Tried as I might to be objective in my recent post about Jobfox’s marketing faux pas, CEO Rob McGovern was not very happy with the coverage.
His e-mail read,
Hey, I thought your recent article about us was a unfair. Is inadvertently sending someone a free offer really worthy of a headline that calls us “Sleazy as Hell”? Particularly when we admitted to the practice and apologized to our peers in the industry? Are you sure you just weren’t having a slow news period, which led you to trash a vendor for the sport of it?
Your blog is deserving of better.
I’m not exactly sure how Jobfox “apologized to our peers in the industry.” If anyone out there got a formal correspondence, feel free to comment. Nevertheless, I thought McGovern’s letter should see the light of day.
Readers, as always, can make up their own mind on the fairness of the post.
June 11th, 2008 at 10:47 am
The headline didn’t call them anything. It said what someone else called them. I think you were completely fair.
June 11th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
McGovern has an ego the size of King Kong…He rival’s Sal Iannuzzi as the biggest Fraud on the planet…Plain and Simple, the product sucks!!!
June 11th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Joel-you’re coverage was fair, you simply reported on what happened. Their marketing mouthpiece admitted to what they did and said it wouldn’t happen again. The scary thing is that Rob McGovern came back to you and said it was done “inadvertently”. This doesn’t sound like it was a 1 time deal done by a sales rep. If it smells like a fish….
June 11th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
eh, i would say your posting was scathing. the term sleezy is probably the worst of it… but it’s a headline and it’s not like it was your work necessarily. it sounds like jobfox is feeling a little defensive + inadequate lately! being in the job board biz ain’t easy lately…
June 11th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
It was very fair!
Third party vendor? Inadvertent? yeah, right.
If climber or itzbig were doing the same thing you’d be the one calling it “sleazy”.
I say, go invest some of your $20M and actually hire a marketing vendor and fire the sales/marketing people who came up with the one that is costing you time doing damage control.
June 13th, 2008 at 8:16 am
There was nothing wrong with your posting - it was fair, and fact filled. These guys have been trying to push a crap product for over 4 years. And for several years before that when it was being called “Market10″. You can dress a turd up to look like a tootsie roll, but……
Bottom line, the product is awful, no one is going to buy into it in large masses, and they are desperate to market it.
Cheez, you did good work here.
June 13th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
….I love the fact that you don’t let these job sites bully you…You have interviewed and built relationships with each leader of the various boards, but you always remain objective…I find your blog to be off great value and I know for a fact that Robert McGovern, Peggy Padalino View Profile Sal Iannuzzi, Jeff Kinder, Jason Lovelace and Steve Pogorzelski read your blog multiple times a day. You a Star Cheez!
June 14th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
I COMMEND JOEL FOR COVERING THIS. WHAT HE DOESN’T MENTION AND NONE OF THE COMMENTERS MENTION IS THIS — WHAT ABOUT THE JOB-SEEKER WHO HIT THE “SUBMIT RESUME BUTTON?” WHAT ABOUT THE LITTLE GUY? AS A JOB-SEEKER I HAVE BEEN DUPED NUMEROUSE TIMES BY JOBFOX - THINKING THAT A COMPANY WAS VIEWING MY RESUME!! STAY AWAY FROM THAT JOB BOARD….(IF YOU WANT TO GET A JOB)