-By Mike Beirne

It's a tough time for job seekers, which means the services of career Web sites are in high demand. Monster.com will attempt to lure the additional 2.2 million unemployed (as of this year) with a relaunch of its site in January.

Monster.com plans to add more bells and whistles that make job searches more relevant and personalized. Among the enhancements will be technology that Monster.com acquired after purchasing Trovix in July. The technology claims to read between the lines when matching keywords on a resume with job postings. 

Ted Gilvar, Monster.com's evp and CMO, said the company is considering a major TV push to promote the relaunch. "If we do broadcast, we'll do it like we did this year launching with TV in a big way during January."

BBDO, New York, which created a campaign last January for Monster.com dubbed "Your calling is calling," also will handle the new creative. The company spent $197 million on U.S. advertising in 2007 (not including Internet spending) and $71 million through July, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

Career sites are striving to be more innovative by developing or acquiring technology that better pairs seekers with job prospects, said Matt Martone, author of the blog Job Search Marketing. For example, Yahoo! HotJobs can go beyond resume keywords and use a seeker's online behavior and interests to find a better match.

Meanwhile, other career sites are adjusting their marketing, as more people flock to job boards looking for work. Instead of simply connecting with job seekers, the sites are starting to target recruiters and human resource managers.

"When the economy tightens up like it has, it's easier to acquire those job seekers," said Rich Castellini, vp of consumer marketing at CareerBuilder.com. "When we know we are getting more job seekers, we can reinvest in ways to encourage companies to hire, or other avenues of business expansion."

One of those avenues for CareerBuilder.com is expanding into a dozen international markets next year. The site also will be a Super Bowl advertiser for the fifth consecutive year. During Super Bowl XLII, CareerBuilder unveiled its "Start Building," via Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore. It spent $45 million on U.S. measured media last year (not including online) and $26 million between January and July this year, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

TheLadders.com spent $17 million on ads during the first seven months of this year, compared with $6 million for all of 2007. The career site is executing a direct marketing campaign aimed at Fortune 1000 employers, via Fallon, Minneapolis.

"Ladders is well positioned as the leader in the $100K job mart; that's where our expertise is," said the company's CMO, Robert Turtledove. As part of the campaign, HR managers are receiving gift boxes with $100,000 worth of mock money and literature touting TheLadders.com as the job board that is efficient for recruiters because it attracts elite job candidates.