I’ve recently been thinking about the long-term effectiveness of job boards like Monster and TheLadders.
I am impressed with the way these two job boards have grown to dominate their marketplace. It took a lot of ingenuity, hard work, and marketing savvy. And ultimately, they both do what they claim to do: match up companies and workers. Staffing professionals – especially those in big companies – aren’t doing their jobs if they don’t use such job boards as a baseline research tool.
But here’s my concern: job boards are set up to provide a recruiter with a lot of matches, notgreat candidates. In the end, they are a sophisticated version of classified ads. They have broader reach than the hometown newspaper, and they can be used by employers and potential employees alike, but they still follow the “job description/apply here if you’re interested” model.
As any recruiter or job seeker can tell you, this is not the way most people find jobs. Most job placements come about informally, through referrals. And why shouldn’t they? Start with 1000 applicants on the one hand and a referral from a friend or employee you really trust – which is more likely to produce a good employee in a short amount of time? It’s no wonder that many companies provide small bonuses for employees who refer friends that end up getting hired.
For really important positions, then (and maybe some not-so-important ones), the recruiting path should primarily be one of expanding referral networks. That’s why I’ve said that LinkedIn can be so helpful for today’s social-savvy recruiter: it expands a referral network the way Monster expanded the classified jobs section of the newspaper.
The difference, of course, is that referrals are a better way of landing a top candidate. Before they show up for an interview, you’ve been able to hear about them from all kinds of people you trust (and people they trust, and so on).
Does this mean that you can never recruit a top candidate from a Monster? No, of course not. I know plenty of recruiters who have, and I encourage employers and job seekers to use it. But I also advise spending more time expanding referral networks through LinkedIn and other networking opportunities.
Do you think I’m right? Wrong? Am I missing something? Join the conversation below.
Comment by Henning Seip on March 23, 2011 at 9:58pm For generalist recruiters most placements do not come from referrals because you're not dealing with the same people again and again. You have to source names from scratch and cold call them.
On the #HFChat corporate recruiters said 27% of hires come via referrals.
Comment by Charlotte Byndas on March 24, 2011 at 9:32am
Comment by Charlotte Byndas on March 24, 2011 at 9:54am Sandra, my then five year old son used to tell our friends when asked what does your mommy do?, that he was not sure but that "I talked on the phone and made a lot of money". That made me laugh out loud, but how true, but if the public really understood what it takes to be successful they would have a whole new respect for what a recruiter does. Happy Thursday!
Comment by Tim Keene on March 24, 2011 at 10:04am
Comment by Christopher Poreda on March 24, 2011 at 10:18am Great post and comments...this one is close to my heart as a former recruiter and founder of ultimatejobboard.com.
Although it seems the demise of the job board has become a sport, fact is referrals are #1 with 27% of new hires, job boards #2 with 25% with all others left far behind. (Third party recruiting is 3%).
Job boards should be one of several tools employers and recruiters use to source candidates. In it's purest form, it's a means to advertise and brand.
I think many job boards have gone into too many verticals that often confuses and complicates the medium. Just make it easy, use the best technology, provide meaningful tools, and provide significant filtering capabilities...that was our vision and so far so good. Job board is not a bad word...and I'm sure most of you have made significant returns on investment using this tool...
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