Does social media eliminate the need for job boards?
Does social media eliminate the need for job boards?
For the past 15 years, job boards have been a standard part of the job seeker and employer ‘tool kit’. And why not?: job boards have proved to be an efficient way for job seekers to locate hiring companies, apply for jobs, and get a resume in front of potential employers.
But now the onset of social media such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and other services might make you wonder – do you really need the job boards anymore? Let’s take a closer look.
Social media as it relates to employment falls into two general categories: ‘site-based’ and ‘service-based’.
Where does a job board fall in these social media categories? In both, it seems – in fact, you might call job boards the ‘original social media’! Much of a job board’s functionality is contained on the site (where you might typically post your resume, search for jobs, read career articles, etc.), but a goodly portion occurs off-site, in the form of job alerts (where jobs are emailed to you), cross-posting of jobs to other sites, and so on.
It's interesting to note too, that many job boards were offering social networking opportunities long before LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter exploded onto the scene. Today, many of those same job boards have incorporated these tools into their sites making them a good starting point for networking in their niches.
What might you lose if you decided to give job boards entirely and rely only on pure social media? Well, for one, the opportunity to easily showcase yourself to industry-specific recruiters and employers. Although a site such as LinkedIn certainly lets you display a job posting or resume, it lacks the focus of a good niche job board – and LinkedIn’s sheer size can work against you.
By giving up job boards, you would deprive yourself of an excellent research tool. A well-respected niche job board in your specific industry or profession has spent years cultivating and developing relationships with leading employers – and then concentrating their opportunities in one location. You can save yourself much time and hassle by leveraging the job board’s information.
Finally, though, ask yourself: why give up any tool that can help you find the right job or hire? Social media services can be a great addition to your job search effort. The best outcomes happen when recruiters and job seekers exploit multiple channels and methods, including job boards, personal networking, friends and colleagues, and yes, social media.
by Jeff Dickey-Chasins
For the past 15 years, job boards have been a standard part of the job seeker and employer ‘tool kit’. And why not?: job boards have proved to be an efficient way for job seekers to locate hiring companies, apply for jobs, and get a resume in front of potential employers.
But now the onset of social media such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and other services might make you wonder – do you really need the job boards anymore? Let’s take a closer look.
Social media as it relates to employment falls into two general categories: ‘site-based’ and ‘service-based’.
Site-based: These include LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook, and so on. We call them ‘site-based’ because the primary social interaction occurs on the service’s website. For example, on LinkedIn you can build a profile that covers the high points in your work experience; your profile can then be visible to recruiters and potential employers. You can also join groups focused on specific interests (for example, ‘green jobs’) or industries. Most importantly, you can build your own ‘network’ of connections – people you know personally or professional, along with their friends and colleagues.
Service-based: These include such services as Twitter. The primary interaction occurs not on the main Twitter site, but via ‘tweets’ which can be viewed on multiple interfaces and platforms. Unlike a site-based service, a service-based tool has little functionality beyond the ‘messages’ that go from person to person, and network to network. However, because of the size and organization of these networks, a service-based tool like Twitter can provide a significant audience for a job seeker – or a job posting.
Where does a job board fall in these social media categories? In both, it seems – in fact, you might call job boards the ‘original social media’! Much of a job board’s functionality is contained on the site (where you might typically post your resume, search for jobs, read career articles, etc.), but a goodly portion occurs off-site, in the form of job alerts (where jobs are emailed to you), cross-posting of jobs to other sites, and so on.
It's interesting to note too, that many job boards were offering social networking opportunities long before LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter exploded onto the scene. Today, many of those same job boards have incorporated these tools into their sites making them a good starting point for networking in their niches.
What might you lose if you decided to give job boards entirely and rely only on pure social media? Well, for one, the opportunity to easily showcase yourself to industry-specific recruiters and employers. Although a site such as LinkedIn certainly lets you display a job posting or resume, it lacks the focus of a good niche job board – and LinkedIn’s sheer size can work against you.
By giving up job boards, you would deprive yourself of an excellent research tool. A well-respected niche job board in your specific industry or profession has spent years cultivating and developing relationships with leading employers – and then concentrating their opportunities in one location. You can save yourself much time and hassle by leveraging the job board’s information.
Finally, though, ask yourself: why give up any tool that can help you find the right job or hire? Social media services can be a great addition to your job search effort. The best outcomes happen when recruiters and job seekers exploit multiple channels and methods, including job boards, personal networking, friends and colleagues, and yes, social media.
by Jeff Dickey-Chasins
Tags: job boards, social media
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Matt J. Peter on -
I think your article is well thought out, but as an executive in what was 10 years ago a newspaper based recruitment ad agency - I caution you that your arguments sound familiar. Let me try to address them. I am an advocate of Social Media vs most Jobboards, and I see the transition as akin to the lifecycle that help wanteds sections went thru.
Your Lost Opportunities if Jobboards cede ground to Social Media and my thoughts
1) Opportunity to easily showcase yourself to industry-specific recruiters and employers (LinkedIn is too big)
- I would counter that BOTH LinkedIn and Facebook afford high degrees of specificity, and the very nature of their social networking component takes the "big-ness" out of the picture. True the world is big connecting with the right people is a matter of common sense. You won't reach out to bakers when recruiting for engineers.
2) By giving up job boards, you would deprive yourself of an excellent research tool.
- Again - this presumes that savvy employers are not already engaging in social media to make availabilities known. They are and will continue to do so at an increasing rate since that's where the people are.
3) The "Multiple Channels" argument
– This is always true - to the extent that candidates visit the jobboard in question. When a jobboard today needs to get up to to speed, it incorporates an RSS feed to a twitter acct, why - because that's where the people are. Why can't Company X have it's own twitter account instead? - They can, they will, they are.
