In this interview, Chris Russell sits down with Michael Ang, CEO of JobElephant, to discuss the evolving landscape of job advertising, the rise of niche job boards, and the privacy concerns surrounding Indeed’s new Connect feature.
Who is Michael Ang?
Michael Ang is a veteran of the recruitment advertising space with over 30 years of experience, starting in 1995. He leads JobElephant, a San Diego-based recruitment advertising agency that acts as a broker connecting employers with approximately 25,000 media sources worldwide. The company specializes in the SLED market (State, Local, Education, District) and represents about a quarter of all U.S. colleges and universities.
The JobElephant Model
JobElephant powers roughly 200 niche and diversity-focused job boards on a shared WordPress platform, each with unique installations. This approach allows employers to post jobs across multiple boards simultaneously using single sign-on credentials. The company’s specialization developed organically after the Great Recession, when many small print publications—particularly those serving underrepresented communities—went out of business. Rather than let these communities go unserved, JobElephant created its own job board platform to fill the gap.
Indeed Connect: Opportunity or Privacy Nightmare?
The interview’s central focus is Indeed’s new Connect feature, which promises to improve hiring efficiency by creating a feedback loop between employers’ applicant tracking systems (ATS) and Indeed’s platform. While the premise sounds beneficial—job seekers would finally know why they were rejected—Ang raises significant privacy concerns:
- Data Overreach: Employers must share not only data from Indeed applicants but also candidate information from their entire talent pool, even those who never applied on Indeed.
- Unclear Roadmap: All Indeed policies are only guaranteed through the end of 2026, leaving employers uncertain about future requirements.
- Historical Pattern: Indeed previously cut off free traffic to job boards and forced them to pay. The same pattern may repeat with employers.
The Broken Hiring Process
A critical insight from the conversation is how broken current hiring processes are. Most ATS platforms still ask applicants, “How did you hear about this job?”—a question that yields unreliable, self-reported data. A white paper commissioned by JobElephant (building on Indeed’s own research from 10 years ago) found that approximately two-thirds of these answers are incorrect. Meanwhile, ATS platforms fail to track actual traffic sources, despite the technical simplicity of doing so.
Why Niche Job Boards Matter
Despite LinkedIn and Indeed capturing about 60% of job seekers, Michael Ang remains bullish on niche job boards, arguing that the remaining 40% represents a significant, underserved market. He advises job seekers to:
- Target smaller, community-focused job boards in their industry or discipline
- Build networks within these communities for referral opportunities
- Diversify their job search beyond large platforms
Smaller boards offer advantages: candidates stand out more, and employers within those communities are more likely to find qualified candidates.
The Competitive Landscape
Surprisingly, Indeed’s competitors—particularly ZipRecruiter—have failed to capitalize on Indeed’s missteps. Google Jobs still exists but has never figured out how to monetize effectively. This lack of competition only strengthens Indeed’s dominance. The real competitive threat comes from programmatic job advertising platforms like AppCast and Recruited, which are pushing Indeed to marginally increase costs.
Market Challenges Ahead
The recruitment market faced significant headwinds in 2024, with JobElephant’s customers experiencing a 30% drop in advertising spend. Contributing factors include:
- Political attacks on higher education institutions
- Anti-DEI legislation and executive orders
- Uncertainty around grant funding for government-sector hiring
- A general “freeze” response from employers unsure how to navigate the uncertain landscape
Ang expects 2025 to remain challenging, with continued uncertainty preventing a quick recovery.
The AI Question and Compliance Risks
When asked about AI’s role in recruitment, Ang takes a cautious stance. While he acknowledges good use cases exist, he’s not willing to be “the canary in the coal mine” for untested AI solutions prone to hallucinations. More pressing is the compliance risk: as data flows between job boards, ATS platforms, and AI systems, the question of liability becomes critical. Who bears responsibility if something goes wrong?
Additional Operational Challenges
Running 200 job boards presents constant technical challenges—security patches, plugin updates, and increasingly, bot traffic. These “whack-a-mole” issues require daily attention and specialized teams to manage.
Key Takeaway
The future of job advertising lies not in consolidation around massive platforms like Indeed and LinkedIn, but in a diversified ecosystem where niche boards serve underrepresented communities and specialized talent pools. However, this future depends on resolving privacy concerns, improving data tracking practices, and resisting the pressure to hand over sensitive candidate information to platforms with unclear long-term intentions.
