The recession’s legacy for job boards
Ding dong, the recession’s (not quite) dead! Every day I hear from another job site that their numbers are up, that more jobs are being posted, and that the general feel from employers is positive. Folks are breathing a little easier.
So what effect has the recession had on the job board world?
- Fewer competitors: Those job boards who were overextended, underfunded, or just poorly run have gone by the wayside – which is ultimately a good thing.
- More competitors: Huh? Yep – cash-starved recruiters and HR pros have spent the last 2 years looking at lower-cost alternatives to job boards (think: Twitter & LinkedIn & just about every other social media recruiting startup). For some, the jury is still out; for others, they’ve either moved into stage 2 of their social media experiment – or they’ve gone back to job boards. Maybe even a little of both.
- Lower margins: Many sites were forced to cut prices – a change that will probably become permanent.
- More experimentation: When times are bad, the smart get thinkin’. I’ve seen plenty of interesting experiments by job sites in terms of new services, new products, and technical innovation. I expect these experiments to continue.
- Fire sales: Some job board owners have been in the mood to sell after 24 months of battering economic winds – and industry bargain hunters have been happy to oblige. Prices will stay low for a while, but then expect to see them start climbing as the shortage of skilled labor reasserts itself.
- Renewed desire for growth: When you’ve been down, up sounds pretty good – and the fastest way to climb out of a recession can be growth. Expect more new sites and services, and some consolidation among existing ones.
What did I miss?
Sponsor content
Talroo brings clarity to improve new-hire retention
You filled the seat, but not with someone who plans to stay. The candidate made it through your entire interview process while quietly interviewing with other companies that pay 25% more.
When expectations aren't clear up front, retention suffers.
Get clarity up front with Talroo's SmartQualify.
Comments (1)
Comments are closed.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Bill Boorman, Job Hunter, Michelle Dunlea, Jeff Dickey-Chasins, Jeff Dickey-Chasins and others. Jeff Dickey-Chasins said: New Job Board Doctor post: The recession’s legacy for job boards – http://bit.ly/aF6obk […]