Launch of MrWeb Australia

Today sees the official launch of a home page for Australian researchers. MrWeb has attracted a significant audience of MR professionals Down Under for most of its 5 years, without much specific targeting, but from today is providing specific feature content, a job search and recruiter index, and directories with a more Australian focus.

The new site section has been a while in coming, having originally been planned early last year. Specifically Australian content covers several areas, with feature articles by recruiters and prominent Australian researchers, a new 'Recent Australian Vacancies' page displaying ads as soon as they are posted and separate from UK and other international jobs, a vacancy search page with Aus-based location categories, a list of agency home pages and another of specialist recruitment consultants based in or with offices in Australia.

The site also features reprints of articles from the newsletter of Australia's professional body for MR, the MRSA, who have as usual been exceptionally helpful and positive - further co-operation is planned, beginning with a home page link to details of training courses.

News stories relevant to Australia, including some Asia Pacific stories and New Zealand stories, will appear on the home page as they are posted on DRNO. The proportion of Australian news should increase very slightly over the coming weeks.

The current base of around 50 Australian vacancies is expected to expand in the next few weeks. Five of the country's MR recruitment specialists, representing most of the industry, have jobs featured at present or will have in the next few days. They are CC International, Elizabeth Norman International, Market Search, Research Recruitment and AML Resources. Jobs advertised directly by Australian agencies and clients will also feature, of course, as with the site at present - MrWeb has a record 32 current direct advertisers on the site in addition to its 14 regular recruitment consultancy advertisers.

2004 so far has been a very good year for MR recruitment and for MrWeb, with record numbers of site visits and pages viewed - both have grown by about 80% in the last 12 months. An analysis of recruitment activity and salary levels in the second half of 2003 will appear in the forthcoming MRWho supplement ( www.mrweb.com/who ), due out in the next week.

If you're an Australian-based researcher, or interested in being, and have any comments on the site or what you'd like to see in future - or if you'd like to contribute something to it - please get in touch as we aim to give it as much of a community feel as MrWeb has in the UK. Email is best (reply to this address) although we're often available by 'phone if it's early morning in Aus, given our rather ungodly UK office hours...

MrWeb's Australian home page can be accessed via the map of Australia at the bottom of the main home page, or directly via www.mrweb.com/aus

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.