Scientific publisher Nature Publishing Group (NPG), UK, has announced that its science recruitment service, Naturejobs, has unveiled a fresh design and improved functionality and navigation for its website, naturejobs.com. The new website is the latest development for Naturejobs, which is claimed to have grown to become the world's largest dedicated scientific jobs database through pioneering free online advertisements.
Launched in 2000, Naturejobs grew out of the classified recruitment section of Nature and launched naturejobs.com in 2001. It now offers over 4,500 scientific vacancies online, more than any other dedicated science jobs website. Naturejobs.com is free to use for jobseekers, attracting more than 2.5 million page views per month. As well as a new look and feel, content on naturejobs.com has been reorganised and new sections added to make the site easier to navigate. The new Career Toolkit page has sections on mentoring, networking, salaries, presentation and interview skills and an 'ask the expert' forum.
Information industry analysts Outsell Inc. have forecast strong growth in 2009 for services like Naturejobs, despite the current economic downturn. In a recent report, Outsell predicted revenue growth of 18 percent in 2008 and 16 percent in 2009 for online classified sites, outstripping the overall information industry average.
In 2008, Naturejobs online sales grew by more than 25 percent on the previous year. While revenue growth for classified print advertising is slowing across the market, Naturejobs is seen to continue to attract significant paid-for advertising, both in print and online.
Continued growth in sales, number of postings and site traffic is observed to validate Naturejobs' adoption in November 2006 of a 'freemium model'. Basic online job ads are free to post, and recruiters can pay to upgrade to premium online ads on naturejobs.com, and online and print advertising in Nature and other titles from Nature Publishing Group.
Naturejobs was the first major scientific job website to offer free job postings online. The number of jobs in the database has risen significantly since introducing free online ads, jumping from 900 jobs in November 2006 to 2,400 by January 2007. Two years on, this expansion has continued, with more than 4,500 job listings in February 2009.
