Self-proclaimed guru Dan Schwabel spouted vicious rumors regarding the demise of job boards. I hate to report that Mr. Schwabel was wrong…, but he was wrong. Job Boards are actively used today and each year, hundreds of entrepreneurs and techies launch their vision and version of a job sourcing site. Valuable jobseeker advice was shared in Mr. Schwabel’s death knell post, however he did not predict correctly the demise of job boards.
There are hiring managers and recruiters who choose not to post or advertise jobs online. If they are find qualified candidates and fill job openings through other means, more power to them. But what are recruiters missing out on by not recognizing that online job sources are where jobseekers or underemployed workers go first when they need to find employment or are considering a job change.
Too many recruiters and/or hiring managers fail to write effective job postings and are quick to blame the job board industry. A previous blog, A Job Description is not a Job Posting, shares a bit more about this poor sourcing practice. The purpose of a job posting on a job board is to advertise a job opening – not recruit the perfect candidate. That is a recruiter’s job. That requires a human being with the ability to discern. The problem does not lie with job boards, it is a problem with recruiters, hiring managers, or HR professionals who assume that an advertised job posting will produce the Mary Poppins of candidates, Practically Perfect in Every Way.
My advice: those who post jobs to job boards or their own career page need to compose/write a quality job advertisement/posting instead of simply copying and pasting a staid and already poorly-written job description into the job summary section of the posting process. This improved practice might possibly produce better candidates in the recruiter’s inbox.
FACTS To Share
Here is a very important FACT: Job Boards still account for 20% of hires, second only to Employee referrals. It is shortsighted to discount such a classic and, yes, still-standing source of hire. Perhaps success has been limited because those who post jobs simply expect that to be all the work they have to do.
The difference between corporate or in-house recruiting and 3rd party or agency recruiting is monumental. Corporations are not going to quit posting to job boards or pull down their own career pages.
FACT: Aggressive hiring campaigns utilize job boards – they have to, it just makes sense. And the social sharing of job postings is reaching more passive candidates than ever before.
NUMBERS DON’T LIE
One company which specializing in job posting distribution, Broadbean Technology boasts 35,000+ licensed users who are recruiters or hiring managers. These users have access to Broadbean’s job board network of over 4,200 boards. Using this cloud service, over 1.5 million job postings are distributed a month. These are quantifiable FACTS. And Broadbean is not alone, they are just one of many companies that compete in this particular marketplace. Innovative technology continues to improve the recruiting process.
Innovative and intelligent candidate sourcing softwares like the new class of job boards, as well as the increasing savvy of jobseekers have already impacted the job posting and job search process. Improvements are here and more are coming.
Recruiting is not a mindless or throwaway job. Job search is a necessary task that is quickly turning into a required skill set for today’s jobseeker. Sadly, unemployment rates continue to bob and float at the same levels they have for quite some time now.
Job Boards have not died, they are not a thing of the past. Actually, quite the opposite – they are the future and the future is bright. They will continually improve, with consistently evolving technology behind them. Jobseekers will use job boards, but at their own pace, in their own way – making job boards and social networks work for them, the jobseeker. In order for these improvements, updates, and changes to be successful – they must benefit the jobseeker. Today’s jobseeker is tired and needs assistance. Job Search Technology and the People behind it are prepared to give it.
