Jobseekers find regional sites less daunting and more flexible?

By Lauren Mackelden, UK Features Editor, Online recruitment magazine

Regional sites are proliferating, and are popular with jobseekers- we asked some key players how theyíve been able to forge ahead.

Glenn Chapman, MD of MyJobGroup.co.uk explains how they have managed to expand exponentially in just two years: ìTiming was everything, we realised that there was a gap in regional markets which tended to be serviced by local newspapers. When we launched our first regional jobsite in 2005 in Sheffield, we quickly realised that there was a demand for our business offering. Our regionally targeted job boards made great strides in 2007. We started the year with eight jobsites and finished the year by having thirty nine fully live recruitment portals all receiving high levels of traffic. Our established sites now generate more local traffic for key search terms than national job boards. Our business has benefited from first mover advantage in many regions. The increased number of competitors over the year certainly backs up the strong foothold that regional job boards now occupy in the industry.î

Jobsite saw the vast potential of regional sites, becoming the national recruitment partner of Northcliffe Mediaís ëthis isí network of 36 local newspaper websites (eg.www.thisisbristol.co.uk) in May 2007. Felix Wetzel, Marketing Director at Jobsite, tell us why: ìThe agreement enabled cross posting of job vacancies between the two sites, bringing together the national and multi sector strength of Jobsite with the local focus of Northcliffe Mediaís ëthis isí network. With only a 1% existing candidate cross over between Jobsite and the ëthis isí network, the new partnership drives new and different jobseekers to the vacancies. Registrations have been steadily rising each month since launch. Between July and December 2007 Jobsiteís ëthis isí job boards received over 2.3 million registrations. The steady rise in performance led to the further launch of 3 new regional ëthis isí sites in 2008, covering the Surrey, Sussex and Croydon areas.î

However, Mark Smith, Managing Director of s1 says: ìWe donít really see ourselves as a ìregionalî site. Weíre a site serving a quite distinct national market and the reality is that the UK online recruitment market doesnít really exist as a single entity. The UK is made up of a whole series of recruitment marketplaces one of which is Scotland. As well as having a different economic picture it is of course legally and politically distinct from the rest of the UK. Furthermore, its geography and demographic make up mean that itís naturally an excellent ëfití as a single job market. For example, its two major urban centres are within commuting distance, and Scots in general are willing to move around the country to progress their career. He does feel that a big change in 2007 was London-based recruiters and agencies now realising that you canít view the UK as one homogenous mass ñ ìthe performance of our new London Office has exceeded expectations and the clear message weíre getting is that thereís considerably more growth to come.î

Secrets of their success
Glenn Chapman feels that one of the key successes in which regional recruitment jobsites have benefited and prospered from is the look and local identity of the sites. He says that ìJobseekers feel that they have finally found something which is just for them and are less daunted by a jobsite offering simple searches and relevant results in areas which they relate to. Clients also see the benefit by being able to target a truly targeted audience and are re-assured that their vacancies will not become lost on a site with hundreds of thousands of job opportunities.î Felix Wetzel believes that regional recruitment sites are successful as the vast majority of us still tend to live, socialise, buy homes and raise our families within a 20 mile radius of where we are born and 90% of jobseeking happens within a 15 mile radius of our home. He says: ìAt the same time 41% of us now use the internet to find a job. Jobsiteís partnership with the ëthis isí network allows us to provide recruiters with an increased pool of relevant local talent and our jobhunters with a significant increase in the number of relevant local jobs. Jobseekers vary in their use of online jobsites; some prefer the variety of a generalist site, others prefer the niche approach of a sector specific site & some like to search for jobs in a tailored environment such as their regional areaî. Jobsite obviously hopes that they can cater for everyone by creating or having partnerships with various niches or regional networks. In a similar vein, Mark Smith believes thereís no particular magic ëregionalí formula ñ he says the basic tenets apply whether youíre s1jobs or Monster ñ understand your market and build a strong brand for clients and users alike.

Local trams sponsored to build brand identity
MyJobGroup has maximised its areas of strength - more flexibility and clever use of local amenities to highlight its regionality, such as local trams to build their brand. Glenn Chapman says: ìThe fact that niche job boards are typically smaller and more on a ground level than national alternatives means that they are often more flexible to change and can integrate new ideas and technologies quicker and more frequently.

While this is an advantage, it is also a challenge for regional job boards in order to maintain their competitive advantage. With so many new regional entrants a key factor will be differentiation and brand building. At MyJobGroup.co.uk we have committed large funds to building our brand throughout major cities in the U.K. These methods include tram sponsorship in Birmingham and the East Midlands and bus sponsorship in Yorkshire and Manchester, along with other campaigns in different regions. With so many alternatives, it is crucial that regional job boards reinforce their website in the minds of both candidates and clientsî.

Local social networks ñ huge potential?
Just as people have always checked the local papers for jobs every week, checking the local website will also soon become second nature. By integrating with social networks, passive candidates that have always idly checked the ëappointmentsí pages will now do so online. Felix Wetzel says that to attract traffic, regional websites are very much tailored to candidatesí locality and interests, and regional recruitment sites therefore need to reflect the personal relevancy of the regionalised site. He explains: ìJobs-by-email allow candidates to get relevant jobs in their area, sent straight to their inbox, ensuring candidates are informed of vacancies in their region as soon as they are placed and arenít sent irrelevant vacancies located at the other end of the country. Regional recruitment sites have taken the job-hunting experience online, relieving candidates of the weekly wait to trawl through the job papers. The next step for regional recruitment is to embrace web 2.0. Almost 90% of employees think that social networking sites could be used for business purposes, with 43% mentioning recruitment.[1] Jobsiteís ëJob Matchí application on Facebook searches vacancies from all our ëthis isí jobsites, offering candidates jobs specific to their region. Social networks such as Facebook and Bebo allow you to join virtual networks specific to your geographical region in the UK, this allows users to identify and interact with other individuals in their local area. Regional recruitment sites would thrive in these environments as they provide recruiters with a supply of potential candidates, and candidates benefit from the focused service that regional recruitment sites offer.î

With regards to sustained growth in what is one of the most competitive marketplaces, Glenn Chapman says regional jobsites will have to implement new features faster, continue to be flexible to market forces and user demand, as well as build on their personal and user-friendly nature. As more and more jobseekers look online for their next job, this more personal and local approach appeals to many in an often impersonal and global medium, and looks set to go from strength to strength.

1 Emedia, Sept 07