Another 30 days, another month of excitement in the online recruiting world! This is the stuff I thought worth noting:

• CareerBoard has a new director of sales: CareerBoard has appointed Dennis Liniman as their new Director of Sales. He’s been with the company since 2010, and is now on the hook to double job postings in the next year. Good luck on this aggressive goal!
• SmartJobBoard releases a new version: The latest version of this low-cost (and popular) job board software package includes: user login via Google accounts; ‘autocomplete’ in forms; and a Form Builder for the site administrator. Good to see this package continue to revise and expand.
• LinkedIn acquires a social CRM company: LinkedIn expands its offerings to employers by purchasing Connected, a social-flavored contact management startup, adding to a previous acquisition of CardMunch. Apparently they like the flavor of CRMs.
• BranchOut finds a job board partner:  The Facebook employment app BranchOut has partnered (somehow – the press release was vague) with CareerBuilder. Take that, Monster!
• USAJobs.gov says goodbye to Monster: USAJobs.gov is moving to an inhouse database system – and in the process leaving their long-time partner Monster, possibly as a result of past data breaches. Monster fights back.
• CareerBuilder is targeted for discriminatory job postings: Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y) sent a letter to CareerBuilder’s CEO asking him to stop the practice help wanted ads discriminating against the unemployed. The National Employment Law Project unveiled examples of ads posted on the site that offered opportunities only to those who had a job.
• New job board for teen hackers: Teens in Tech, a network of support and events for young entrepreneurs, has just launched the Connect site, what 18-year-old founder Daniel Brusilovsky called “a social network meets resource center for young entrepreneurs”. As I’ve said before, there is a job board for everyone.

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The more things change, the more they stay the same – except when they don’t. Now how’s that for equivocation?

The results are in for the 2011 Online Recruiting Survey, and they are intriguing. We had a record 323 completed responses (a 15% increase from Fall 2010!), from three categories: HR and recruitment professionals, job board operators and employees, and job seekers.  We used many of the same questions from the 2010 survey, so it was relatively easy to track changes over the past 9 months. Here’s a sampling of what we found:

• For employers with 250 or more employees, ATSs (85%) and social media (85%) were the top recruitment channels; for employers with less than 250 employees, social media and referrals led the list

• .jobs continued to draw meager interest from employers, with only 6% having purchased a domain

• Job boards saw the recession (40%), LinkedIn (40%), and price erosion (31%) as the top problems for their businesses; LinkedIn had risen in threat level since the 2010 survey

• Both the quality (72%)and quantity (46%) of candidates produced by job boards remained important to HR and recruiting professionals

• The top problem for HR and recruiters? Lack of qualified applicants

As one job board respondent said, “I think the only constant is change. New and existing job boards must adapt to changing technologies and customer behavior.”

Truer words were never written. Get the full survey results here (free registration required).

There have been a lot of blog posts here over the years – 120, to be exact. Some faded quickly, and some didn’t. So I thought it might be useful to have a roundup of what I consider to be the most interesting and useful (if not always successful) posts. Hope you like them!

• People, Balance & Technology: The future of job boards: Very popular, very insightful – and I didn’t write it! Felix Wetzel of Jobsite UK did, and it’s a provocative read.
• Will Job Matching Ever Take Off?: As I say in the first line, “Job matching is the AI of the job board world.” And who knows how many job matching products have launched since I wrote this?
• 5 ways to screw up your job board: As Recruiting Animal has often ranted against ‘number in title’ blog posts, I thought I had to contribute to the genre – and it was popular.
• How to make money – Revenue models for job boards: Not surprisingly, this post about how to increase your job board’s revenues has been popular.
• Are job boards dying…or evolving?: Tackling the ever-popular theme of dead job boards – guess which side I come down on?
• .jobs: Who does it benefit?: The .jobs ‘Universe’ is kind of like an old fashioned zombie – every time you think it’s down for the count, it rises up again. Will I be writing about them in 2012?
• How branding protects against commoditization: Branding is a topic near and dear to my heart – and judging from the feedback, also for my readers.
• The dangers (and benefits) of backfilling job listings: Since their inception, aggregators have been both a threat and a blessing to job boards. Here’s why.
• What makes a job board suck? (Jobseeker edition): Dumb things that job boards can do to upset their primary customers.
• Results of the Job Board Future Survey 2010: In which we discover some interesting things, like job seekers want their job boards easy to use.

