CAREER AND EMPLOYMENT SERVICES SYSTEM AND APPARATUS
`
`CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS
`
`[0001]
`
`This patent application is a division of US. patent application Ser. No.
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`12/059,728 filed March 30, 2008 which is a division of US. patent application Ser. No.
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`10/101,644 filed Mar. 19, 2002 entitled Apparatus and Methods for Providing Career Employment
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`Services.
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`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
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`[0002]
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`This invention relates to network connected information systems, and, more
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`particularly, to network connected information systems providing data processing applications in
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`connection with optimizing individuals’ employment searches and career opportunities, and
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`optimizing employers’ recruiting and hiring processes and decisions.
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`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
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`[0003]
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`Finding and hiring highly qualified employees or talent for specific jobs is one of
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`the most important objectives an employer undertakes.
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`In furthering the employer’s objective of
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`hiring the best possible employees, an employer would ideally have access to detailed information
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`regarding as large a pool of talent as possible and the pool of talent would include prospective
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`employees who are highly qualified for the particular job that the employer seeks to fill. Without
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`such information, a great deal of time and expense is often expended by employers in connection
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`with their recruiting and screening fianctions, while, nevertheless, achieving unacceptable results.
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`[0004]
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`Traditionally, employers have found potential talent among new school graduates
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`through school-related job counseling resources,
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`in response to classified advertisements for
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`particular jobs, referrals from existing employees, and through the use of third-party recruiters
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`(“headhunters”).
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`Each of these alternatives is
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`inefficient, and some are costly, as well.
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`Furthermore, employers’ articulation of the skills they seek to hire are imprecise. Typically,
`
`Docket 15703.4
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`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.1/92)
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.1/92)
`
`

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`school-related job counseling resources, classified advertising, and word-of-mouth referrals deal in
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`generalities.
`
`[0005]
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`When an employer seeks to hire an experienced employee, the pool of talent,
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`within which a search is conducted, is often limited to individuals who have already worked in a
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`particular job within a particular industry. Although it may be meritorious that a prospective
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`employee has current or prior experience in a particular job within a particular industry,
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`individuals with experience in other jobs within other industries may possess the particular skills
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`that an employer requires for a particular job. Yet there exists no efficient means for identifying
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`such individuals in other fields who may possess the precise skills sought by the employer.
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`Consequently, an employer’s employment recruiting and hiring processes and subsequent
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`operations would be greatly enhanced if the employer could efficiently and cost-effectively
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`identify highly qualified talent both within and without the industry and occupational categories of
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`the employer.
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`[0006]
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`Another employment problem faced by employers is that they often do not know
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`when a particular employment position may become vacant. Specifically, while it is a business
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`courtesy to provide two weeks notice of termination of at-will employment, employees
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`occasionally terminate employment with less than two weeks notice. Additionally, it may occur
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`that an employee may be terminated for a reason necessitating less than two-weeks notice, and
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`injury, illness, or death may cause an employee to become unavailable to perform his or her job
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`function. Further, even if a full two weeks is available to hire a replacement employee, frequently
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`two weeks is not enough time to hire a person, particularly for skills that are in high demand.
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`[0007]
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`Another problem faced by employers is that they may stop searching for more
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`highly skilled employee(s) than they have,
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`if an employment position is currently filled.
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`Consequently, an employer’s recruiting and hiring processes, and subsequent operations, would be
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`greatly enhanced if the employer could efficiently and cost-effectively identify highly qualified
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`talent on a continuous basis. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a practical continuous
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`recruiting system.
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`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.2/92)
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.2/92)
`
`

