In a recent meetup for job board owners, several industry professionals gathered to discuss their platforms, share insights, and review the latest news in the job board space. The meeting covered a wide range of topics, from individual site critiques to broader industry trends and developments.
Peter, the owner of Source Jobs, a niche job board focusing on Salesforce-related positions, shared his experiences running the site since 2018. He mentioned that the Salesforce job market has seen ups and downs, with recent layoffs but signs of rebounding. Peter’s site attracts about 1,000 active users and 15,000 page views monthly. The group discussed potential improvements for Source Jobs, including adding more prominent ‘Post a Job’ buttons, implementing Google for Jobs integration, and creating a searchable resume database to add value for recruiters.
Christine from Exec Thread, an executive-focused job board and networking platform, discussed their recent focus on operational efficiency and plans to emphasize member retention. Exec Thread boasts around 900,000 members and generates most of its revenue from job seekers rather than employers. The platform offers various membership tiers, from a $1 trial to a $1,500 lifetime membership.
Brian Fox of Trusted Herd, an event industry job marketplace, shared exciting news about their imminent website redesign launch. Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19 to the events industry, Trusted Herd has seen significant growth, recently hitting a record of 6,000 daily applicants. Brian highlighted the effectiveness of their niche focus compared to general job boards like Indeed. The new website design includes features such as a talent finder tool, allowing employers to see the number of potential candidates in specific locations.
Jordan, who runs Construction Jobs Australia, discussed the challenges of operating a job board for the Australian market while being based in the UK. With a substantial social media following of over 150,000 members across various Facebook groups, Jordan is working on better monetizing this audience. The group suggested ideas such as mailing hard hat stickers to job seekers to increase brand visibility on construction sites.
Throughout the meetup, several tips and strategies were shared to help job board owners improve their platforms:
- Utilize LinkedIn’s new RSS feed integration for company pages to automate content sharing.
- Implement Google for Jobs to increase visibility and traffic.
- Create featured sections for job seekers to showcase their profiles, potentially as a paid option.
- Explore partnerships with resume writing services or AI-powered resume tools.
- Consider offline marketing strategies, such as distributing branded merchandise to job seekers.
The discussion also touched on recent industry news and developments:
CareerBuilder and Monster are currently for sale, with speculation about potential buyers ranging from private equity firms to larger job board companies like ZipRecruiter. The future of these once-dominant platforms remains uncertain, with options including maintaining them as-is or potentially shutting them down.
Smart Job Board, a job board software provider, is expanding its focus to target associations, competing with established players like Your Membership and Boxwood. They’re building a sales force to help organizations market their job boards and generate additional revenue.
Indeed, the leading job search engine, is undergoing leadership changes with CEO Chris Hyams stepping down. The company has faced challenges in recent years, including missteps in product rollouts. The chairman of Indeed’s parent company, Recruit Holdings, will take over leadership. Indeed plans to launch AI agents for both job seekers and employers at their upcoming conference in September.
The meetup also covered discussions about monetizing job seekers, a strategy successfully employed by Exec Thread. Indeed is experimenting with seeker monetization in Canada, offering features similar to LinkedIn’s premium services. However, the group noted that to successfully charge job seekers, platforms need to offer genuine value, such as early access to job postings or resume sponsorship.
Participants shared their experiences with various tools and services. Chris Russell, the host, mentioned that his lead generation tool, Lead Candy, had gone out of business, and he was seeking alternatives for building contact lists.
The meetup concluded with an open discussion on challenges faced by job board operators and an invitation for participants to share ideas for future content and discussions. Chris Russell encouraged attendees to reach out with any questions about running job boards and mentioned that these meetups occur quarterly, with the next one scheduled for late September.
Overall, the meetup provided valuable insights into the current state of the job board industry, highlighting the importance of niche focus, continuous innovation, and adapting to changing market conditions. As the industry evolves, job board owners are finding new ways to add value for both employers and job seekers, while also navigating challenges posed by larger players and emerging technologies.
The discussions emphasized the ongoing importance of job boards in the recruitment ecosystem, despite challenges from larger platforms and changing technologies. Niche job boards, in particular, continue to demonstrate their value by providing focused, high-quality candidates to employers in specific industries or for particular roles.
As the job market continues to evolve, job board owners are adapting by exploring new revenue streams, improving user experiences, and leveraging emerging technologies like AI. The success stories shared during the meetup, such as Trusted Herd’s record-breaking applicant numbers and Exec Thread’s membership model, demonstrate that there’s still significant opportunity in the job board space for innovative and focused platforms.
The meetup also highlighted the global nature of the job board industry, with participants operating in various countries and targeting different markets. This diversity underscores the need for job board owners to understand local market dynamics and adapt their strategies accordingly.
As the industry moves forward, it’s clear that job board owners must stay agile, continuously improve their platforms, and find new ways to add value for both employers and job seekers. By focusing on niche markets, leveraging new technologies, and exploring innovative business models, job boards can continue to play a crucial role in connecting talent with opportunities in an increasingly complex and competitive job market.
