Selling Talent on the Internet

CEBU, Philippines - The times have changed indeed, and are continually changing still. The whole wide world is becoming a small village. It is now possible for people at opposite hemispheres to communicate with one another instantly, like next-door neighbors.

The Internet makes this so. It is changing the way people live. It is changing the way people do business, too. Many more opportunities can be found over the Internet for both lay people and businessmen.

On the Internet, consumers are now gaining control of their trade experience. For one, there is no more need for middle men. Business transactions are between sellers and buyers, direct.

The employment scene is going through a similar arrangement. There are the so-called job sites that facilitate the meeting of prospects - employers and employees. Many of these sites do not even collect a single centavo for the service.

Basically, companies are asked to specify the attributes they wish to find in job applicants and the salary package they offer. On the other hand, job applicants are made to indicate personal and professional qualities, as well as their expectations of prospective employers. Sometimes the job website does pre-qualification matching; at other times, it directly links the parties.

The Internet job service is not limited to the standard employer-employee setup. Freelance professionals are in the loop, as well. There are job websites designed like an auction, where freelance service providers can put themselves up for the taking. This is especially becoming very popular among such professionals as writers, editors, accountants and design artists.

The freelance professional simply states his or her desired rate on the service auction website. Then clients come in and bid for the service offered. Often the professional gets a rate better than his original quote, especially of a sample of his work is presented, as clients try to outdo one other with their bids.

Some job auction websites, however, charge a minimal fee to keep a freelancer’s portfolio on the site for a specified period of time. But the cost is often easily offset by the volume of business eventually generated. And it's a pittance, to begin with, compared to how much one would have to pay advertising in the conventional media, like newspaper or radio.

One who operates such a website is Jeff Taylor. In the book "Fast Forward" (edited by Alfred Sikes and Ellen Pearlman), Taylor writes: "I also want to do human stock market. We're starting to do work right now on the concept of being able to develop a stock market for people. [Singer] David Bowie led this charge with his Bowie Bonds when he packaged himself as a business and sold bonds. Ultimately we think that heads of companies have potential of being traded. As our society moves from the employer or the corporation being in control to individuals really being in control, then we think there is the possibility of some sort of trading that could go on with human capital."

Taylor also plans to launch a college draft on the Internet where college graduates can register themselves. Everyone fills out a credential sheet, or draft sheet, with their work and school experience. He wants to do it with 100 schools and get all their college seniors to get in the draft.

"I guess you could say we're doing crazy stuff everywhere, but that's what business needs to do today," Taylor says.

Yes, the Internet is a fertile marketplace for sellers and buyers of any kind. It's a shame to use the technology only for light social purposes.