Recruitment websites are as diverse as the clients who need them. Diversity is vital for survival. We’ve spoken at lengths about the importance of a diverse digital ecosystem, and the message should resonate with recruiters. As recruiters, we know that being a jack-of-all-trades reflects that you are a master of none. Success as a recruiter is often found by finding a niche and becoming as experience and as knowledgeable as possible within that unique area. Becoming the best general recruiter is a fool’s errand. But becoming the best plastics recruiter or financial industry recruiter is achievable. Excelling in a niche allows us to stand out from the pack, but how can you stand out when your recruitment websites blend in with the herd?

Different Industries

Many of our clients are not general practitioners but rather specialists. They have immersed themselves in a niche and found success by developing a specific industry focus. Templates and other generic website design options fall short of meeting the unique demands of recruitment websites. Recruitment websites need to reflect the balancing act that is the recruiting world. Recruiting firms need to convey their experience as staffing specialists while also detailing their knowledge of the specific industries in which they recruit. A website design that achieves this is best realized by a design firm that understands the world of recruiting.

Different Software

The unique needs of recruitment websites are more than just abstract ideals of balance. There is the very real need for intelligent design that understands the specialized software needs of recruiters. Applicant tracking systems have their own idiosyncrasies depending on which provider you choose, and the uninitiated web designer can’t fully appreciate the nuances of these services. Recruiting websites with ill-functioning applicant tracking systems can be costly and the efforts repair that functionality can be time consuming. Recruitment websites need more than just a set-it-and-forget-it approach. Having a firm that understands not only the construction but the maintenance of recruitment websites can mean the difference in making placements.

Different Relationships

Most business-related websites have a singular focus:  customers. Recruiting websites don’t have customers. They don’t even have a single audience. Recruitment websites have candidates and clients, and, to jump back on that bandwagon from earlier, they need to provide the appropriate balance to appeal to candidates and clients as they see fit. There is no one-size-fits-all box into which all recruitment websites fit. Some are more client-focused, others are more candidate-oriented, and some seek a true fifty-fifty balance. What doesn’t change is that all recruitment websites need one thing to truly be different and successful:  the design of a true specialist that understands what it means to be a recruiter.

Adam is a copy writer, content specialist and editor with Recruiters Websites, a web design firm specializing in websites for the recruiting and staffing industry.