Monster Closes 2002 as Top Career Site; Site Traffic for 2002 Further Confirmation of Job Seekers' Loyalty to the Monster Career Brand

Monthly unique visitors more than triple that of closest competitor

MAYNARD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 19, 2002-- As the year 2002 comes to an end, job seekers nationwide are hoping for a great start to the new year for their careers and their lives. Monster(R) is, as site traffic figures attest, an integral part for millions of job seekers in managing their careers. During the month of November, there existed a great disparity between the site traffic on Monster and the rest of the career category. In fact, according to comScore Media Metrix, the 13.9 million unique visitors that came to Monster during the month outdistanced the closest competitor's total of 4.4 million unique visitors. Monster is the leading global online careers property and flagship brand of TMP Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: TMPW).

"For every job seeker that visited the nearest competitor, three job seekers came to Monster. With a database of over 22 million resumes, employers visit Monster to find the quality candidates they need to grow their businesses. In turn, job seekers come to Monster to find quality career opportunities in all ranges of industries," said Jeff Taylor, founder and chairman of Monster. "As Monster embarks on 2003 with an expansive marketing campaign, highlighted by a spot in the Super Bowl, Monster will reach a nationwide audience with the message of how we create that connection between job seekers and employers."

comScore Media Metrix(a)

According to independent research conducted by comScore Media Metrix, Monster is the number one destination for career seekers and the 27th most visited property(b) overall on the Internet. Monster maintained its stronghold this month with an average pages per visitor(c) of 33 and a power ranking(d) of 320, more than its 15 closest competitors combined. Monthly unique visitors to Monster increased from 10.1 million during November 2001 to 13.9 million for November 2002, an increase of 38 percent. Monster further demonstrated its strength in the online careers industry with a 50.5 percent share of online career eyeball minutes(e), while its closest competitor represents only a 12.7 percent share, a difference of over 37 percent.

Nielsen//NetRatings

According to the Nielsen//NetRatings' MarketView report for the month of November, Monster received 11.4 million unique visitors and a power ranking of 231. Monster also received 45.4 percent of career eyeball minutes, with its closest competitor representing a share of only 14.5 percent, less than a third of Monster's percentage.

New to Monster

  • Monster and Interview Mastery to Assist Job Seekers with Interviewing Skills

In today's tough job market, the job interview is a critical component of securing that dream job. To help job seekers master the art of the job interview, Monster has allied with Interview Mastery to offer the ultimate job interview toolkit. Interview Mastery is the Internet's first and only multimedia, interactive interview skills program for job seekers. Providing interactive tools to educate users on the interview process, Interview Mastery helps job seekers prepare for all aspects of an interview. Available online or in cd-rom format, job seekers can learn essential tips on the best ways to enhance themselves as a job candidate. http://www.interviewmastery.com/index.cfm?affiliate=monster-ic

  • Monster Kicks-Off 2003 at Super Bowl

On Nov. 26th, Monster announced that it is returning to the Super Bowl, representing Monster's fifth straight year in the biggest advertising event of the year. The 30-second spot, currently under development, will appeal to both job seekers and employers, highlighting the way Monster continues to revolutionize the world of work. The theme of the spot will focus on Monster's ability to connect job seekers at all levels with employment opportunities in a wide range of industries. Super Bowl XXXVII will air live, January 26, 2003 on the ABC Network from Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California.

  • Monster Releases Retail Industry Job Outlook for the 2002 Holiday Season

Monster recently released its annual retail industry job outlook for the 2002 holiday season. According to Monster Data Intelligence, a group focused on analyzing Monster data, job seekers are seeking holiday employment in strong numbers, as evidenced by the total number of retail resumes growing 59 percent on Monster during 2002. Based on a comprehensive analysis of Monster retail job postings in the United States, retail job opportunities are most abundant in California, which accounts for 14 percent of all retail jobs nationwide. It is followed by New York with 7.8 percent of all retail job opportunities, Texas (6.3 percent), Florida (6.2 percent), and Illinois (4.6 percent). For additional information on retail statistics, including top desired locations and specific information for your state, please contact Kevin Mullins, 978-461-8751.

(a) Traffic numbers reflect comScore Media Metrix's new 2.0 Panel Recruitment measurement, with added Workplace Measurement and University Measurement.

(b) 'Property' represents all Monster-owned domains.

(c) 'Average pages per visitor' represents a computation of the new total pages format to comScore Media Metrix's standard measurements.

(d) 'Power ranking,' which equals 'reach' multiplied by 'unique pages per visitor per month,' represents aggregate job seeker activity in a given month.

(e) 'Online career eyeball minutes' equals 'unique visitors' multiplied by 'the average number of minutes spent on a site per month. The percentage of online career eyeball minutes demonstrates the percentage of time spent on Monster versus other sites in the career category.'

About Monster

Monster, headquartered in Maynard, Mass., is the leading global careers website, recording over 44.1 million unique visits during the month of November 2002 according to independent research conducted by I/PRO. Monster connects the most progressive companies with the most qualified career-minded individuals, offering innovative technology and superior services that give them more control over the recruiting process. The Monster global network consists of local content and language sites in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, France, Scotland, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Luxembourg, India, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, and Finland. Monster is the official online career management services sponsor of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games and 2002 and 2004 U.S. Olympic Teams. More information about Monster is available at www.monster.com or by calling 1-800-MONSTER.

About TMP Worldwide

Founded in 1967, TMP Worldwide Inc., with more than 8,500 employees in 33 countries, is the online recruitment leader, the world's largest Recruitment Advertising agency network, and one of the world's largest Executive Search and Executive Selection agencies. TMP Worldwide, headquartered in New York, is also the world's largest Yellow Pages advertising agency and a provider of direct marketing services. The company's clients include more than 90 of the Fortune 100 and more than 490 of the Fortune 500 companies. TMP Worldwide is a member of the S&P 500 Index. More information about TMP Worldwide is available at www.tmp.com.

Special Note: Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for historical information contained herein, the statements made in this release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding the company's strategic direction, prospects and future results. Certain factors, including factors outside of our control, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward- looking statements, including economic and other conditions in the markets in which we operate, risks associated with acquisitions, competition, seasonality and the other risks discussed in our Form 10-K and our other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which discussions are incorporated in this release by reference.

CONTACT:

Monster
Kevin Mullins, 978/461-8751
kevin.mullins@monster.com
or
Weber Shandwick Worldwide
Kelly Sullivan, 617/520-7239
ksullivan@webershandwick.com