Liquid HR: iProfile re-revisited. Does it work?

So in my last post I reviewed the iprofile CV publication product, and had an overall favorable view of it from a strategic standpoint. So now I've come to the big test: it looks pretty, but does it work?

The Process:

On February 2, I updated my online CV profile -- i.e., my iProfile -- and opened access to four recruitment agencies (spring.com, volteurope, JM group, glotel)...and I guess I must have left Abraxus on the list as well, since they apparently viewed my profile. So I click on "my connections" to confirm who should have access...and I keep getting an error message. Over and over - the rest of the menu works, however.

So I head over to volteurope.com. I browse a few jobs, find one I like, and click "apply now." I get the usual webform asking me to write in a cover letter and upload my CV. Hmm. I look at the form again and find a "login" option. Perhaps I can use this to leverage my iProfile. I try some email addresses, including my iProfile associated email address, and none of them work. Hmm. OK, so I just go ahead and register. Then find a job and try to apply. Again, no reference to iProfile

Strike 1. Darn. I thought by having an iProfile, I wouldn't have to upload yet another CV! Shouldn't iProfile be integrated with Volteurope, so that when I apply for a job, I just click a button, and my iProfile is utilized?

So I then go to spring.com. I'll cut it short. My experience is the same. What am I missing?

For me, the point for a portal like iProfile is to empower me. I can't see how iProfile does that. It doesn't seem to invite a lot of attention from recruiters, and I can't see how it helps me distribute my CV to recruiters. I hesitate to make conclusions, because I feel like I have to be missing something, but maybe not..!?

Liquid HR View:

One thing I did notice along the way on the Volt Europe site, however: I was offered an email address if I wanted to query about the job. The email address was something like this:

person.12343.123@volt.aplitrak.com

Aplitrak? Hey -- that's the Broadbean application! Remember, Broadbean distributes jobs to various job boards on behalf of recruiters and hiring companies. Does this mean Volt Europe does not have jobs of its own? If so, the house of mirrors is complex, and iProfile is a like a layer upon a layer upon a layer of jobs. (And Volt Europe doesn't seem to be integrated with iProfile, at least in any consumer friendly way that I could find). If all of this were true, the value chain looks something like this:

Iprofile ?-> VOLT <- Broadbean <- job source

Maybe VOLT publishes its jobs via Broadbean, however, but utilises Aplitrak to post those jobs back to its own website.

iProfile ?-> VOLT <-> Broadbean -> job board.

Once again, I have determined there is a lot of air in this industry. Could somebody point me to the job source, please? On the other hand, the industry is becoming more liquid. The Liquid HR economy is beginning to become reality as jobs are passed around. And guess what will happen next? Those that don't add value to this process will start to be eliminated.

Conclusion:

Back to iProfile, and apologies for this discursive blog. I guess I don't get it. It looks beautiful, but someone will need to explain to me why the iProfile service is something I want. Maybe I just need to allow many more recruiters to access my account.

I wonder whether the guys at iProfile got the portal and consumer front end together, but forget about the backend or never really understood the strategy.

Anyway, hate to sound nasty, but I have to call it like I see it. Good luck fellas, somebody make some comments and show me I'm wrong about all of this.