A few weeks back I asked you to help with a job board industry survey – and you did! You answered questions about the effect of the recession on your job sites, threats to your business – and your thoughts about the future of the industry. So first and foremost, thanks!

I received 94 completed responses – which gives me considerable confidence in the results. A wide range of job sites participated, ranging in revenues from less than $500,000 to more than $10 million. Each size segment was well represented, so again, I think that speaks to the usefulness of this data. Thus, without further ado (and in no particular order), here are some key findings:

* The future looks bright: 80% of respondents said they were either somewhat or very optimistic about the opportunities in their particular niche of the job board industry. This held across all size categories, by the way.
* Threats are out there: Among larger boards, price erosion was a big concern; with mid-size and small boards, the ongoing effects of the recession loom large. Other threats included: growth of job aggregators; LinkedIn; and search engine intrusion into the jobs market.
* Technology rules: One finding that surprised me was the plans by all sites – regardless of size or revenue – to invest in technology. Perhaps, given the threats mentioned above, this finding isn’t that surprising after all.
* More marketing: As the recession fades, expect to see more marketing from the job boards. A majority of respondents are planning to increase their marketing spends in the coming year.
* Business is picking up: Most sites are seeing increases in job postings, resume access, and site advertising from a year ago. The larger boards are also seeing increases in other services such as targeted emails.
* Niche dominates: As per the job board industry at large, most respondents had sites that focused on industry, geographic, or professional niches. Only 19% of respondents were ‘general’ job boards.

If you’re interested in seeing the full survey results, just fill out the Contact form and I’ll send you a copy.