Philip Morris International : Expanding jobs

User convenience is the essence of a central display of information.

The Site

Philip Morris International, a Switzerland-based tobacco company, makes its job opportunities easier to browse.

Philip Morris International (PMI) provides a central Job Opportunities tool on its corporate site that allows customised searches of current vacancies across the company. Dropdown filters enable searches to be refined by Function, Location and Full/Part-Time, with All being among the options in each case. The initial set of results is tabulated in a standard format that gives Number of Openings, Date posted and Place of Work as well as confirming Function, Location and Full/Part-Time status.

A ‘View More Details’ tag expands an individual listing to show a substantial job description and buttons to Apply or Email a friend. Job titles and expanded descriptions are in the local language of the country where the vacancy is being offered and lead through to a local-language application form.

The Takeaway

PMI has chosen to provide a centralised search service for jobseekers, rather than the alternative of a hub for local or divisional sites. Both options have their followers among global operators, with the choice often a reflection of the structure of the organisation, and the key to effectiveness comes down to implementation. PMI shows its fellow centralisers how well it can be done – and using some features that could equally well benefit ‘localisers’.

One of the most notable – and universally adoptable – features is the presentation of job search results for easy browsing: the standard set of topline key facts allows an initial at-a-glance assessment of relevance, with the ability to view the job description from within the list of results giving a user-convenient option to add further information without losing the list. Use of local-language descriptions at this stage is both a welcome courtesy and a practical way of filtering out potential candidates who lack the language skills that will be needed for the job.

First published on 20 September, 2011