`

`-3-
`
`[0008]
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`Another employment problem faced by employers is that there is no uniformity
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`among employers in how they communicate the requirements, compensation, and benefits of their
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`employment positions to the public. As a result, it is difficult for talent to efficiently and cost-
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`effectively identify the universe of employment positions for which their skills may be suited.
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`Consequently, an employer’s recruiting and hiring processes, and subsequent operations, would be
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`greatly enhanced if the employer could efficiently and cost-effectively communicate detailed
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`information about the skills and experience they require, and the compensation and benefits they
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`offer,
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`in a structured manner that facilitates the search by talent for optimal employment
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`opportunities.
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`[0009]
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`At the same time that employers are encountering difficulty in identifying highly
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`qualified employees (“talent”) to fill specific employment positions, talent is struggling to find the
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`employers and employment opportunities that best match the talent’s skills and objectives.
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`[00010]
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`For talent, establishing and developing a career involves finding, researching, and
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`targeting employers. Traditionally, talent has used the same sort of inefficient means to find
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`employment opportunities as employers have used to find talent. Talent has generally relied on
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`school placement resources, replying to classified advertisements, and word-of-mouth referrals
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`from persons who may already be employed by a particular employer, a process that
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`is as
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`inefficient for talent as it is for employers. And traditionally, talent has relied on resumes to
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`present their qualifications, yet there is no uniformity of re'sume's among talent. Talent generally
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`must “tailor” their resumes to respond to particular employment opportunities, and talent may have
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`only a limited understanding of the skills being sought by a particular employer. As a result,
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`re'sume's are often unwieldy devices for employers to consider.
`
`[00011]
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`Also,
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`it may be difficult for talent to determine which employers to target for
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`potential employment, and which potential opportunity represents the optimal use of their skills.
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`Accordingly, talent can waste much time and energy trying to find the right position and may,
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`nevertheless, fail to find an optimal position.
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.3/92)
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.3/92)
`
`

`

`[00012]
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`Furthermore,
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`it
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`is difficult
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`for talent
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`to identify an appropriate format for
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`expressing his or her skills to an employer.
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`It is also difficult for talent to know what types of
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`information to share with a prospective employer. Consequently, it is advantageous for talent to
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`have the ability to maintain his or her re'sume', including a detailed description of training, skills,
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`and experience in a uniformly structured manner on both a current and cumulative basis (a “talent
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`profile”).
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`[00013]
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`Even when a person is employed in a desirable position, economic or other
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`circumstances may cause the unexpected termination of his or her employment. Specifically,
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`talent may be laid-off or terminated at an unanticipated time. Even if a talent is not terminated,
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`economic conditions may cause his or her employer to go out of business.
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`In some circumstances,
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`talent will be provided with adequate notice or severance pay to allow for adequate time to seek
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`other employment in the event of undesired termination. However, in some circumstances, there is
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`inadequate time. Accordingly, there is a need in the job placement industry for systems that allow
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`talent to be continually in the job market or at least ready to enter the job market on short notice.
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`[00014]
`
`Known methods of recruiting include the process by which a manager will
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`prepare a job description, and send the description to a human resources (“HR”) department, which
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`may check its files of resumes to determine if a qualified applicant has previously contacted the
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`company. The HR department may also consider qualifications of internal candidates, and finally,
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`the HR department may place a classified ad in a newspaper or trade publication. The company
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`may also retain the services of a professional recruiter, who may have connections with suitable
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`talent.
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`In addition to classified ads in printed publications, other media may be used to publish
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`advertisements for talent.
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`[00015]
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`As distributed computer networks such as the Internet have become widely used,
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`it has become possible to provide classified employment ads to mass markets via on-line databases
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`and publications. Most major newspapers now have on-line editions that may be used to search
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`classified ads for job positions. For example, the employment classifieds of the Kansas City Star
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`newspaper may be searched on line at http://www.kansascity.com.
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.4/92)
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.4/92)
`
`

