Check out iCIMS' latest blog post from iCIMS blogger Jennifer Carpenter.

There has been a lot of chatter about the state of job boards as recruiters and candidates shift towards using different media to connect and apply for jobs.  Are they still relevant?  The answer is a resounding YES.

The evidence is clear – job boards remain one of the top sources for new hires.  Most importantly, jobseekers will continue to use them in their search, as job boards remain some of the most trafficked websites on the Internet.

Job boards have provided many benefits for companies since the beginning of their existence.  For instance, they’ve made it easy for candidates to discover new companies and apply for open positions.  However, over the years, this came at a cost.  Recruiters have long complained of being bombarded with unqualified applications that must be sifted through before reaching top talent, a time consuming and expensive process when recruiting departments try to become more efficient and strategic. 

With this in mind, recruiters and sourcers should consider more targeted job advertisements by utilizing niche job boards.

Although niche job boards do not boast the traffic of larger sites like Career Builder and Monster, it would be naïve to rule them out of recruitment advertising budgets.  Each industry has at least 2-3 niche boards, and they can be further segmented by region, professional association, society, and more. Niche job boards attract specific candidates that possess specialized skills and more relevant, up-to-date experience.  Again, although these boards don’t have the quantity of traffic of large job boards, niche job board postings receive higher quality and more relevant applications.
 
Therefore, niche job boards are the fastest way to finding strong candidates, leading to lower cost-to-fill.
 
Additionally, job boards have evolved into a tool that not only benefits recruiters trying to fill current openings, but strategic sourcers as they look to build a strong talent pipeline for future openings as well.   With job boards, there is an opportunity for employers to actively build and manage their employment brand that attracts not only active jobseekers but passive jobseekers as well – in essence, a channel for future applicants!  Passive jobseekers, who are often employed but would be open to a new opportunity, occasionally browse the different openings that are available. One day, they might be in a position to make a move and will probably start with companies they are most familiar with.

The following are several ways to use job boards for recruiting, branding, sourcing, to reach those passive candidates:

• Use a consistent look and feel for all job postings. With an automated job distributor, recruiters only have to create the job posting once to distribute it to multiple sites simultaneously.

• Own some of the job board’s “real estate” on the home page or in ongoing job alerts. Is there a specialty of niche job board that you have recruited from successfully in the past? This could be an untapped opportunity to extend your employment brand.

• Connect with your audience through multiple touch points. Are there specific networking events or career fairs that job seekers on specialty or niche job boards are familiar with and attend?  Attend those events while maintaining an online presence within those special and niche job boards.

Finding the right match for your job openings is important in order for your organization to reach its goals and objectives. Niche job boards are a valuable resource for finding quality talent, and vital to a successful recruitment strategy.