What are job boards?
Job Boards are search engines that display job openings. Organizations and recruiters use job boards to post open positions and search resume databases. Workers use job boards to find new career opportunities and apply for jobs online.
Job boards can offer employment opportunities across a wide range of sectors, while others are industry-specific. For example, Sports, Healthcare, Entertainment, Restaurants, and Government are all sectors with industry-specific job boards. Some job boards utilize applicant tracking systems to help streamline the application process. In others, individual job postings redirect interested candidates to company websites to complete the application process.
Many professionals believe that the humble job board is on its way out. With social media taking the recruitment world by storm, you could be forgiven for thinking this is the case. But the advent of social marketing doesn’t necessarily spell the end for job board advertisements.
There is no reason the two can’t work side by side. According to studies, job boards are responsible for 18% of all successful hires, whilst social media only contributed a mere 3% of them. Not too bad for a method that is supposedly becoming obsolete. Not only this, but job boards are the people’s choice. Around 65% of candidates are seeking new employment directly through these sites, with 1 in 6 external hires made in this way. So what exactly does the job board offer that other forms of recruitment don’t?
Why employers should utilize free online job boards
Discover Candidates from Unexpected Sectors
Advertisment
The main problem with social media recruitment is that you are unlikely to reach a diverse range of individuals. To secure an employee long-term, you need to find a candidate who is already skilled in your chosen area.
This can be difficult if you are only advertising online to a small number of Facebook or Twitter followers. The likelihood is your ideal candidate won’t be following you on either of these sites. By taking the time to enter your criteria on a job listing site, you are reaching a much broader spectrum of workers and will find that more of your candidates match up to your high standards.
Simplify the Recruitment Process
Skilled entry-level employees do exist, but trying to discover them one by one isn’t worth anyone’s time or investment. If you are hiring for multiple positions this problem can be a hundred times worse. A recruiter spends on average 2 hours of their time sourcing and communicating with a single prospective candidate. If you have 50 people to interview, then these hours soon add up.
A specialized job board (focusing on a specific field of expertise) cuts down the number of unfit candidates who apply for the role and makes it easier to scan through CVs. By shortening the recruitment process you save yourself a lot of unnecessary work and manpower.
Cut Your Recruitment Budget
Everyone knows time equals money and in-house recruiters aren’t going to work those hours for free. Although job board advertisements are considered by many to be expensive extravagances, they can be a cheaper alternative to costly salaries.
The average job post will cost you around $250, whilst the average salary of a technical recruiter comes in at just under $70,000. This means you could post 280 ads per year, across several job sites, for the price it would cost you to hire a skilled recruiter.
According to Forbes, a single job post from a well-established company will attract around 118 candidates. With 280 ads online you could potentially receive incredible 33,000 applications each year. Although this is only an estimate, a recruiter working flat out would struggle to get anywhere near this figure, proving that you do get more for your money with the job board.
Work In Harmony with Your Social Media
At the end of the day, there is no reason why you should favor using either a job board or a social media platform. It is a simple task to link your job listings with sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, meaning you can cover a much larger network of candidates.
By operating via a job board you increase the chances of finding skilled and professional applicants. Although social media can help you unearth new talent, it is simply not sufficient by itself. So before you start designing a recruitment campaign solely for your social media presence, consider how a job board might help you find your next employee of the month in half the time.
General Job Boards
Indeed
Indeed receives more internet traffic than any other job board. The site aggregates thousands of employment-related websites across many sectors to provide users with a single search engine. In addition to applying for jobs, Indeed users can also track job trends, research salaries, sign up for alerts and generate personalized resume links to share with potential employers. Indeed also offers employers candidates with a wide range of educational experience, from high school diplomas to graduate degrees.
Glassdoor
Indeed, Glassdoor provides a search engine that aggregates thousands of jobs from a wide range of sources. What separates Glassdoor from other sites is its emphasis on employee reviews. Glassdoor users can read reviews, research salary information, and consult company ratings before applying for a position.
LinkedIn is the most popular social media platform for working professionals. Also, the professional networking app allows employers and job seekers to connect, share resumes, and advertise available positions.
Monster
Indeed, Monster provides an extensive database of available jobs for job seekers. For employers, Monster provides a large database of resumes for potential employees. Monster also offers employers candidates with a wide range of educational experience, from high school diplomas to graduate degrees.
CareerBuilder
CareerBuilder functions much like Indeed and Monster. What distinguishes CareerBuilder, however, is its direct relationship with most Fortune 500 companies. Also, whereas Indeed and Monster offer job candidates with a wide range of educational backgrounds, CareerBuilder focuses more, but not exclusively, on college-educated candidates.
IPC Jobs
This is a portal where knowledge about human resources practices is shared. The knowledge comes from experts across the globe who have volunteered to share research-supported articles, case studies, personal experiences and leading practices. Job seekers can hunt for jobs here and employers can search for talent here. You get fresh trends in salaries offered on the market. This a hub for those willing to learn and enhance their chances of career progression. The Human Capital Hub is a product of Industrial Psychology Consultants (Pvt) Ltd.
zimbajob.com
Connects job seekers and companies of any business sector wishing to recruit collaborators.
onlinejobs.co.zw
Biggest Online CV Database in Zimbabwe with a free web address for your CV
classifieds.co.zw
A website run by Web dev (Pvt) Ltd, Zimbabwe’s leading web hosting, and online marketing.
kubatana.net
Kubatana is a community. Members come from all walks of life and are based in all corners of Zimbabwe. In fact, on their home page, you’ll see Wilfred, Courtly, Ngwenya, Tatenda, and Itai. Along with thousands of other Zimbabweans, they are what make Kubatana as good as it is! Nationally Kubatana provides technical support to a wide variety of NGOs and CSOs. And, Kubatana is also active offline. We conceptualize and implement social justice campaigns at the street level.
- In addition to the general job boards detailed above, there is an endless number of specialized job boards tailored to specific employment sectors. If you find general job sites inadequate or are interested in more specialized job boards, you should search for one that services your industry. In general, the above is the Best job board for employers.
Non-profit: Idealist compiles job postings from over 120,000 non-profit organizations. The Chronicle of Philanthropy and the Philanthropy Journal are also reliable boards, but there are plenty more.
Conclusion
Job Boards are an essential tool for job seekers and employers to connect. Understanding the reach and specialities of individual job boards will help ensure that you use them most efficiently and effectively, and ensure you maximize the chances you’ll find your next job.