Although it may not seem like it at times, the job board industry is a technology-driven industry. After all, it was the combination of a database and the web that gave it birth so many years ago. After a fairly lengthy period of incremental and erratic technical growth, the industry is seeing lots of change – and I suspect that those sites that ignore these changes may suffer.

So, which technologies (and technology trends) are changing job boards?

• Mobile: As my recent survey made clear, mobile’s influence in the recruiting arena is growing. Why? Mobile devices are omnipresent, immediate, and ‘always on‘. What better tool to reach elusive job seekers? Many job sites are in the process of creating complete functionality on a mobile platform. Smart move.
• Twitter: Ok, so calling Twitter a ‘technology’ is stretching it a bit – but the idea of direct, immediate communication with job seekers or hiring managers, the ability to mass communicate as well as micro communicate, and the channel’s efficiency and effectiveness and distributing content is pushing recruiters (and job boards) in new directions (check out what Sodexo is doing, for example). Believe me, there’s more to Twitter than simply ‘tweeting’ jobs.
• The cloud: Cloud computing has been around since the 60s (at least conceptually), but it has gained traction (and buzz) in the past few years. Why? The proliferation of cheap servers, abundant broadband, and ever increasing software complexity have all driven adoption. Matt Alder has already posited a cloud-based alternative to the traditional job board. I have no doubt that some are in development.
• ATSs: As the price tag continues to drop for implementing an ATS, more companies are utilizing them – which means that more metrics (whether good or bad) are being applied to the job board postings a company makes. In other words, if the ATS shows that your job board isn’t performing, you’re toast. The days of ignoring ATSs and hoping they would fade away are over – job boards have to tackle the challenge (and potential reward) these systems offer.
• Simplicity: Ok, simplicity isn’t a ‘technology’. But look at the technological products that are thriving right now (iPhone, iPad, DVRs, etc.). What do they have in common? Simplicity. They are all incredibly easy to use. There is a lot of technology hidden behind that ‘simplicity’ – but the genius of these products is that you don’t see it. You just use them and they work. That would be my definition of the ideal job board: just use it, and it works.

Ok, what did I miss?

A lot of the chatter about social media in our industry has been about how it may displace job boards as a core recruiting tool. Less has been said about how job sites can actually use social media to promote their services. It’s time to rectify this oversight!

Job boards must connect with two core audiences: job seekers and employers. Both audiences are using social media for a variety of reasons, such as personal or professional networking, research, and entertainment. Rather than rushing willy-nilly into social media, a job site should first understand the two audiences. Where do they live? What do they do? What do they watch, listen to, read, etc.? In other words, what does the target audience look like? Until you can answer this question, you simply can’t make a decision about which social media tools or channels you should use.

Example: your job site caters to mid-career professionals in accounting. LinkedIn may be a better choice than Facebook (if an accountant is on Facebook, most likely he/she is using it for entertainment and family). But an even better choice may be an accounting-specific networking site like HubStreet. Remember: the audience determines the channel!

Once you’ve analyzed your audience and identified the best channels (and I would probably include Twitter and LinkedIn for all job sites – they have the right general career demographics and size), you need to set up a map of the messages you’ll use and their frequency. No, I’m not talking about just setting your job listings to auto-Tweet (although that is useful and should be done). Instead, think about your audience (again): what do they want? what are they interested in?…and what can you offer them?

