CareerBuilder Chosen to Provide Job Search Services for Displaced Kmart Employees
CHICAGO, January 14, 2003 - CareerBuilder, the industry's most complete recruitment resource for efficiently finding better candidates and jobs, announced it will provide job search services for hourly Kmart employees who will be displaced as a result of the company's previously announced closure of 326 of its 1,832 stores. CareerBuilder was selected to supply displaced Kmart employees with a direct connection to employers in need of skilled and hourly workers. It will offer online search products to assist individuals in finding new employment outside or within Kmart.
CareerBuilder is partnering with Kmart to set up re-employment support services in each of Kmart's closing stores so employees can apply for skilled and hourly job opportunities online at their own store. Employees also will have the option of dialing into an interactive voice response system over the telephone. In addition, CareerBuilder will provide managers at Kmart's remaining 1,506 stores with access to CareerBuilder's skilled and hourly product to hire displaced Kmart workers.
"This is a challenging time for Kmart employees and management as we continue the restructuring that is the basis for the company's future," said Michael Macik, executive vice president of Human Resources, Kmart Corporation. "Kmart values its employees and is working to assure they have resources, guidance and support to find new employment."
"CareerBuilder is committed to helping Kmart's displaced hourly employees leverage their skills and posture themselves for future employment through focused job searches and strategies," said Matt Ferguson, chief operating officer of CareerBuilder. "Job seekers can tap into a wide range of local and national employment opportunities through CareerBuilder.com and more than 130 newspapers of our partners, Gannett Co., Inc., Tribune Company and Knight Ridder."
CareerBuilder's skilled and hourly product will enable Kmart employees to apply for new hourly jobs by creating up to five different confidential profiles that indicate their work preferences, education and experience. Workers can select from job categories covering everything from retail, sales, customer service/call center, healthcare, hotel/hospitality, and office administration/clerical to restaurant/food service, skilled labor, manufacturing, construction and general labor/other. Interested employers simply review the applications and contact qualified candidates.
Kmart employees can also take advantage of CareerBuilder.com's Personal Search Agent that hunts for job opportunities in expressed areas of interest and automatically emails them to job seekers. In addition, the site gives job seekers the choice to search by industry, location and job type, and provides online career assessments, coaching for interviews and tips for salary negotiations.
About Kmart
Kmart Corporation is a mass merchandising company that serves America with its Kmart and Kmart SuperCenter retail outlets. Kmart in 2001 had sales of $36 billion. The Company's common stock is currently quoted on the Pink Sheets Electronic Quotation Service under the symbol KMRTQ.
About CareerBuilder
CareerBuilder is a leading online source for maximizing recruitment dollars and optimizing job searches with superior products, customer service and technology. With a unique combination of national, local and niche audiences, CareerBuilder makes it easy for recruiters to reach the most qualified candidates with industry-leading market research data and support. Job seekers can search for the right job from more than 400,000 continuously updated postings, representing more than 25,000 of the top employers in virtually every industry, field and location. Together with Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB), and Knight Ridder, Inc. (NYSE:KRI), CareerBuilder includes the Web's top newspaper sites - the most trusted employment sources in recruiting. For more information about CareerBuilder products and services, call 888-670-TEAM or visit CareerBuilder at http://www.careerbuilder.com.
Kmart Media Relations can be reached at 248-463-1021.
CareerBuilder Media Contact
For all media inquiries and interview requests, contact:
Jennifer Grasz
(P) 773-527-1164
(E) jennifer.grasz@careerbuilder.com
