Are job boards a waste of time?

Job boards have been around for what seems like forever. If an internet year is the equivalent of a dog year (seven years to every one human year) then job boards are past their century mark and in some cases approaching dinosaur status.

Do people still use job boards?

Even just a quick online search reveals that yes, people do still use job boards. From brands like Monster, Jobsite and Totaljobs to aggregator sites such as Indeed or Broadbean, the job boards are alive and seemingly thriving.

The catch is that in today’s mainly stagnant or contracting job market, such sites are understandably swamped by candidates urgently seeking employment. For both job seekers and employers this may reduce their effectiveness.

So, how are job sites are used?

For Recruiters/Employers:

Job boards are still valuable assets in the recruiter’s toolbox despite the threat of being eclipsed by social media and online referral/networking sites such as LinkedIn.

Generalist job boards don’t normally yield high numbers of suitable candidates for specialist vacancies but may prove more effective for a broader campaign. What they do, however, is raise awareness of a brand. What’s more, all it takes is just one outstanding candidate for that ‘hard to fill’ vacancy to justify a recruiter’s investment in the site.

The downside for job boards is that online networking and word of mouth referrals normally produce a better success ratio. A trusted recommendation is preferable to hours spent sifting through CVs.

Employers have similar reasons as recruiters for using job boards. The key difference is that some use them in the hope of avoiding the cost of engaging a recruitment agency’s services and you can gain a large pool of candidates at comparatively shorter notice.

For Candidates:

In a highly competitive market, some of the best candidates will still get lost amid the increasing volume of job seekers. For the most effective results, frustrated candidates should take a multi-pronged approach:-

- use relevant industry keywords in CVs uploaded onto jobsites to enable companies to find their CV.

- apply recruitment agency techniques to a job search by drawing up a list of target companies and approaching them directly, highlighting the benefits they will bring to a company.

- research the job sites relevant to their industry (see link below).

In response to the need for more streamlined job boards, there has been a growth in niche sites tailored to specific industry sectors. Niche job boards specialise in either a particular job function, (such as sales or engineering) or an actual industry sector, (such as retail, hospitality and so on). Other categories include vacancies over a certain level or within a specific geographical location. Yet more may create a subgroup of job specialisms.

For a complete guide to job sites, including the best rated and improved job boards, whatjobsite is an excellent online resource for candidates and employers.

Although sometimes perceived as antiquated, job boards still play an essential role in the recruitment process – you bypass them to your detriment in my opinion. The most successful ones however, are those that continue to respond and adapt to changes in the online world.

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Comment by Sandra McCartt on May 4, 2012 at 8:40pm: Not an assumption, something i know from listening to hiring managers bitch about the little snit bitches that call them five times a day wanting to connect with them about the job their HR department has posted and as Peter C clearly say no phone calls please. If they are calling hiring managers prior to following the rules they are trying to be like the queen demanding someone speak with them and then only then if they have a great experience with the hiring manager would they maybe deign to follow the rules.

I too review every resume that comes in, some days 300 or 400 hundred of them. If they have even half the skill set i am looking for they get an email back immediately either requesting a phone interview or asking for more info. I had a candidate submitted on a job this week. The SVP is busy as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. My candidate decided he had waited long enough so he called the hiring manager twice in an hour and wanted to talk with him. Hiring manager sent me an email that said, "get rid of that guy, i don't have time for prima donnas who think they have to talk to me before i am ready to talk to them". "If he is that important i don't need him". This guy is one of the most gracious people i have ever worked with he responds fast, gives a candidate his total attention when he interviews. He tells them he will get back to them in the next three days either by email or he will let me know his decision. If they start calling him he knows what they are going to be like to have on the team and they won't be.

I saw a lot of this when the dotcom boom and bust happened. there were a lot of sharp young guys and gals that had big titles and big money. When they tried to get back in the real world they thought because they had been a VP in a .com they needed to talk to the top guy at a company cause they had been one. It took about three years for reality to beat them into submission so they could find a job someplace at half what they had paid themselves out of venture capital funds. Some had sold companies and had a few bucks. Those had a harder time learning to be one of the working class again.

Comment by Bill Schultz on May 5, 2012 at 1:04am: My experience is different.

Comment by Peter on May 8, 2012 at 1:19pm: Sandra and Peter C - I think both of you mistook what I was talking about and there's no need to unnecessarily abrasive about the subject. My point was that being a process wonk for the sake of being a process wonk will cost you talent. On the other side, being an annoying pest will lose you opportunities. That's the short of it.

Bill - mine as well.