First Union Steps Out Front With Interactive Web-Based Career Navigator for College Recruitment.

CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 29, 1999--

New Feature Draws On Latest Technologies to Empower Prospects

With Tailored Inputs On Ideal Careers in the Financial World

First Union Corporation (NYSE:FTU) recently launched a major new segment of its Internet recruitment website that enables college students and other prospective new hires to learn how their personal talents, skills and personality can match up best with the company's operations.

The interactive site component, called Career Navigator, has received rave reviews from users in initial testing and has been touted as the "wave of the future" for companies hoping to attract and recruit today's top entry-level talent.

Career Navigator, developed by JWT Digital, a division of JWT Specialized Communications with creative assistance provided by Seven Interactive, draws on the latest interactive technologies to deliver an easy-to-use and speedy system of gathering and processing user inputs to generate a tailored response and recommendations for every user. The feature asks users to make choices at five different steps, then uses the inputs to match the student up with the organization within First Union that provides the best overall fit.

"So far, it seems that everyone who has tried the Navigator is basically in awe at its simple functionality. It takes them several steps higher in the whole investigative process of looking through a potential employer's website -- both creative and technically," said Randy Koprac, Director of Corporate College Recruiting at First Union. "We've worked very hard to structure the questions in such a way that we gather a maximum of information in a minimum of steps -- so that we're really adding some value to the site visit without taking up an inordinate amount of a candidate's time," he added.

Career Navigator, accessible from a main button on the First Union website (www.firstunion/careers/college), follows a simple architecture to lead users down a short information-gathering pathway. For example, the user first chooses a preference for a financial or technically oriented career path. From there, the questions become more specific -- someone who opts for a technical path gets to choose between business operations or more advanced information technologies or advanced development work. At the end of the five-step process, the system will recommend potential careers with two of the company's operating groups -- Automation & Operations, or the Consumer Banking Group, for example.

"We're fortunate to have a client who has really challenged us to explore and develop the full power of Internet and digital applications for a program like this," said Douglas Rozen, Manager of Interactive Development for JWT Digital. "With the Navigator, we're showing how digital communications technologies are delivering a better overall experience for both the user and the content provider -- this is a powerful and effective recruitment tool in today's intensely competitive marketplace," he continued.

First Union believes that the site will lead to a more effective recruitment process, by helping to ensure that new college recruits are more satisfied with the position they accept as well as placing people in jobs where they can excel.

"It's a huge step forward toward maximum efficiency in college recruiting for us," said First Union's Koprac. "We now have a way to use information technology to do a lot of the pre-screening and initial career matching for us. We spend our time doing much more value-added tasks and we also provide a very valuable service for job seekers."

First Union Corporation (NYSE:FTU) is a leading provider of financial services to more than 16 million retail and corporate customers throughout the East coast and the nation, as well as 130 countries. First Union is the nation's sixth largest bank holding company and the eighth largest brokerage company, based on assets of $230 billion as of June 30, 1999.

Firstunion.com provides individuals and businesses comprehensive information on financial products, services and planning tools to meet a broad spectrum of needs. The website also contains company information for customers, shareholders and site visitors. First Union Online offers a wide range of customer-focused online banking services that cater to more than one million online banking and online brokerage customers as of October 7, 1999. Online banking is a key, integrated delivery channel that First Union offers customers, complementing its ATM, First Union Direct, and extensive financial center and brokerage network that allows customers to bank when, where and how they choose.

JWT Digital is a division of JWT Specialized Communications, part of J. Walter Thompson Worldwide, the world's oldest advertising agency. The group, based in Chicago, is dedicated to providing digital solutions to the agency's more than 900 clients. Capabilities include strategic planning, research and analysis, Intranet, Extranet and interactive development, project management, online media planning and buying, campaign performance tracking and website analysis and performance tracking.