Monday, March 08, 2004 - PASADENA -- Mark and Melissa Gersh are getting nervous. Their eBay auction expires in three days, and they are still waiting for their first bid.

The Pasadena husband and wife have reason to be anxious. Instead of selling golf clubs or tuxedos, they have put themselves on the auction block.

"It's exciting,' Mark said Monday, four days into the couple's seven-day auction. "If it came through, it would be perfect.'

Laid off from marketing careers in the entertainment industry, the couple has put a creative spin on the traditional job search. For a minimum bid of $8,334, one venturesome employer could win the first month of a one-year, $100,000 combined employment contract for both Mark and Melissa.

Among the conditions of their employment are a total 40- to 50-hour work week and two weeks of vacation. The pair say they are willing to spend up to 25 percent of the job traveling and would prefer to work from their Las Lunas Street home, but they would also relocate if the employer required it.

In return, the winning bidder would get the services of two MBA graduates of UCLA's Anderson School, with 28 years of experience in branding, public relations and special events planning. Mark worked most recently as a brand manager at Vivendi Universal Games, while Melissa spent 15 years as a special events manager and director of public relations for The Walt Disney Co.

"We're a little nervous, honestly,' Mark said. "We're willing to pick up and explore all the options.'

Although the Gershes' auction is unusual, it is by no means an eBay first. The company has hosted thousands of auctions under its personal services category. About 20 million items are up for bid at any given time.

"It's certainly not the first time that people have used eBay to sell their services to the highest bidder,' spokesman Hani Durzy said.

Sellers can pay as little as 30 cents and as much as $4.80 to place an item on the site, with other options available for additional fees. If the Gershes' efforts are successful, they would then pay a $185 commission, based on a closing price of $8,334.

The Gershes says their main goal is to find a job allowing them to spend more time with their two small children. But the mass-market approach to finding a job is also a byproduct of a still-tight job market.

Corporations still are inundated with thousands of unsolicited resumes, the symptom of three years of severe job losses and stagnant job growth, said Gary Kaplan, president of Gary Kaplan & Associates, a Pasadena-based executive search firm.

"Most corporations are not staffed adequately to deal with that sort of volume of application,' Kaplan said.

Despite their relatively impressive backgrounds, Kaplan said the Gershes may be suffering from an entertainment industry that is still struggling to regain its shine. Disney, Universal and Sony Corp. all have undergone various uncertainties in recent months.

"It's been static now for a number of years, and it doesn't look like it's loosening up much in the foreseeable future,' Kaplan said.

The Gershes have not decided what they will do if their dream job does not come true. For now, they simply hope an Internet-savvy employer will ante up.

"I think it's just such a unique idea that it might take a while to catch on,' Melissa said. "We would be thrilled.'