The Deciding Factors when choosing between <br>Niche and Generalist Online Recruitment Sites

Niche sites have been proliferating, not least under the umbrella of larger generalist sites. Onrec.com look at the criteria for choosing which to use with an ever tighter recruitment budget.

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Sophie Relf, Head of Marketing, at Totaljobsgroup says itís a well-researched fact that jobseekers will use niche and generic media to source jobs and careers information (NORAS, totaljobs.com annual User Profile Surveys, TGI net etc.). She says: ìSo if thatís where jobseekers are looking it makes sense for recruiters to appear on both generic and niche recruitment websites. The advantage of online jobseeking is that users will find jobs or recruitment campaigns as a result of searching. As only those advertisements matching user searches will appear; this means that though online campaigns will have broad reach, matching to all those searching, the reach is to a self-selected, targeted audience.î

Andy Baker, Group Director, The Hotonline Network has a useful analogy: ìPeople donít search for a job in the same way that they would search for a car, for example. If you are looking for a new car, you're more likely to go to a generalist web site that can offer you the greatest number of vehicles within your price range. Job searches are different as we tend to define ourselves by the role or the sector that we work in. Therefore, a niche website that specialises in secretarial roles, for example, is much more likely to resonate with a secretary looking to make their next career move than a generalist site would. As well as providing highly relevant job vacancies, niche job sites can also provide jobseekers with much of the industry-specific information and advice that they need in order to step up the career ladder in their chosen profession.

He continues: ìAs well as jobseekers, recruiters also have high expectations of niche websites. Compared to a generalist site, recruiters that use niche websites are in a much stronger position to find candidates that meet their clientís specific requirements. By simply registering with that site and posting their CV, candidates will have effectively pre-qualified themselves as being appropriate for a particular role. This means that recruiters can fill positions with relevant candidates quickly and efficiently.î Roy P. Walker, Head of Recruitment Advertising at RetailMoves.com is aware of the importance of brands and also value for money for advertisers. He says: ìRecruiters that advertise on RetailMoves.com do so because, amongst other things, it is specific to their sector therefore this reflects on their brand and the types of applications they receive. Retail recruitment is a competitive sector and who is advertising for the role is as important as the role itself. Niche sites provide more exposure for advertisers to the types of candidates they are looking to target. The feedback we receive from advertisers is that although the generalist job boards give their own brand huge exposure and are successful in getting their own brand recognised across the general population they do not always pass this on to their advertisers who may often be hidden 3 or 4 clicks away. Niche job boards such as RetailMoves.com, although not as prominent to the general job seeker, will be found by candidates searching in its and its advertisersí niche. This also asks the question of value for money- revenue taken from advertisers is always invested in marketing to the advertisersí niche sector with the likes of RetailMoves.com.î

Roy P. Walker says that more and more generalist recruitment consultancies are maintaining their presence on generalist job boards as a one stop shop but also using several niche job boards for each of the sectors they recruit for to target relevant candidates and to increase their profile in that particular niche. This is demonstrated by Felix Wetzel, Marketing Director of Jobsite, who says: ìJobseekers vary in their preferences of online jobsites; some prefer the variety of a generalist site, others prefer the niche approach of a sector specific site. Jobsite.co.uk is designed to make jobhunting as quick and easy as possible and cater for each of these different groups by creating or having partnerships with various niches.

James Brotherhood, Marketing Director Leisurejobs & BarZone can see the pros and cons of both types of site: ìNo sensible recruiter will put all their eggs in one basket as both niche and generalist sites have strengths to play on. Niche sites are more industry focused and are heavily involved with trade press, events, trainers and shows. Generalist sites are more geared towards offering a variety of jobs therefore attracting the masses, so tend to suit people who are not sure of their vocation or looking for a change. If you were looking to attract experienced and vocationally trained specialists you should concentrate your search on a niche job board. A good example of this is you were looking to recruit a bartender for 5* bar you would be wise to place your ad on a site like BarZone, a specialist jobboard. However, if you were looking for a more generalist site Leisurejobs our sister company has an extensive range of jobs in leisure including jobs in health & fitness, spa & beauty, travel & tourism, catering and hospitality. If however, you are looking to put bums on seats in a call centre environment then a generalist site plays a stronger role. However you still may want to consider attracting industry specific experience to strengthen the team. An example may be David Lloyd Leisure where the sales team will look for sales experience primarily but industry specific sales experience would still be preferred.î

