TheLadders.co.uk, Britain’s first site catering exclusively to senior management recruitment will officially launch in January with 50,000 members from Britain’s senior level professions and leading businesses.
For agencies and HR departments, TheLadders.co.uk will be Britain’s premier source of pre-screened, top-tier talent with 50,000 of the UK’s most experienced executives online. And whilst existing job sites require companies and agencies to pay to advertise their positions online, TheLadders.co.uk will initially offer free job postings and access to view profiles of executive members signed-up to the service.
TheLadders.co.uk aims to recreate the success of its American parent in the UK by becoming the first port of call for senior executives with salaries in excess of £50K looking for their next career move. In addition to opportunities with Britain’s biggest and fastest moving companies, TheLadders.co.uk will offer a range of career services including comprehensive personal and career profiles, CV critiquing, market data and trend reports.
Sarah Drew, UK General Manager for TheLadders.co.uk says: “We know that HR departments and agencies struggle to find the right candidates at this level. Traditional search methods are time and labour intensive and yet the internet is not being used to its full potential. TheLadders.co.uk offers instant access to the right candidates because the technology enables search by experience, qualifications, job title, region and of course market. This delivers an instant pool of pre-qualified candidates and an environment where you can interact and discuss potential opportunities.”
The Ladders.co.uk is not a new concept. Its parent company TheLadders.com has been operational in the US since 2003. Since its launch, TheLadders.com has dominated the U.S. executive job market, rapidly becoming the leading online service for $100,000+ jobs. In November 2006, TheLadders.com officially became the largest specialty employment website in the United States, according to comScore Media Metrix. It currently boasts a membership of 1.7 million subscribers and continues to win accolades, most recently being named among the Best Job Sites on the Internet in the 2007 Weddle’s User’s Choice Awards. TheLadders.com membership has grown at a rate of over 100% year-over-year since inception.
Sarah Drew, an internet veteran who before joining TheLadders.co.uk was UK Senior Manager & Marketing Director at dating site match.com questions why search and selection businesses don’t use the internet more. She continues: “The idea of using the internet in such a niche area can seem alien to many companies who have always searched using traditional methods. We faced the same dilemma with internet dating and yet the internet is such a natural way to bring two people with complimentary goals together whether its employer and employee or Mr. and Mrs.”
Like the U.S. version of TheLadders.com, TheLadders.co.uk reaches targeted verticals within the £50,000+ job market, including Sales, Marketing, Technology, Finance, Human Resources, Law Consulting, GM and Operations. From January, TheLadders.co.uk will charge a membership fee to job seekers for a range of career services including CV critiquing and career advice, trend data and market reports. Initially the service will be free to agency and corporate members. To ensure that only qualified executives enter the job applicant pool, an in-house team of experts will screen every online CV prior to granting member status.