`

`[00016]
`
`Such on-line databases provide convenient access by employers to an audience
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`that is potentially beyond the scope of coverage of subscribers to the printed newspaper. The on-
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`line databases also have an advantage to talent in that talent is better able to search for jobs by
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`geographic location or keyword. Of course, both of those features are present
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`in regular
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`newspaper classified advertising. Nevertheless, on-line databases of classified ads share the same
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`major drawbacks as printed classified ads.
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`First, both are highly unstructured and without
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`uniformity ofjob parameters. Second, both solicit highly unstructured re'sume's without uniformity
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`from prospective job candidates. Third, both involve the placement of advertising in exchange for
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`an up-front payment obligation by the employer/advertiser.
`
`[00017]
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`Because a cost is associated with posting a classified ad, there is an economic
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`disincentive for employers to post jobs other than those for which there is a current (or currently
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`expected) vacancy. Furthermore, the classified advertising model employed by newspapers and
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`existing on-line employment sites attracts almost exclusively jobs for which there are current (or
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`currently expected) vacancies. Accordingly, many fewer jobs are advertised than actually exist,
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`and because much of the talent that is currently employed are not continually looking, the jobs that
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`are advertised attract a much smaller pool of highly qualified talent than actually exists. This
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`situation is bridged at significant cost to employers by their use of headhunters who recruit
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`currently employed persons who may be willing to change jobs for a better opportunity, but are
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`unwilling to continuously bear the burden of the search effort.
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`[00018]
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`For employers with on-going recruiting and employment problems,
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`the
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`inefficiencies of existing mediums of finding the best, and, in many cases, sufficient talent for a
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`job is a serious problem that contributes to on-going operational inefficiencies. Likewise, for
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`talent who would like to have access to the complete picture of available jobs, the economic
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`disincentive placed on employers to provide information about all of their jobs is a serious problem
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`that diminishes talent’s ability to optimize his or her career.
`
`[00019]
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`For employers, the classified ad system allows a company to develop a group of
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`re'sume's of persons who have responded to ads. Employers may also consider classified ads
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`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.5/92)
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.5/92)
`
`

`

`-6-
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`placed by talent, indicating that they are available for employment. However, there is a similar
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`economic disincentive for talent to pay for publication of a classified ad. Further, this combined
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`group of talent re'sume's is small in relation to the potential universe of talent, and it does not
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`provide an employer with the detailed and comprehensive information necessary for employers to
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`select an ideal candidate.
`
`[00020]
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`Other recruiting systems are basically improvements to the newspaper-based
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`classified ad system. Several improvements have been proposed and implemented. Specifically
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`the Monster.com job board, which may be found at www.monster.com, collects resumes and
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`allows posting of classified employment ads.
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`Systems
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`like Monster.com represent an
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`improvement to the traditional classified ad system, in that these types of bulletin boards collect
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`resumes for free. Nevertheless, the posted jobs are essentially searchable classified ads, and the
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`re'sume's posted on Monster.com are not searchable without payment of a significant fee. Again,
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`this places an economic disincentive on employers to search out the best qualified candidate for a
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`job.
`
`[00021]
`
`The Monster.com site indicates that it is covered by US. Patent No. 5,832,497 to
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`Jeffrey C. Taylor (“the Taylor patent” or “Taylor”). The Taylor patent describes a system for
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`managing classified employment ads, using of two databases to store information about resumes
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`and about jobs.
`
`[00022]
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`Taylor discloses providing job industries, company identifiers, job disciplines and
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`job titles. Taylor describes using a password system to specify who has access to the job records
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`for the purposes of adding, changing, and deleting job records. Employer-users are charged for
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`contact information on applicant users. Fees are structured as a basic subscription charge allowing
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`a predetermined number of accesses, with a predetermined fee associated with each access above
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`the predetermined number of accesses.
`
`[00023]
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`Several other on-line job sites collect information about applicants and provide
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`this information to prospective employers in various ways; however, these systems suffer from
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.6/92)
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.6/92)
`
`

`

`drawbacks
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`similar
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`to
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`those of
`
`the Taylor patent.
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`Specifically, HotJobs.com, Ltd.
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`(www.hotjobs.com) allows a user to choose a city and also to specify a corresponding metropolitan
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`area. Using HotJobs, a user can search for a job in New York, for example, and find jobs in
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`nearby cities, without knowing the names of the other cities.
`
`[00024]
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`To use the Hot]obs site, a job search user first registers by providing his or her E-
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`mail address and a password. Next the job search user is prompted to either paste in the text of an
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`existing resume' or to answer a set of questions that will provide for the automatic generation of a
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`resume.
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`In addition to asking questions pertinent to the resume, the HotJobs system asks job
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`search users about the types of jobs they are seeking, whether they are willing to relocate, and
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`whether they would like their resume to be searchable by employers and/or recruiters.
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`If the job
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`search user elects not to allow his or her resume' to be searchable, the resume will only be
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`accessible by those employers that the job search user specifies by using a process described
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`below. An arbitrary job search user of the Hot]obs web site may search all of the posted jobs. By
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`registering and creating a resume, the job search user can apply to any of the posted jobs.
`
`[00025]
`
`Like Monster.com, HotJobs.com charges for posting jobs. Therefore, the same
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`economic disincentives are placed on employers that would use the Hot]obs system as is placed on
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`employers that would the Monster system.
`
`[00026]
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`Accordingly, known on-line job advertising systems represent only minor
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`improvements over the traditional newspaper-based employment classified advertising system.
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`And the known on-line job advertising systems retain the significant economic limitation of being
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`based on the newspaper employment classifieds paradigm. The services charge employers for
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`posting their jobs, just as in the newspaper model, and then they charge fees for merely having the
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`ability to search through the database of talent resumes.
`
`[00027]
`
`Because the pay-to-post and subscribe-to-search systems
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`impose upfront
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`economic barriers on employers, the systems have the disadvantage of providing a disincentive for
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.7/92)
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.7/92)
`
`

