I’m Sorry, But Today’s Job Boards are Broken
If you’re a regular reader of mine, you probably already know I’m not a huge fan of job boards — at least as they exist today. And I’m not alone — many people dislike job boards. So, why haven’t they been improved?
The answer is in this blog post. When given the opportunity to post a job for free in exchange for providing a higher quality ad, most people choose to pay the $49 for a “typical job posting.”
The form to fill out is quite standard with the fields you’d expect – Job Title, Job Description, etc. You can even upload a Word document or other file for us to post the job.
The form for submitting a free job posting is much more extensive. It’s asking employers to fill out a lot more and be much more creative. For example, it asks:“What’s a ‘day in the life’ of the new employee going to be like?” And: “How will the new employee’s performance be measured? What are the specific goals for the job?” And: “What are the top reasons someone should work at your company?”
Don’t get me wrong, employers aren’t the only ones at fault. Candidates have their share in the failure of today’s job boards, too.
I recently posted on two job boards run by friends about two field marketing internships that opened up at Come Recommended. Additionally, I sifted through their resume databases and contacted candidates directly. With no offense meant against my friends, of all the people who applied to my positions or I reached out to directly, I received only two responses for my phone interview requests. Two. And of those two, one blew off our scheduled interview.
Two wrongs don’t make a right. While I understand so many candidates are frustrated with employers not getting back to them, I responded to everyone within 24 hours. I don’t think it’s fair to take out your frustrations with the job market on an employer doing the right thing.
These are just two examples of what’s wrong with job boards — on both sides of the table. There are plenty more.
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Heather,
Good point. Online recruiting is hard and people are always pressed for time. That’s why mediocre job posts keep outnumbering the good ones. Also, job boards are in a bind – they need the employer’s money to stay in business, so they’re hesitant to nag. But they also know they’ll be judged on the ad’s response. Some job boards have come up with novel solutions, such as adding screening questions to improve candidate quality, or even having in-house staff available to write or rewrite job ads. IMO, it’s a problem that will never be solved – because it arises from human nature. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to make things better, though!
jeff