You May Find Your Next Job on TV

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We buy things on TV, we get much of our news and entertainment there, why not find gainful employment on television as well? That's exactly why the Job Search Television Network (JSTN) was started. It broadcasts video job listings, presented in a news setting by anchors, instead of merely listing them in a print ad.

For now, JSTN is mostly web-based, but it also broadcasts on Comcast cable channels in markets in Northern California and Chicago. Major corporations are advertising jobs on JSTN, including McDonald's, Macy's, Verizon, the Cleveland Clinic, Fannie Mae, Ernst & Young, and insurance providers Liberty Mutual and Allstate. Since the channel is global, there are even job postings in Chinese. "Thousands have been hired through JSTN," says Roger Stanton, CEO of the Chicago-based company. "It's so much more compelling than traditional text."

JSTN is not your typical job board. You don't post your resume on the site and hope that employers find you. Instead, you watch a video description of a company and position, and then use an "Apply" feature which usually directs you straight to the company's employment page, where you submit your resume. "We flip the job board model by driving traffic to other sites," says Stanton.

You can also watch the job posting broadcasts and apply from your phone or iPad -- you don't even need an app. You can watch the job opening broadcasts any time, anywhere you get reception. And if you see a position that would appeal to a lot of your friends, you can share it by posting it on your Facebook page or LinkedIn profile.

So what types of jobs are being advertised? A quick look shows that there are openings for account specialists -- both experienced and beginners, web developers, risk management professionals, executive recruiters, systems engineers, multiple types of health care professionals, sales reps and more.

Many will be pleasantly surprised to see that there's as much hiring going on these days as the listings on JSTN would lead you to believe. "There really are large, Fortune 500 companies doing significant hiring right now," says Stanton.

Eventually, Stanton projects that JSTN will become a 24/7 job search television network, featuring expert career advice and other helpful shows that will facilitate matching the most qualified job seekers with the employers that want and need them. "Leaders in the industry have said that JSTN is the biggest game changer in the HR industry since the internet," Stanton concludes.

We have indeed come a long way since the days of circling want ads in the newspaper and mailing in hard copies of our resumes. Anything that helps get Americans back to work quicker is a welcome addition.