`

`-8-
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`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 re’sume’s, talent will not be optimally
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`motivated to use the career site.
`
`[00028]
`
`In order to avoid the economic barriers presented by traditional print and on-line
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`media to the comprehensive posting of employment opportunities,
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`some employers have
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`established employer-owned Internet sites wherein they list some or all of their employment
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`positions. Such sites, to the extent that the employer has listed all of its employment positions, can
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`provide a prospective employee with a comprehensive view of opportunities with that employer,
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`but not with any other employer. Therefore, while employer-owned sites avoid the economic
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`barriers of classified advertising, they do so at another cost — the loss of broad exposure to the
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`available pool of prospective employees, most of whom are unaware of the employer-owned sites.
`
`[00029]
`
`While the Internet
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`theoretically allows an unlimited number of prospective
`
`employees to visit an employer’s web site to view potentially all of such employer’s positions at
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`little or no cost to the employer, that benefit is accomplished via the transfer of economic burden
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`to the prospective employee who must search countless employer sites hoping for a comprehensive
`
`view of employment opportunities. Some people have attempted to reduce the cost-transfer defect
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`of employer-owned sites by creating “collector” sites that electronically link to various employers’
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`separate sites. Such collector sites are mere conduits that may attract incremental attention from
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`prospective employees, but do little, if anything, to ultimately eliminate the economic burden that
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`is shifted to prospective employees.
`
`This is because the employers continue to post their
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`employment positions to their separate sites. Under such collector systems,
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`the prospective
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`employee must still periodically visit each site in order to acquire a comprehensive up-to-date view
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`of the market place of employment opportunities. That burden imposes substantial economic costs
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`on the prospective employee due to the significant time inefficiencies entailed.
`
`[00030]
`
`Accordingly, a system is needed that does not have the limitations of existing
`
`systems, and that encourages the participation of all employers and all talent in an economically
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`efficient, on-going process of optimizing the use of available skills.
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.8/92)
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.8/92)
`
`

`

`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.9/92)
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.9/92)
`
`

`

`-10-
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`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`[00031]
`
`Systems, methods, distributed networks, and computer-readable media are
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`provided that relate to employment services. Background information associated with talent-
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`capability attributes is received from talent in a structured format. Job description information is
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`received from employers in a structured format. Prospective matches are identified between
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`employers and talent, and employers and talent are given an opportunity to mutually consent to the
`
`exchange of talent contact information.
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`In one embodiment, after such mutual consent has been
`
`granted, a financial transaction is consummated wherein the employer pays a fee to the career site
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`operator.
`
`[00032]
`
`In one embodiment, skills descriptions are received from talent.
`
`In one
`
`embodiment, mutual consent is indicated by a request for an interview and an acceptance of a
`
`request for an interview.
`
`In one embodiment, follow up surveys to employers and talent are used
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`to provide feedback to career site participants.
`
`[00033]
`
`In one embodiment, employers provide information regarding multiple divisions,
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`including geographical and access scope information.
`
`[00034]
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`In one embodiment affiliate marketing arrangements are utilized to promote use
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`of the career site.
`
`In another embodiment, wholesale marketing techniques are employed.
`
`In yet
`
`another embodiment, a multi-level retail marketing system is applied to develop employer
`
`participation in the career site.
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.10/92)
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.10/92)
`
`

