Monster Jobs On the Way

Online job search firm to open Florence facility,

hire about 350

Monster, the online job-search company, soon will be searching for employees in South Carolina.

The Maynard, Mass.-based company announced Thursday plans to open a customer-service center in Florence where it will employ 350 people by fall.

The company will invest about $28 million in the county by next year to build a permanent facility near I-95, said Art O’Donnell, Monster’s executive vice president for global customer services.

“Our building will be visible on a major traffic route,” O’Donnell said. “It’s easily accessible for the labor force. It’s a great fit and promises for a good future.”

Beginning in September, Monster will operate out of a temporary site in downtown Florence, said Joe King, executive director of the Florence County Economic Development Partnership.

The company plans to build its new facility in the Pee Dee Touchstone Energy Commerce park, where it could employ up to 750 people.

Florence has been on a roll in landing new businesses. Earlier this month, Pittsburgh-based Heinz said it would open a $105 million frozen-food plant in Florence County, hiring 350 people.

Florence’s supply of available workers has made it a good choice for companies looking to open new facilities, said Kara Borie, a spokeswoman with the S.C. Department of Commerce.

Florence County offered an incentives package that included tax breaks, help with job recruiting and a revenue credit, King said.

King did not provide a dollar amount for that incentives package, saying he was traveling and did not have his paperwork with him.

Monster’s Florence facility will serve as a customer-service center where employees answer calls from people using the company’s employment Web site.

On Monster.com, people can post resumes, search for job openings and seek career advice.

Founded in 1994, Monster’s Web site receives more than 4 million hits and about 4,100 resume postings daily. The company has more than 5,200 employees and operations in 36 countries. It already has customer-service centers at its headquarters in Massachusetts, Indianapolis and Canada, spokesman Steve Sylven said.

Monster has been using a third-party company to assist with customer services, O’Donnell said. That company had overseas operations and Monster wanted to have all of its customer-service representatives in North America, he said.

Workers in Florence will answer questions from Monster.com users and eventually will call on them to offer services, O’Donnell said.

“These employees will be serving our most important clients,” O’Donnell said. “We believe there will be better service when it’s in the native language and the people who are helping are actually employees of the company.”

The average pay should be about $28,000 to $30,000 per year and will include benefits, O’Donnell said.

Employees need good communication skills and basic typing ability, he said.

“We’re a dotcom company and we invest in our people’s growth,” he said. “We make sure they’re satisfied so we can satisfy our customers.”

The company will begin hiring during the second week of July. Naturally, prospective employees should apply at www.monster.com.