Example: Going back to our fictional accounting folks, they no doubt would love to know which metro areas pay the most for accountants. So gather up some data and get it out there! For example, you could Tweet about different cities and pay – and link back to the relevant part of your site. Then go to LinkedIn and start a Question about the same thing. Then run over to HubStreet and start a discussion. Notice what’s happening here? You are thinking like your audience, giving them information they want – and engaging them.

Last – but absolutely not least - measure what you are doing. There are numerous free and paid tools out there, such as SocialMention, Radian6, and SproutSocial. You can even use Google Analytics – just create a profile exclusively for social media. The bottom line, however, is that you must measure or you won’t know which social media channels are working – and which aren’t.

The bottom line? You’ll see more job seekers AND employers on your site – and that’s a good thing!

Job Board Doctor topped 100 posts this year – and some were more popular than others. I decided to look at this year’s blog posts using 3 criteria: the number of comments, the number of page views, and the number of times the post was ‘retweeted‘. Here’s what I found:

Most popular – Page views:

1. Cool Job Sites
2. Results of the Job Board Future Survey are here!
3. Cool Job Sites – Part 2
4. People, Balance, & Technology: The future of job boards
5. Results from the 2010 Job Board Industry survey
6. “Fake” postings and your job board
7. 5 ways to screw up your job board
8. The dangers (and benefits) of backfilling job listings
9. The future of job boards is…
10. 5 ways to make your job board better

Most popular – Retweets:

1. Results of the Job Board Future Survey are here!
2. The year in job boards: 2010- what we learned
3. Job boards vs. LinkedIn is like Kindle vs. iPad
4. Job boards must evolve or die
5. Is social recruiting a symptom – or a solution?
6. People, Balance, & Technology: The future of job boards
7. Results from the 2010 Job Board Industry survey
8. How do job boards help people?
9. Words matter – for job boards, career sites, and recruiting in general
10. Reading tea leaves in the job site world

Most popular – Number of comments:

1. Cool Job Sites
2. “Fake” postings and your job board
3. How to make money – revenue models for job boards
4. What no job board wants to talk about…
5. The problem of duplicate job postings
6. Cool Job Sites – Part 2
7. Everyone writes about job boards – well, a lot of people do
8. Job boards vs. LinkedIn is like Kindle vs. iPad
9. Will job matching ever take off?
10. The future of job boards is…

The comments numbers are a bit misleading, as much of the discussion happens on other sites, such as ERE.net, JobBoarders, and RecruitingBlogs. But you know – I’m just happy that folks are talking! Here’s to a great 2011.

In 2009, the job board industry (and the rest of the world) was deep in the recession’s trough. It was ugly.

With 2010 essentially in the rear view mirror, I think I can safely say that we’re out of the trough. We’re not at the top. We may not even be that far from the bottom – but a lot of things are looking better:

1. The largest job sites are doing better: Monster, CareerBuilder, and Dice all posted solid financial results. And I know from private conversations that many niche boards had good sales this year.
2. More jobs are being posted: The number of jobs on Indeed are up 40% year over year – and given that the site’s postings are drawn from niche job boards and employers, that is a very good sign.
3. Sales and mergers have resumed: Sure, the big news was Monster swallowing HotJobs – but there was plenty of action further down the food chain. That means that job sites are putting their cash to work.
4. Job boards are evolving – again: One sure sign of recovery? Job sites introducing new services and technologies. We saw lots of action with social media, mobile, and micro-niche. We’ll see lots more.
5. Competition is heating up: Let’s face it - competition is good. Solid competitors force you to look hard at your services and figure out how to improve them. LinkedIn, Twitter, Google, and others are doing exactly that for the job board industry.
6. Mobile is here: No ifs, ands, or buts. Mobile is pervasive (91% of the US population has it) and powerful. A significant portion of the job seekers out there prefer it to desktop computers. Job boards ignore it at their peril.
7. Job hunting is getting cloudy: Per the above, job seekers are moving away from desktop computers and their resident applications – and moving into the cloud. I expect to see some interesting innovation in the job board world with regard to cloud computing.

Stay tuned for my 2011 predictions – after I polish off some more holiday cookies, that is!