`

`-11-
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`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`[00035]
`
`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:
`
`[00036]
`
`Fig.
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`1 shows a schematic block diagram of a network in which information
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`systems consistent with the present invention may be practiced;
`
`[00037]
`
`Fig. 2 is a schematic block diagram representing interrelationships between
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`databases consistent with the present invention;
`
`[00038]
`
`Fig. 3 is a flow diagram representing an unauthenticated user or interacting with a
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`career site consistent with the present
`
`invention, and a talent
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`interacting with a career site
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`consistent with the present invention;
`
`[00039]
`
`Fig. 4 is a flow diagram representing a process whereby talent searches for and
`
`selects jobs and whereby it is determined if talent has the minimum qualifications established and
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`required by the employers for the job(s) that talent has selected, the processes being performed in
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`connection with talent interacting with a career site in operating in a manner consistent with the
`
`present invention;
`
`[00040]
`
`Fig. 5A is a flow diagram representing a series of talent-initiated processes for
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`gathering governmentally regulated information about a talent in a manner consistent with the
`
`present invention;
`
`[00041]
`
`Fig. 5B is a flow diagram representing a series of employer-initiated processes for
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`gathering governmentally regulated information about a talent in a manner consistent with the
`
`present invention;
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.11/92)
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.11/92)
`
`

`

`-12-
`
`[00042]
`
`Fig. 6A is a flow diagram representing a talent-initiated process for collecting
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`information pertaining to protected classes of employees,
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`the process being performed in
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`connection with talent interacting with a career site consistent with the present invention;
`
`[00043]
`
`Fig. 6B is a flow diagram representing an employer-initiated process for
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`collecting information pertaining to protected classes of employees, the process being performed in
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`connection with talent interacting with a career site consistent with the present invention;
`
`[00044]
`
`Fig. 7A is a flow diagram representing a talent-initiated process for determining
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`the eligibility of talent to be employed in certain jobs requiring US. citizenship, the process being
`
`performed in connection with talent interacting with a career site consistent with the present
`
`invention;
`
`[00045]
`
`Fig. 7B is a flow diagram representing an employer-initiated process for
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`determining the eligibility of talent to be employed in certain jobs requiring US. citizenship, the
`
`process being performed in connection with talent interacting with a career site consistent with the
`
`present invention;
`
`[00046]
`
`Fig 8 is a flow diagram representing a process performed in connection with an
`
`unauthenticated user interacting with a career site consistent with the present invention, and an
`
`employer interacting with a career site consistent with the present invention;
`
`[00047]
`
`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;
`
`[00048]
`
`Fig. 10 is a flow diagram representing an employer-initiated 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 operated in a manner consistent with
`
`the present invention;
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.12/92)
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.12/92)
`
`

`

`-13-
`
`[00049]
`
`Fig.
`
`11
`
`is a flow diagram representing an employer-initiated process for
`
`determining whether talent is interested in the employer’s employment opportunity in a manner
`
`consistent with the present invention;
`
`[00050]
`
`Fig. 12 is a flow diagram representing the purchase of talent contact information
`
`by an employer in a manner consistent with the present invention;
`
`[00051]
`
`Fig.
`
`13 is a flow diagram representing the payment of referral
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`fees and
`
`commissions for a career site operated in a manner consistent with the present invention;
`
`[00052]
`
`Fig.
`
`14 is a flow diagram representing a procedure whereby additional
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`information about talents’ and employers’ employment decisions is gathered subsequent to the
`
`release of talent contact information to a prospective employer in a manner consistent with the
`
`present invention;
`
`[00053]
`
`Fig. 15 is a schematic block diagram representing the relationship of trade
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`associations to talent, employers and a career site in a system consistent with one embodiment of
`
`the present invention;
`
`[00054]
`
`Fig. 16 is schematic a block diagram representing the relationship of educational
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`institutions, professional associations, and labor unions to talent, employers and a career site in a
`
`system consistent with another embodiment of the present invention;
`
`[00055]
`
`Fig. 17 is a schematic block diagram representing the relationship of wholesalers
`
`to trade associations, professional associations, educational institutions, labor unions, employers,
`
`talent, and a career site in a system consistent with yet another embodiment of the present
`
`invention; and
`
`[00056]
`
`Fig. 18 is a flow diagram representing the relationship of multiple levels of
`
`retailers with a career site in a system consistent with a fiarther embodiment of the present
`
`invention.
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.13/92)
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.13/92)
`
`

