating "collector" sites that elec(cid:173)
`tronically link to various employers' separate sites. Such
`collector sites are mere conduits that may attract incremental
`attention from prospective employees, but do little, if any(cid:173)
`thing, to ultimately eliminate the economic burden that is 35
`shifted to prospective employees. This is because the employ-
`ers continue to post their employment positions to their sepa(cid:173)
`rate sites. Under such collector systems, the prospective
`employee must still periodically visit each site in order to
`acquire a comprehensive up-to-date view of the market place 40
`of employment opportunities. That burden imposes substan(cid:173)
`tial economic costs on the prospective employee due to the
`significant time inefficiencies entailed.
`Accordingly, a system is needed that does not have the 45
`limitations of existing systems, and that encourages the par(cid:173)
`ticipation of all employers and all talent in an economically
`efficient, on-going process of optimizing the use of available
`skills.
`
`These and other inventive features, advantages, and objects
`will appear from the following Detailed Description when
`considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in
`which similar reference characters denote similar elements
`throughout the several views, and wherein:
`FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a network in
`which information systems consistent with the present inven(cid:173)
`tion may be practiced;
`FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram representing interre(cid:173)
`lationships between databases consistent with the present
`invention;
`FIG. 3 is a flow diagram representing an unauthenticated
`user or interacting with a career site consistent with the
`present invention, and a talent interacting with a career site
`consistent with the present invention;
`FIG. 4 is a flow diagram representing a process whereby
`talent searches for and selects jobs and whereby it is deter(cid:173)
`mined if talent has the minimum qualifications established
`and required by the employers for the job(s) that talent has
`selected, the processes being performed in connection with
`talent interacting with a career site in operating in a manner
`consistent with the present invention;
`FIG. 5A is a flow diagram representing a series of talent(cid:173)
`initiated processes for gathering governmentally regulated
`information about a talent in a marmer consistent with the
`present invention;
`FIG. 5B is a flow diagram representing a series of
`employer-initiated processes for gathering governmentally
`regulated information about a talent in a manner consistent
`with the present invention;
`FIG. 6A is a flow diagram representing a talent-initiated
`process for collecting information pertaining to protected
`classes of employees, the process being performed in connec(cid:173)
`tion with talent interacting with a career site consistent with
`50 the present invention;
`FIG. 6B is a flow diagram representing an employer-initi(cid:173)
`ated process for collecting information pertaining to pro(cid:173)
`tected classes of employees, the process being performed in
`connection with talent interacting with a career site consistent
`55 with the present invention;
`FIG. 7A is a flow diagram representing a talent-initiated
`process for determining the eligibility of talent to be
`employed in certain jobs requiring U.S. citizenship, the pro(cid:173)
`cess being performed in connection with talent interacting
`60 with a career site consistent with the present invention;
`FIG. 7B is a flow diagram representing an employer-initi(cid:173)
`ated process for determining the eligibility of talent to be
`employed in certain jobs requiring U.S. citizenship, the pro(cid:173)
`cess being performed in connection with talent interacting
`with a career site consistent with the present invention;
`FIG. 8 is a flow diagram representing a process performed
`in connection with an unauthenticated user interacting with a
`
`BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`Systems, methods, distributed networks, and computer(cid:173)
`readable media are provided that relate to employment ser(cid:173)
`vices. Background information associated with talent-capa(cid:173)
`bility attributes is received from talent in a structured format.
`Job description information is received from employers in a
`structured format. Prospective matches are
`identified
`between employers and talent, and employers and talent are
`given an opportunity to mutually consent to the exchange of
`talent contact information. In one embodiment, after such
`mutual consent has been granted, a financial transaction is
`consUlllllated wherein the employer pays a fee to the career
`site operator.
