Q&A: IT marketing pros launch online job board

By Thomas Hoffman

December 20, 2002 12:00 PM ET

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Computerworld - Out-of-work programmers and IT project managers who are struggling to find employment might want to take a cue from a group of 2,000-plus IT marketing professionals who have created a virtual job board aimed at helping place them in hard-to-find jobs.
The Software Product Marketing eGroup (SPM) was launched on a "zero budget" last year by Cynthia Typaldos, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who is the group's executive director. The site is hosted by one of the members, and other members regularly contribute software and technical expertise as needed.
Computerworld recently caught up with Typaldos and the group's communications director, Susan Hathaway, to discuss the effort.
How was SPM formed?
Typaldos: It happened surreptitiously. I had a client in the Valley who needed help organizing their product marketing strategy. I told them I could help, once we figured out what the job requirements were.


Cynthia Typaldos, launched Software Product Marketing eGroup

I used to teach a class on software marketing at UC Berkeley extension. So I started up the group and got my former students to join up. I had 249 people in the group and posted the job. Afterwards, I got a response from the CEO of PlaceWare, who had a product marketing job opening, and he asked if I could post it for them. It kept going from there.
Hathaway: We have 2,200 members from all over the world, including 50 active volunteers, some of whom aren't even in this country, and we've never met as a group in person. We've always met online.
Cynthia and I met a few years ago when we were both working for Sun Microsystems. Cynthia persuaded me to join SPM a few months ago. We were both looking for jobs in the worst market in our lifetimes, hopefully in everyone's lifetimes.
What's the charter of SPM?

Susan Hathaway, the group's communications director
Typaldos: The goal of SPM is for every member to get a job. This is rather difficult, since there are very, very few jobs, and we probably post most of them. These are for software marketing and business development positions, which includes networking and telecommunications. Like a VP of product marketing for a software company.
Once the economy picks up -- and hopefully someday it will -- we hope the people we help place will stay on as hiring managers.
Who do you target the site to?
Typaldos: Our target market is the people who have the jobs, the executives, the recruiters who have the jobs or know of the jobs.
How many people have been placed?
Hathaway:

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