Generalists are working hard to maintain their market share with new mobile enhanced sites, networks and the use of big data. Find out from those in the know how they are still relevant and attractive to both candidates and employers.
Lee Biggins, Managing Director of CV-Library, says that they monitor shifts in recruitment trends to ensure their market offering is as innovative as possible. “We’ve noticed a major evolution in the demands of users which has, in turn, directly influenced job board technology. Candidate expectation is now greater than ever, with top class user experiences being defined by sites such as Amazon and eBay. Why should those looking for a new job settle for less? If anything, they should demand more – after all, online recruitment services can be - quite literally, life changing.”
Biggins comments that one of the biggest changes has been the increasing popularity of mobile job searching and on-the-go interaction, in line with advances in smart phone capability. In response, Biggins explains that CV-Library has developed a responsive site offering the same, great experience whether viewed on a desktop or mobile device, and deployed mobile apps offering a range of benefits and pushing new job notifications. “Improving functionality for ‘on the go’ users has been a huge focus for us, with the impact being increased flexibility, and a site which can fit in with the lifestyles and requirements of both candidates and recruiters.”
Successful job boards have also evolved alongside public interest in social media. These days, a huge number of job hunters have an online presence, so it makes sense for job boards to integrate with social sites – by re-posting vacancies, building their own online network, and using available platforms to build their company profile. For candidates – job searching on the likes of LinkedIn and Facebook has become second nature, and for recruiters - social media is a great way to reach passive candidates.
Overall, job boards have evolved to be flexible, responsive and attuned to the needs of modern users. Design and techno-social trends have very much led the way, and the impact has been an increased buy-in, from both candidates and recruiters, to their power as an effective recruitment tool. Lee Biggins says that his main prediction for the future of job boards is that video content will continue to grow as a viable means of communication between recruiter and candidate. “We’ve recently rolled out a premium feature called JobStream – allowing video content to be embedded within job advertisements - and the feedback we’ve gotten back from clients – and metrics – has been phenomenal. I would expect to see a greater push towards this type of engaging content in the future.”
Job boards have had to evolve to keep pace with the current complex and constantly changing business environment and to compete with today’s recruitment needs, comments Scott Helmes, MD of CareerBuilder UK. For example, the traditional job board with a ‘post-and-pray’ mentality has made way for the job boards of today: recruiting engines that are strategic and agile. So instead of taking shots in the dark, Helmes says recruitment advertising decisions can be based on talent intelligence. “CareerBuilder, for instance, offers a plethora of talent acquisition solutions — from custom, search engine-optimised career sites to state-of-the-art mobile recruitment solutions. And let’s not forget about big data. Forward-thinking businesses rely on big data and analysis to drive business decision making. With CareerBuilder’s acquisition of Economic Modeling Specialists Intl. (EMSI), it puts us in a position to turn labour market data into useful information that helps organisations make better decisions when it comes to employment and human capital decisions.” Helmes believes CareerBuilder is evolving from a job board to a business intelligence company which will allow them to put such powerful data at the fingertips of employers and recruiters on a daily basis.
Advances and uptake of new technologies continues to be a big driver for all online businesses, and particularly for recruitment, states Sophie Relf, Marketing Director of Jobsite. Relf emphasises the impact of greater mobile use, saying: “The number of smartphone and tablet users in the UK has risen dramatically, and that has a significant impact for job boards. Google predict that 100% of job searches will start on mobile by the end of the year, and Jobsite is adapting with a redesign of the site making it fully responsive, and compatible with all mobile devices.”
Relf believes the importance of this shouldn’t be underestimated. “To be able to connect the best talent to the best recruiters, accessibility and ease of use are imperative. And what goes hand-in-hand with this is a presence on all major online platforms, providing relevant and engaging content.” From a business perspective, Relf believes it’s a simple case of aligning your business with client and candidate needs. She summarises that generalist job boards will definitely continue to evolve over time, and they will always be valuable. “What the industry needs to recognise, however, is that it’s impossible to be everything to everyone, and there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Generalist job boards need to strive to be informers; providing relevant content, information and insight all the time.”
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