Career Advice From a Giant Entrepreneur

Jeffrey Taylor, Founder and CEO of Monster.com and Eons.com, Delivers Powerful Message to Kean University’s Class of 2008

Listen to Taylor’s commencement speech at www.kean.edu.  Click the "KUTV" button at the bottom of the page, then click “Video Vault” to the left, scroll down to “Commencement Speeches and Performances,” and click “Jeff Taylor.”
As the founder of Monster.com, Taylor forever changed the way the world networks and builds careers. Recognized as an innovator and visionary in both Internet and career industries, Taylor reinvented the way the world looks for employment. His “monster idea,” conceived at the dawn of the World Wide Web, quickly became one of the first dot-com companies (454th registered domain on the Web) and has grown into the world’s leading online career site. Today, the Monster global network consists of 22 local content and language sites in 20 countries and serves 20 million visitors monthly.

A brief interview with Taylor before the ceremony cultivated inspirational advice for moving ahead in the job market:

Q:   What qualities about you have contributed to your success? 

A:  Our Monster mascot’s name is Trumposaurus.  He has big eyes and a trumpet, and he is meant to trumpet the success of you as a job seeker.  That is me, in a crazy way, or at least it has been accused of being me.  The Monster.com experience is all about the job seeker.  We started out with the message, “There’s a better job out there,” and then we went to “Never settle.”  We promoted the idea that success is half about a better job, and half about a better life.  Now the message is, “Today’s the day. Get out there and get that job.  Really push yourself.”   Monster.com has a famous commercial where a character says, “When I grow up, I want to file all day.  I want to claw my way up to middle management.  I want to be replaced on a whim.”   Of course people do not want that.  That commercial set the stage for an emotion that is universal across job seekers not only in the United States but in all 36 countries in which we are located.

Q:    Your success might have started as a dream for you, and now you are a much sought after commencement speaker and someone who inspires many people; how did that happen, and how do you feel about being here? 

A:  Life evolves.  I did have a dream.  My dream was a big idea, a monster idea.  I was going to build a bulletin board system (or a BBS), so my idea was originally the Monster Board.  The World Wide Web was invented while I was trying to build that BBS in 1994, and I had an opportunity to create Monster.com.  I knew about job hunting in the New England area because I grew up in Boston.  And then I soon experienced job hunting around the world.  This story – that job seekers need a challenge, that their goals are out there and they just have to keep pushing themselves – that is me too.  I did not start out knowing that I was going to build a world class brand and a company with over a billion dollars a year in revenue.  I did not foresee that 9 out of 10 working adults in this country would know the Monster.com brand top-of-mind.  That is something that happened over the past 12 to 13 years. 

Q:  How do recent graduates stay relevant in the job market? 

A:  I have two messages for the graduates today.  One is about learning and the other is about friendships.  My main message about learning is that when you are nervous, you are in danger of learning something.  So, put yourself in a situation where you are nervous or uncomfortable.  I was nervous as I created this company, nervous when we went public, and that was an opportunity for me.  Being nervous means that you are taking risks and creating momentum in your lives.  And about friendships, friendships become your network, and your network is very important.  You always need to nurture that network.  Among many benefits, use your connections to get out there in the summer after graduation before those new job seekers who wait until September or later.