Monster.com Debuts First Career Management Website for U.S. Olympic Athletes & Hopefuls; TeamUSAnet Site Offers Career Tools, Community and Mentoring
MAYNARD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 11, 2001--Monster.com(R), the official online career management sponsor of the 2002 and 2004 U.S. Olympic Teams and the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, today announced the creation of the first ever career management website designed exclusively for U.S. Olympic athletes and Olympic hopefuls. TeamUSAnet, a joint effort between Monster.com and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), features an assortment of career management tools including a resume builder, job search access, an Olympic mentoring network, and other distinctive content that caters specifically to athletes. Monster.com is the leading global online careers site and flagship brand of TMP Worldwide (NASDAQ: TMPW).
Monster's expertise and experience in the career management industry has guided the development of TeamUSAnet, the first online community of its kind and a lasting resource that will benefit U.S. Olympic athletes and hopefuls for years to come. Through TeamUSAnet, Monster.com will host the first iFair (online career fair) to connect U.S. Olympic athletes and Olympic hopefuls with thousands of potential employers. Monster.com will also distinguish athletes' resumes in the resume database with the official mark of the United States Olympic Committee, the Laurel Wreath, which contains the USA/5-Ring mark.
"Olympic athletes embody Monster.com's `Never Settle' philosophy towards life and career, and TeamUSAnet helps U.S. Olympic athletes and Olympic hopefuls channel their competitive spirit and determination toward the pursuit of career and business opportunities," said Jeff Taylor, CEO of Monster.com.
The vast majority of athletes who compete as Olympians have limited self-promotion opportunities throughout their athletic careers. For example, of the more than 600 athletes who competed for the United States in Sydney, only a handful were able to truly leverage that experience into the pursuit of a career. Olympians and Monster spokespeople Eric Heiden, A.J. Mleczko and Jimmy Pedro illustrate the unique prospects and challenges athletes face when balancing professional and athletic goals.
Speedskater Eric Heiden represents the Olympic athletes who quickly and successfully established a professional career after the Games. Women's hockey star A.J. Mleczko is training for another gold medal and putting other career ambitions on hold for now. Similar to many U.S. Olympic athletes, three-time Olympian and bronze medalist Jimmy Pedro struggled to identify professional goals throughout his competitive Olympic career.
Eric Heiden: Speedskater Turned Surgeon
At the 1980 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, speedskater Eric Heiden made history as the only athlete to ever win five individual gold medals in a single Olympiad. But, at age 21 and in the prime of his Olympic career, Heiden decided to retire as one of the most decorated American speedskaters in history to continue pursuing his dream career: medicine. Heiden went back to school and eventually earned his medical degree from Stanford University. Today, Dr. Heiden is an orthopedic surgeon with a specialty in sports medicine and plans to return to the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City as a medical volunteer.
"Though speedskating was my passion growing up and in college, I never lost sight of the value of my education or my ultimate goal of becoming a doctor," said Heiden. "Luckily, I was able to pursue and achieve both dreams."
A.J. Mleczko: Harvard Grad and Hockey Gold
A.J. (Allison Jaime) Mleczko started figure skating at age two, opted for hockey at six and won her first gold medal in Nagano at 22, while putting her senior year at Harvard on hold for the Olympic Games. Mleczko finished her college degree after Nagano and led the Harvard Crimson to the American Women's College Hockey Alliance National Championship in her senior year. Today, she is training for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake while juggling a long distance marriage between Lake Placid and Boston. She has pondered the idea of a career in coaching down the road, but training for the gold medal in Salt Lake is her top priority for now.
"At times, it was difficult to balance my academic pursuits with my athletic career. But, both have always been equally important to me," said Mleczko. "Though the 2002 Olympic Winter Games are my biggest goal right now, I'll definitely call upon my college education and look into other career options later in life."
Jimmy Pedro: From Judo to Job Search
Like Heiden and Mleczko, Jimmy Pedro -- a three-time Olympian in judo -- put his college education on hold to train for the Olympic Games. Pedro left Brown University for two years in order to focus exclusively on judo. He competed in Barcelona in 1992, returned to school and completed a business economics degree in 1994, won a bronze medal in Atlanta in 1996 and became world champion in 1999. Pedro retired after competing in Sydney and still faced the challenge of searching for a job and developing career aspirations, after dedicating the majority of his life to judo. Today, Pedro is applying his wealth of Olympic-related knowledge and experience to his job as Olympic Sponsorship Manager at Monster.com, where he helps to develop and execute TeamUSAnet and Monster's other Olympic programs.
"Like many Olympic athletes, I needed to find a career outside of competition," says Pedro. "Though it was a difficult time, I've been able to transfer skills from my athletic career -- teamwork, discipline, prioritization, and multi-tasking -- to my new career at Monster.com."
The 2002 Winter Olympic Games mark Monster.com's first Olympic sponsorship endeavor and the recognition of being the first ever dotcom sponsor. While the Olympic Games only occur every two years, the world's finest athletes deliver a lifetime of memories and achievements to millions of people around the world. With TeamUSAnet, Olympic athletes and hopefuls now have an important tool that empowers them to leverage their athletic and Olympic experiences in seeking new career or business opportunities.
About Monster.com
Monster.com, the leading global online network for careers, is a sponsor of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games and the 2002 and 2004 U.S. Olympic Teams. Monster.com is bringing comprehensive online career management tools to the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, the United States Olympic Committee, U.S. Olympians, and thousands of Olympic volunteers. Monster's Olympic endeavors include: the Team 2002 Online Community for SLOC - the first-ever Web site designed to retain and administer the training program for the 26,000-member Olympic volunteer staff; TeamUSAnet, an online community for U.S. Olympians and U.S. Olympic Team hopefuls designed to assist athletes throughout their lives and careers; and participation in F.L.A.M.E., a four-day leadership program for minorities.
Monster.com, headquartered in Maynard, Mass., is the leading global careers website, recording over 26.9 million unique visits during the month of May 2001 according to independent research conducted by I/PRO. Monster.com 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.com 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, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Luxembourg, India, and Italy. More information about Monster.com is available at www.monster.com or by calling 1-800-MONSTER.
About TMP Worldwide
Founded in 1967, TMP Worldwide Inc., with more than 9,500 employees in 32 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 480 of the Fortune 500 companies. In June 2001, TMP Worldwide was added to the S&P 500 Index. More information about TMP Worldwide is available at www.tmp.com.
Special Note: The above statements include forward-looking statements based on current management expectations. Factors that could cause future results to differ from these expectations include the following: risks associated with acquisitions, competition and seasonality. Additional factors are described in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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CONTACT: CONE, Llc. Christina Sharkey 617-272-8466 csharkey@coneinc.com or Monster.com Kevin Mullins 978-461-8751 kevin.mullins@monster.com