`

`-14-
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`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
`
`[00057]
`
`As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein;
`
`however,
`
`it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the
`
`invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional
`
`details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims
`
`and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present
`
`invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure.
`
`[00058]
`
`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 110 represent client computers that are used by talent, employer-users, and
`
`other users and administrators of career systems consistent with the present invention. Client
`
`computers 110 are of any type of data processing system capable of interacting with a network
`
`based application, including conventional personal computer (“PC”) type computer systems that
`
`are available from companies such as Hewlett-Packard Company and Dell Computer Corporation,
`
`employing an operating system such as, for example,
`
`the Linux operating system (which is
`
`available from companies such as Red Hat, Inc.) or the Windows operating system (which is
`
`available from the Microsoft Corporation). Alternatively, computers llO utilize a UNIX platform
`
`such as those available from Sun Microsystems and Silicon Graphics Inc. or the type of computer
`
`sold under the trademark MacintoshTM by Apple Computer Corporation.
`
`[00059]
`
`In alternative embodiments client computers 110 may also be implemented using
`
`other types of computing platforms including thin clients, such as, for example, network computers
`
`or using personal digital assistants (“PDA”), such as, for example, the iPAQTM from Compaq
`
`Computer Corporation, or the Palm PilotTM from Palm, Inc.
`
`[00060]
`
`Network 120 represents a network, such as, for example, the Internet, which is an
`
`interconnected network of other networks, including local area networks (“LANs”), wide area
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.14/92)
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.14/92)
`
`

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`-15-
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`networks, (“WANs”), wireless networks, the public services telephone network (“PSTN”) or any
`
`other network capable of transmitting and receiving digital information.
`
`[00061]
`
`Through the network 120, client computers 110 may interact with network
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`applications such as career site application 140.
`
`In one embodiment, the career site application
`
`140 comprises a web server 150 such as, the Apache web server available from the Apache
`
`Software Foundation, or the Internet Information Server (“IIS”) 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 application
`
`server 160, and the database server 170 may be implemented in various ways, including as three
`
`separate processes running on three separate server computer systems, as processes or threads
`
`running on a single computer system, as processes running in virtual machines, and as multiple
`
`distributed processes running on multiple computer systems distributed throughout a network.
`
`In
`
`one embodiment, multiple 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 balancing techniques are employed to balance network load between the multiple servers.
`
`[00062]
`
`In one embodiment, application server 160 is a ColdFusionTM application server
`
`available from Macromedia, Inc. In this embodiment, when one of client computers 110 requests a
`
`web page from web server 150, a request is transmitted through web server 150 to application
`
`server 160, where the 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 110 via web server 150.
`
`[00063]
`
`Computer systems such as web server 150 and application server 160 include
`
`memories in which information resides. These memories may be either non-volatile, as in the case
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.15/92)
`
`Monster Worldwide, Inc. Exhibit 1013 (p.15/92)
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`-16-
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`of flash electrically erasable programmable read only memory, or volatile as in the case of random
`
`access memory.
`
`I. CAREER SITE OVERVIEW
`
`[00064]
`
`In one embodiment a career site is provided in connection with a web site running
`
`on a web server such as web server 150 of Fig. 1. Users wishing to search jobs or talent profiles
`
`on the career site do not have to register to gain access to a subset of features on the career site.
`
`In
`
`one embodiment, when a career site is operated as a business, a fee is generated when an employer
`
`elects to purchase contact information corresponding to a talent profile. Consistent with the
`
`invention, there is no risk to an employer by listing its jobs on the site because, unlike a typical
`
`classified ad, there is no fee associated with listing jobs on the career site. Further, a participating
`
`employer pays nothing until it identifies talent having an appropriate set of skills and experience,
`
`and the talent has expressed interest in the employer.
`
`[00065]
`
`In one embodiment, the amount of the fee paid by an employer to the career site
`
`before obtaining contact information is related to the educational level of a particular talent. In this
`
`embodiment, the structured system of recording educational levels in the talent profile is