It wasn't that long ago that Newspapers weren't worried about jobs boards, then Major Job Boards weren't worried about Niche Job Boards, Then Pay-Per-Click Models, now Social Media. Some industry specific sites charge over $500 for a 30 day posting - which to me does not sound like a recipe for future success.
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Permalink Reply by Eric Shannon on -
I would counter that BOTH LinkedIn and Facebook afford high degrees of specificity, and the very nature of their social networking component takes the "big-ness" out of the picture.
I have to disagree on Facebook - it's very difficult to keep personal and professional separate there and that will limit its use and make it vulnerable to professionally oriented Ning style networks like this one! the size of both FB and LI add to the burden on recruiters and I can see the task of social networking being delegated to job board operators by many employers...
When a jobboard today needs to get up to to speed, it incorporates an RSS feed to a twitter acct, why - because that's where the people are. Why can't Company X have it's own twitter account instead? - They can, they will, they are.
Twitter is also where the spammers are. Sure this is not something to ignore, but you make it sound like twitter is a core job search function. we're a long way from that point today.
It wasn't that long ago that Newspapers weren't worried about jobs boards, then Major Job Boards weren't worried about Niche Job Boards, Then Pay-Per-Click Models, now Social Media. Some industry specific sites charge over $500 for a 30 day posting - which to me does not sound like a recipe for future success.
Excellent point well taken!!
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Permalink Reply by Frank Heasley on -
Every new communications medium challenges the interests and business models of the establishment media of the time. This was true of the printing press, radio and television, and probably applies to many other media as well. Logically, the established media fight back with any tools at their disposal, ranging from the legal to the social, and even sometimes illegal and ANTI social.
Internet advertising and database services are a serious challenge to the established media, most of whom still don't "get it", while a few others are just beginning to realize that the game has changed and they don't understand how to play it any more.
However, this doesn't mean that the old media disappear. We still read books, listen to the radio and watch tv, and we often see advertising in those media that makes sense and is valuable to us.
One conflict that we deal with as job boards is the correct perception that job boards are a serious challenge to classified advertising in print media. Note well, however, that classified advertising although down, is far from "out", and will survive in some form for a very long time to come.
We've been hearing a lot about how so called "social internet media" is going to supplant or eliminate the need for job boards. Our view of this is that job boards ARE social media, and always have been. The difference between job boards and social media, is that job boards can more effectively control the interactions between job seekers and employers, to the mutual benefit of both the job seeker and the employer. Notably, it is this control that also makes job boards profitable. Social media which lack that level of control are bad business, as they are generally extremely difficult to convert to profitable enterprises.
For too many years now, we've had too many dollars chasing too many badly structured enterprises simply on the basis of a good story and a "crazy" idea that sounds internet-cool. I, for one, would welcome a return to traditional values, where business success is defined as profit based on income and expenses, rather than the amount you can talk the gullible investors out of.
Someday, some "Social media" will develop into profitable businesses as effective tools for bringing job seekers and employers together. When that happens, however, they will be recognized as not significantly different from the online sites like Careerbuilder, Monster and MedZilla that we now call "job boards".
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Permalink Reply by Eric Shannon on
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Our view of this is that job boards ARE social media, and always have been. The difference between job boards and social media, is that job boards can more effectively control the interactions between job seekers and employers, to the mutual benefit of both the job seeker and the employer.
wow Frank, so eloquently put!
I could expand on that one sentence for pages. seems to me that the folks that are hyping social media as a recruitment tool are ignoring the inherent tension between job seekers desire for more communication with recruiters and the recruiters desire to avoid free and open communicating with job seekers. they seem to want to live in a fantasy land where recruiting for all levels in the company from CEO to receptionist could benefit from the same amount of unlimited time and attention - where recruiters have the time and desire to get to know a lot of folks who might or might not be qualified and who might or might not be interested in changing jobs.
Thanks for your thoughts
-Eric
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Permalink Reply by Matt J. Peter on
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There's got to be some more credit given to the interactive of the Social Media platforms as they exist today and are likely to develop. We get input on our blog, Hooklineandthinker.us all the time about creative techniques that geenrate results.
The ability to disseminate information to a targeted audience, and have the power of that audience working FOR you is not something you can generate from a posting on Careerbuilder (sorry CB - just using you as an example). If Jane Doe - Unit Manager as Hospital X wins a Nursing Award, and is a part of a community, AND receives recognition from her employer - that act itself leveraged properly is an act of Social Media Recruiting.
HR professionals on the front lines will always be faced with the challenge of dealing with every person as an individual for whom "their" job is the most important. Finding those candidates however - Jobboards or Social Media or standing on the corner wearing a sandwich board (I'll need to diet) won't wait for mature technology to get fresh. Neither will the working population who will go where the action is.
I appreciate you all reading this and your feedback
Eric Shannon said:Our view of this is that job boards ARE social media, and always have been. The difference between job boards and social media, is that job boards can more effectively control the interactions between job seekers and employers, to the mutual benefit of both the job seeker and the employer.
wow Frank, so eloquently put!
I could expand on that one sentence for pages. seems to me that the folks that are hyping social media as a recruitment tool are ignoring the inherent tension between job seekers desire for more communication with recruiters and the recruiters desire to avoid free and open communicating with job seekers. they seem to want to live in a fantasy land where recruiting for all levels in the company from CEO to receptionist could benefit from the same amount of unlimited time and attention - where recruiters have the time and desire to get to know a lot of folks who might or might not be qualified and who might or might not be interested in changing jobs.
Thanks for your thoughts
-Eric
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