Three ways to make your job board better, no matter if you’re big or small

July 25, 2023
JobBoardDoctor
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You want to make your job board better, right? Even if you don’t call it a job board? Even if you’re an old-timer? Even if you started your job board yesterday?

Well, sure. Of course.

But the rub is, how? How do you make your job board better? Where do you start? Funny you should ask, because the Doctor has some suggestions!

Build it into your monthly, quarterly, and yearly plans. Having the desire to make your job board better is essential, of course – the burning need to improve what you offer your candidates and employers. But wanting to do something is different from actually doing it. So the first step is to articulate what you will analyze or what you will change – and build it into your daily, weekly, and monthly work. Make those analyses and changes as much a part of your routine as prospecting for new sales, acquiring more traffic, and thinking about new services. Remember, too, that data is your friend – if you take a data-driven approach to identifying what you should change or add, your chances for success increase.
Invest in tech. As a person that looks at hundreds of job boards and recruiting platforms in almost every major market across the globe, I can tell you that once the typical job board becomes established, they tend to lose interest in their tech. Instead, they focus on sales and revenue and margin. The result? Most job boards look like they’re relying on tech from the 2000s – or worse. New tech is not the only answer – but it is usually part of the solution. Take a hard look at your site from a candidate’s viewpoint. Are you making their life better – or worse? Are you thinking like a boomer – or Gen Z? Does your mobile interface feel like you’re moored on a desktop? These are all just UI issues, of course. Dig deeper and don’t be scared when you find that your data is not that secure – or that your search technology brings back memories of Netscape. In order to make your job board better, you have to always keep in mind that the landscape is always changing in subtle ways, and that investing in your technical infrastructure will help you handle these changes. Don’t wake up in 2024 with a 2001 platform!
Keep your focus on the candidate: Time can be your enemy when running a business. When you start, you know exactly what you want to do, and you fight hard to achieve your goals. But once you reach those goals…you settle into routine. You lose focus. And the one thing that a job board or recruiting platform can never do is lose focus of the candidate. Your candidate audience is why employers want to use your services. Never forget that! Without candidates, your business is…nothing. Whether you’re a traditional job board, a programmatic network, an aggregator, a career hub, or some other hybrid model, the key to your success is the candidate. So dig deep into the way your candidates think, act, and look for their next job. If your candidates move to TikTok – then get ready to catch their attention there. If your candidates jettison their resumes – help them out with a profile system. In order to make your job board better, your candidates can never be abstract – they should be tangible and real, clear and carefully detailed.