Manpower Inc. Launches MyPath.com, a Community-Driven Career Management Social Network that Helps Professionals Improve Skills and Plan Career Journey

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Manpower Inc. (NYSE: MAN), a world leader in the employment services industry, announced today at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos the launch of MyPath.com (www.mypath.com), a free online community that allows professionals to take charge of and succeed in every phase of their career in a trusted new way. Featuring expert content and advice, powerful career assessment tools, and a community of peers and industry leaders, MyPath taps Manpower's six decades of experience, global footprint and insight into the changing world of work.

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"MyPath is not simply another professional network or social networking site," said Manpower Inc. Chairman and CEO Jeff Joerres. "While many such sites owe their current popularity to the sluggish jobs market as people seek new opportunities, they will become less relevant as the economy inevitably improves. MyPath, however, will continue to be a useful tool as it helps users hone their skills and become the solution for employers who are increasingly faced with the problem of talent shortage as the economy rebounds."

MyPath is the product of years of research and development, including focus groups strongly indicating that people are seeking a trusted site for career development. Manpower found that while every social network has an underlying current related to career development, none were organized around advancing one's career—offering the resources, educational tools, contacts and assets needed to succeed in those jobs. MyPath leverages the best expert content and online social media technology to fill that gap, offering a first-of-its-kind lifetime career-planning tool.

Generating nearly 150,000 visitors prior to its formal launch this week, MyPath delivers expert advice on a variety of career-focused topics such as career counseling, workplace etiquette, work-life balance and adapting to a changing multigenerational workforce. MyPath's resident bloggers offer a wealth of expertise in their particular fields, as well as broader insights for making informed choices in managing one's career over time.

"The goal of MyPath is to give individuals the required support to build a satisfying career and find success on their unique path," Joerres said. "The first career planning site developed by a professional employment services firm, MyPath leverages the best of expert advice and online social media technology to thoughtfully deliver meaningful content in a non-commercial way."

Some of MyPath's most popular offerings include free assessments developed by Harvard University professors for CareerLeader®, one of the industry's most respected and comprehensive business career development tools. These include a Career Themes Inventory, which evaluates the user's skills and work interests and the careers that are the best fit for these; a Career Abilities Inventory to help show the user where their strengths lie and areas to focus on for improvement; and a Career Motivation assessment that provides users with an analysis of key motivators to help them identify suitable career paths.

Because MyPath is focused on helping individuals widen their skill sets and learn from peers and industry experts rather advertising available jobs, users can experience all it has to offer without feeling wary of how their presence on the site will be viewed by their employer. Workers who take the initiative to use MyPath keep their skills and capabilities fresh, making them more valuable to their company. Organizations that actively encourage their employees to do so increase the engagement of their workforce.

"At a time when employers have been forced to reduce training budgets for employees, it has never been more important for individuals to step up and take responsibility for managing their own careers," said Tammy Johns, Manpower Inc. Senior Vice President, Global Workforce Strategy. "MyPath is not about finding a place to work – it's about finding your place in the world of work by providing the ideas, career tools and people that will lead you there."

MyPath also offers Career Navigator, which tracks what is important to the individual and whether they are getting what they need out of their working life; and a Job Watcher, where users can perform a customized search of job openings available through Manpower, based on preferred location, profession and whether permanent, contract or temporary employment is sought. It also features a Salary Gauge which allows users to establish if they are being fairly compensated in their job and the approximate earning potential of a new career. The assessments help users achieve specific short term goals, like writing more provocative resumes and landing the next promotion or broader goals, such as planning for a career change or creating a life-long development plan.

Although initially targeted at individuals in the information technology, engineering and financial services sectors, as these professions invariably top Manpower's annual survey of hottest jobs, MyPath's career management tools and community are available to everyone and offer value to anybody interested in taking ownership of their careers. Research from Manpower and its target industries indicates a significant demand for online training resources.  CIO Insight Magazine recently reported that nearly 50% of CIO time with HR is spent on developing the interpersonal skills of IT talent.

On Tuesday, Manpower released a white paper on social media titled, "Social Networks vs. Management? Harness the Power of Social Media" which focuses on ways to best leverage social networks to your advantage. This paper can be downloaded at http://www.manpower.com/research/research.cfm .

On Friday, Joerres will explore these and other Manpower findings on leveraging social networks during a special session at Davos titled "Social Networks vs. the CEO— Is the CEO Prepared?"

About MyPath.com

MyPath is a trusted online career management destination designed to help IT, engineering and financial services professionals navigate and succeed in the changing world of work. Guided by Manpower, a global leader in employment services, MyPath helps individuals unlock their potential by enabling them to visualize and actively manage their careers based on their own goals for both work and life, providing practical career-focused content and advice from multiple expert sources so they can make informed choices, and connecting them to a network of peers and mentors who may be on similar career journeys.

About Manpower Inc.

Manpower Inc. (NYSE: MAN) is a world leader in the employment services industry; creating and delivering services that enable its clients to win in the changing world of work. With over 60 years' experience, the $22 billion company offers employers a range of services for the entire employment and business cycle including permanent, temporary and contract recruitment; employee assessment and selection; training; outplacement; outsourcing and consulting.  Manpower's worldwide network of 4,100 offices in 82 countries and territories enables the company to meet the needs of its 400,000 clients per year, including small and medium size enterprises in all industry sectors, as well as the world's largest multinational corporations. The focus of Manpower's work is on raising productivity through improved quality, efficiency and cost-reduction across their total workforce, enabling clients to concentrate on their core business activities. Manpower Inc. operates under five brands:  Manpower, Manpower Professional, Elan, Jefferson Wells and Right Management.  More information on Manpower Inc. is available at www.manpower.com.

SOURCE Manpower Inc.