Increasing importance of personalised services

Andy Baker tells us how as Web 2.0 technology develops, jobseekersí expectations of online recruitment will change as well. He says: ìItís not enough to simply advertise job vacancies online; many jobseekers now expect recruitment websites to provide personalised services to support their job search. In response to this, we are introducing sophisticated matching technology that accurately matches jobs to CVs, saving time for both recruiters and jobseekers. We will also be asking users to rate the matches that we provide, so that it becomes an interactive process that improves the more a jobseeker uses it. Our technology is also becoming increasingly predictive so candidates can plan their next logical career move based on their current experience and role.î

Sophie Relf explains how jobseekers respond to branding: ìWhat candidates hope to find as a result of searching is how one job matching their search is better than another job also matching their search. This is where the quality of the job advertisement or recruitment campaign comes into its own. Recruiters should always include town or postcode locations (this generates 3 times more response than region only locations do); and company benefits and career development opportunities, so that candidates can see what their future would be like in the new job. Acorn Recruitment recently tested thirty similar jobs using 3 advertising formats on totaljobs.com. The more branding the job had (due to enhanced features) the more response it generated ñ the most branded option garnering 7 times more response than a basic job description that didnít include a company logo. This is because jobseekers are no different to ëeveryday consumersí and so are more likely to engage with a richer marketing experience that is pictures and words.î

Felix Wetzel believes both candidates and recruiters expect the same quality experience from niche job boards as they do from long-standing generalist job boards, saying: ìThey want to be able to enter specific search criteria and be shown a variety of relevant jobs with leading employers. They also expect to be able to have the latest jobs emailed to them and to be able to save a CV to make applying for vacancies quick and easy. Candidates want their details to be held securely and to have access to a customer support team if they have a query or problem. Similarly, recruiters expect quality account management to ensure that their vacancies are reaching the right candidates.î

Future trends

Roy P. Walker says his site is relaunching further to a lengthy consultation with potential advertisers. One of the key factors they received from feedback was that niche job boards can be quite generalist on occasions. Advertisers are looking for niche candidates within a niche! So now jobseekers will be able to search via sector within the retail industry to filter down relevant candidates even further. He says: ìGeneralist job boards will always be more prominent to the general population because of their spending power so will always remain a key player in the industry. Niche job boards will need to target more of those several niches within their niche and marketing strategies will have to reflect that to differentiate themselves as specialists.î

Felix Wetzel expects to see the arrival of new generalist and niche job boards in the next year, especially niches tailored to growing sectors that are just starting to see the benefits of online recruitment. He says: ìThe sites that will survive and grow in the increasingly competitive online recruitment market are those that can provide a great service to both candidates and clients. With more choice than ever before candidates and clients wonít stay long with a site that doesnít cater for their needs. Candidates will expect access to a wider choice of vacancies and will be looking for a jobsite which does more to help them find the perfect job, for example going down the Amazon route of suggesting vacancies based on previous choices that theyíve made. Similarly, recruiters will expect their vacancies to reach more candidates that are relevant to the roles in question. They will be looking for new innovations with job boards which help them achieve brand exposure for example MPUís.î This is reinforced by Andy Baker. He says: ìJobseekers expect to interact with a brand in a number of ways by email, through RSS, social networking sites or by mobile, so itís important that an online brand can support all of these access points. Over the next year, we also expect social networking and vertical affinity sites to gain momentum. Recruitment brands need to understand how they can best use these channels and what level of interaction is appropriate for reaching candidates.î

Sophie Relf foresees that as candidates become more experienced ëinternetí consumers they are going to expect to be able to search for a job with the same level of matching that they would search for goods or holidays with. She says: ìAlso they will expect the experience to be as rich as other online shopping experiences. So if you can take a virtual tour of a resort, or build your own Porsche why not view your next workplace or chat to your next line manager online. Unlike a Porsche or a holiday, a job is not a one off investment, itís something that we continually give our best time and energy to.î

Whether itís a niche or generalist site, thereís no doubt that jobseekers are doing more and more of their ëshoppingí for jobs online, and whether ësmall boutiquesí or ëlarge department storesí, our correspondents have shown thereís something for everyone.