Yahoo HotJobs was first up last month when it announced it was joining forces with a consortium of seven national publishing giants to allow the distribution of classified advertisements online and across 38 states through a network of 176 newspapers. Under the agreement announced November 20, HotJobs will power co-branded career sites for print partners Hearst Newspapers, Belo Corp., Cox Newspapers Inc., Journal Register Co., Lee Enterprises Inc., MediaNews Group and E.W. Scripps Co.

Monster made a smaller splash when it partnered seven days later with Irvine, California-based Freedom Communications, a privately held company that owns more than 70 media properties.

That agreement created co-branded online recruitment sites for 36 of Freedom’s newspapers, which include The Orange County Register, and eight television stations. It’s the first deal between a job board and a media company that encompasses television properties, says Michael Mathieu, president of Freedom Interactive.

Hackensack, New Jersey. The alliance will give Monster access to northern New Jersey, northern Pennsylvania and Hawaii through such publications as The Bergen Record, the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

Monster and HotJobs are pursuing parallel strategies in partnering with media outlets, but their motivation for securing these alliances differs significantly, according to job board experts.

HotJobs hopes its inter-media partnership will give it a much-needed shot in the arm. In spite of parent Yahoo’s tremendous Web audience, HotJobs had been a distant third in the job board industry.

HotJobs anticipates that combining its job listings with those of its print partners will enable it to secure leading market positions in 20 of the country’s top 25 markets, according to Daniel Finnigan, senior vice president at the job board.

Meanwhile, Monster is making a concerted effort to reach out to media outlets to help give its brand a personal touch across small markets, according to Doug Klinger, Monster North America president. The job board began its local strategy in July through a partnership with Philadelphia Media Holdings, which owns The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News and Philly
.com. It now has media alliances with 43 daily newspapers and eight television properties. The co-branded sites will be launched beginning this month and continue into early 2007.

In spite of the moves by HotJobs and Monster, CareerBuilder expects to hold on to its slim lead in market share, following a deal November 16 with Lycos Canada, a general interest site with some 5 million users in Canada, roughly 25 percent of the country’s Web audience. CareerBuilder has been pushing into the international arena as a way to be more competitive and diversify beyond its traditional network of newspaper partners.

Time will tell whether the inter-media partnerships will change the job board industry’s landscape. According to Corzen, a New York City-based statistical data provider in the recruitment industry, CareerBuilder maintains its market-share lead with 39 percent. Monster has 37 percent, while HotJobs has 25 percent.

Market share, of course, is only one measure of success, says Peter Zollman, founding principal of consulting firm Classified Intelligence. “Producing results for advertisers is what’s important,” he says. “If a recruiter is not satisfied with an outcome, he simply won’t return to the job board.”

—Gina Ruiz