www.philly.com/monster is the first site launch between the # 1 job board, Monster, and print media, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News. Years of battling local newspapers for job listings have prompted Monster to take this radical approach.

For Monster to be a long-term force, it has to have a significant presence in the local markets, and since they can never build the same daily frequency and reach as newspapers, they are teaming up with other print media companies.

Monster hopes that the newspaper partnerships will give it the local edge it needs to stay competitive with rivals like CareerBuilders, which was set up by several newspapers a few years ago specifically to combat Monster. Monster also faces an even greater challenge from Craigslist in a growing number of major cities. Craigslist offers free job listings, which has made them the leader in several large markets.

Although competition is steadfast, an executive at Monster insists that Monster has many advantages to offer employers --"Employers will pay us more if we generate more applicants than our rivals" -- "Monster 's site attracts 40,000 resumes daily and more than three million applicants monthly.

To compete with the cheaper and free services (Monster - 395 for 60 day posting) of other sites, Monster is offering clients more services, including recruiting tools and promises to deliver high-quality candidates. This strategy seems to have paid off, 2005 revenue was up 17% from 2004 and the trend continued in the first half of 2006.

Even though competitors like CareerBuilders and Craigslist are nipping at its heal, worldwide brand recognition allows Monster to stay #1. Today, it operates its job service in 25 foreign countries and analysts say "global business will drive future sales".