Credit Crisis and the rise of the Zombie Job Board

Whatjobsite.com, the online recruitment advice website, has conducted a wide-ranging survey of job boards in the UK and discovered that the recession is causing significant problems for many. In a sample review of over 200 UK job boards, whatjobsite found that an increasing number now appear to be struggling to stay in business and are becoming Zombie Job Boards.

The recession and the consequent change in the candidate market have caused a radical rethink of recruitment spends for many organizations. Recruiters no longer have vast amounts of money to spend on candidate acquisition --- nor do they need to. Across most job functions and sectors, there is a glut of quality candidates. Wide anecdotal evidence supports the view that posting a job ad on a top tier job board will, in all likelihood, attract sufficient quality candidates. Because of this, second and third tier job boards are struggling to maintain relevance for the recruitment advertisers.

There is no doubt that the recession has caused real difficulties for many in the online recruitment sector, says Karl Schweppe, Managing Director of whatjobsite. Both job inventory and revenues have fallen. Those job boards that aren't able to keep inventory and clients are resorting to dubious measures. And this has given rise to the Zombie job board.

According to whatjobsite, Zombie job boards are job boards that appear to be vibrant and vital job board but which are, in reality, dead or dying. They tend to be second or third tier job boards that have effectively or actually ceased operating but which seek to maintain the appearance of operating. They continue to carry lots of job ads and thus appear active. But, in reality, these job ads come from just one or two large high street recruitment agency clients and are being carried for free with the sole intention of maintaining the illusion of activity on the job board. Contact of the job board by phone or email quickly reveals the job board to be either actually or effectively out of business.

In our last review of the job board sector in 2007 we found over 1,200 job boards in the UK and Ireland. It was inevitable that the total number of job boards would reduce, says Karl Schweppe. What is worrying, however, is that rather than simply close or go out of business, an increasing numbers of job boards are becoming Zombie Job Boards. These job boards are placing downward pressure on prices, making the market more difficult for the survivors. However, it is their downward pressure on job board standards, customer service and reputation amongst recruiters that may, in the long term, cause more damage to the wider job board market.