`In one embodiment, skills descriptions are received from 65
`talent. In one embodiment, mutual consent is indicated by a
`request for an interview and an acceptance of a request for an
`
`Petitioner Exhibit 1001 p.26
`
`

`

`Case 2:13-cv-02486-JWL-JPO Document 1-1 Filed 09/17/13 Page 27 of 52
`
`US 7,424,438 B2
`
`7
`career site consistent with the present invention, and an
`employer interacting with a career site consistent with the
`present invention;
`FIG. 9 is a flow diagram representing a series of processes
`performed in connection with an employer interacting with a
`career site consistent with the present invention;
`FIG. 10 is a flow diagram representing an employer-initi(cid:173)
`ated process whereby an employer searches for and selects
`talent profiles for the purpose of establishing talent interest in
`the employer's employment opportunity using a career site in 10
`operated in a manner consistent with the present invention;
`FIG. 11 is a flow diagram representing an employer-initi(cid:173)
`ated process for determining whether talent is interested in
`the employer's employment opportunity in a manner consis(cid:173)
`tent with the present invention;
`FIG. 12 is a flow diagram representing the purchase of
`talent contact information by an employer in a manner con(cid:173)
`sistent with the present invention;
`FIG. 13 is a flow diagram representing the payment of
`referral fees and commissions for a career site operated in a 20
`manner consistent with the present invention;
`FIG. 14 is a flow diagram representing a procedure
`whereby additional information about talents' and employ(cid:173)
`ers' employment decisions is gathered subsequent to the 25
`release of talent contact information to a prospective
`employer in a manner consistent with the present invention;
`FIG. 15 is a schematic block diagram representing the
`relationship of trade associations to talent, employers and a
`career site in a system consistent with one embodiment of the 30
`present invention;
`FIG. 16 is schematic a block diagram representing the
`relationship of educational institutions, professional associa(cid:173)
`tions, and labor unions to talent, employers and a career site in
`a system consistent with another embodiment of the present 35
`invention;
`FIG. 17 is a schematic block diagram representing the
`relationship of wholesalers to trade associations, professional
`associations, educational institutions, labor unions, employ(cid:173)
`ers, talent, and a career site in a system consistent with yet 40
`another embodiment of the present invention; and
`FIG. 18 is a flow diagram representing the relationship of
`multiple levels of retailers with a career site in a system
`consistent with a further embodiment of the present inven-
`tion.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`
`8
`In alternative embodiments client computers 11 0 may also
`be implemented using other types of computing platforms
`including thin clients, such as, for example, network comput(cid:173)
`ers or using personal digital assistants ("PDA"), such as, for
`example, the iPAQTM from Compaq Computer Corporation,
`or the Palm Pilot™ from Palm, Inc.
`Network 120 represents a network, such as, for example,
`the Internet, which is an interconnected network of other
`networks, including local area networks ("LAN s"), wide area
`networks, ("WANs"), wireless networks, the public services
`telephone network ("PSTN") or any other network capable of
`transmitting and receiving digital information.
`Through the network 120, client computers 11 0 may inter-
`15 act with network applications such as career site application
`140. In one embodiment, the career site application 140 com(cid:173)
`prises a web server 150 such as, the Apache web server
`available from the Apache Software Foundation, or the Inter(cid:173)
`net Information Server ("lIS") available from the Microsoft
`Corporation. In one embodiment, web server 150 provides
`application specific information to client computers 110
`based on information associated with a database server 170.
`Application information is structured based on business logic
`contained in an application server 160. E-mail server 142
`operates in connection with the web server 150 to facilitate
`sending and receiving of E-mail messages. Alternatively,
`each of the E-mail server 142, the web server 150, the appli(cid:173)
`cation server 160, and the database server 170 may be imple(cid:173)
`mented in various ways, including as three separate processes
`running on three separate server computer systems, as pro(cid:173)
`cesses or threads running on a single computer system, as
`processes running in virtual machines, and as multiple dis(cid:173)
`tributed processes running on multiple computer systems
`distributed throughout a network. In one embodiment, mul(cid:173)
`tiple servers corresponding to the E-mail server 142, the web
`server 150, the application server 160, and the database server
`170 are used. In this embodiment, conventional load balanc(cid:173)
`ing techniques are employed to balance network load
`between the multiple servers.
`In one embodiment, application server 160 is a ColdFu-
`sion™ application server available from Macromedia, Inc. In
`this embodiment, when one of client computers 11 0 requests
`a web page from web server 150, a request is transmitted
`through web server 150 to application server 160, where the
`45 request is processed and data requested from database server
`170 as necessary. Upon processing of the request a response
`is prepared and returned to one of client computers 11 0 via
`web server 150.
`Computer systems such as web server 150 and application
`50 server 160 include memories in which information resides.
`These memories may be either non-volatile, as in the case of
`flash electrically erasable programmable read only memory,
`or volatile as in the case of random access memory.
`
`Referring to the drawings in greater detail, FIG. 1 shows a
`block diagram of an embodiment of a network in which
`information systems consistent with the present invention are
`practiced. Computers 11 0 represent client computers that are
`used by talent, employer-users, and other users and adminis(cid:173)
`trators of career systems consistent with the present inven(cid:173)
`tion. Client computers 11 0 are of any type of data processing
`system capable of interacting with a network based applica(cid:173)
`tion, including conventional personal computer ("PC") type
`computer systems that are available from companies such as
`Hewlett