Why Job Boards Get a Bad Rap
I was speaking yesterday with some folks at a local Employers Association. While discussing the ‘right’ way to advertise jobs online I was told a story about one of their members about why job boards aren’t effective.
This employer (a large florist) was hiring for a mechanic to service their fleet of delivery trucks. They put a posting up on some of the major (national) boards and waited for the resumes. After the postings had expired they complained that while they did get some mechanic resumes the vast majority of what they received were for “floral arrangement designers”.
Is this the fault of the boards or the industry? Of course not. But it is stories like this that give job boards a negative image.
There are two main causes of results like this.
On the candidate side, many job seekers will take a ‘shotgun’ approach to what positions they apply to. They feel that it can be more effective to apply to hundreds of postings and hope that they stick somewhere, rather than taking the requisite time to actually read and research a position before applying. One trick of the trade to combat this practice is to BRAND your posting…and have it different from the rest. The more unique the ad copy and presentation, the more likely it will be to capture a candidates attention to the point where they read it.
On the Hiring Manager side, be proactive. Most listings stay live on sites for 30 days. Why wait until that time is over to complain about what type of person you found? As soon as you notice a pattern of non-qualified applicants you need to change something. In the case of our floral friends, it may have been as simple as adding a sentence before the application instructions: “We are not accepting resumes for floral designers. Qualified mechanics are encouraged to apply to:”
Review the posting. Rather than look at it while you are logged into a site as an employer, look at it as if you were a job seeker. Why are they applying? It may be as simple as a common mistake employers make when posting. Too often when a Biotechnology company is advertising for an accountant, they will list BIOTECH as the category…when, obviously, ACCOUNTING is where the job should be. If they are requiring accounting experience with a Life Science company, use both categories.
In the case of our Mechanic example, the job was not listed in the correct area.
When in doubt, get help and seek advice. Call your ad agency, ask a colleague, or call the job board….but don’t just sit back and complain that a job board didn’t work.