PS: Guess what? This is post number 101. I am amazed. I hope you are, too.

Is social recruiting a symptom of larger problems in the world of recruitment – or is it a solution to recruitment woes? Let me argue both sides of this question:

Symptom: def. “something that indicates the existence of something else”

Argument #1 – It’s a symptom: The #1 complaint about job sites in my recent survey of job seekers was lack of response from employers. Candidates want to interact with potential employers – and the most recent crop came of age with Facebook and related social media platforms. So it’s only natural that they would expect the same spill-your-guts exposure from employers – and that they’d be unhappy if they didn’t get it.

It’s also why recruiters and companies savvy enough to actually interact with candidates would see better results. These early adopters stuck their necks out – and (allegedly) reaped the rewards.

But in reality, was social recruiting the solution? Not really – the real problem was lack of communication between employers and candidates. Social recruiting was merely a symptom of this deeper problem – the proverbial canary in the coal mine.

Solution: def. “the act of solving a problem, question”

Argument #2: It’s a solution: Social recruiting is an evolution in the way employers find candidates. Just as job boards replaced newspaper ads, so does social recruiting replace job boards. It’s a new paradigm – employers and candidates chatting back and forth, exposing information, getting fuller understandings of each other.

In this scenario, social recruiting is a solution to a basic change in employer and job seeker behavior: from one where employers held all the power and candidates meekly acquiesced, to one where candidates hold as much power as employers (and aren’t afraid to use it). Platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter enable employers and candidates to engage directly, without interference. The outcome? Better hires.

Which is it? Symptom or solution? Neither? Both? What do you think?

Just a heads-up – you may be interested in a guest blog post I wrote for People, Brands, and Random Thoughts on trends in the North American job board market.  Although hardly exhaustive, I’ve tried to touch on some of the interesting sites out there and what I see as key movements in the market. Take a look. (Thanks to Felix Wetzel for allowing me to guest blog as well!).

If you follow my Twitter stream, you no doubt noticed I spent last week at #truManchester. It was a great experience – I listened to many recruiters and HR pros talk about how they use social media in their recruiting (or hope to), and what they think about job boards. (I also learned that the British have switches on their power outlets, are extremely hospitable, and don’t open their pubs until noon).

A few observations:

• Company attempts to outlaw or censor social media usage are probably futile (remember when phones were restricted?). Companies are better off developing intelligent and restrained ‘communications’ policies that cover all forms of employee communication – from phones to Twitter – and that focus on fewer hard rules and more general guidance. Think how newspapers had many voices (via columnists) but a consistent standard across all articles.
• Mobile is displacing the desktop for many people. That means that whether you are an employer, recruiter, or job board, you need to think about how candidates can use your services via mobile devices.  It’s a different channel and calls for different approaches. (It’s also looking a little more Android and a little less iPhone out there).
• Job boards that don’t evolve will fade away. Job boards are in a unique position – they have the opportunity to expand their market…or lose it. Smart sites are already integrating social media (emphasis on ‘social’) into their offerings – and transforming themselves into the vendor of choice for social media recruiting.
• LinkedIn is a job board. OK, that wasn’t a universal opinion – but it’s certainly mine. LinkedIn is more than a typical job board (think Groups), but I’d be surprised if there was any other business out there giving large and medium size job boards more heartburn. (However, the fact that it has become a recruiter’s playpen also makes it less attractive to candidates – a problem that Linkedin will have to solve soon).
• Authenticity is important. And it always has been. Whether you’re an individual blogger or a multinational corporation, your voice must square with your actions, products, and services. Readers, consumers, job seekers, and employers are pretty good at sniffing out fakes. On the flip side, companies have a right (and duty) to maintain standards – thus, a company blogger should not spend his/her time talking about religion or politics, for example; they’re blogging for a purpose.

There was more (much more!) flying through the air at #truManchester, but these were some of the most useful takeaways for me. Hope you find them helpful as well.