The year in job boards: 2009 – what we learned
It was an ugly, painful year. I haven't talked to a single job board owner - not one - who saw revenue declines of less than 35 to 70 percent. Many had to lay off employees, cut benefits, or otherwise…
Inside and outside: job boards have to work both places
How does job board functionality get messed up? It's easy to do: you work and obsess over building the perfect job board, making certain that posting a resume is easier than sneezing - but then you forget about the world…
What do your job board customers want?
When was the last time you asked your job board customers what they want? Not just a one-off question to a few clients - but an systematic, organized survey of everyone who uses your site? Employers and job seekers? A…
Job boards and applicant tracking systems
The appeal of applicant tracking systems (ATS) for employers is obvious: they promise to bring order to the often disordered process of managing job applicants. An ATS can theoretically drive all job applicants into a single pipeline, massage their unruly…
Can job boards truly be ‘Web 2.0’?
At their core, most job boards are series of one-way communications: employer posts a job; job seeker responds to employer; employer does (or doesn't) respond to job seeker. Each communication is distinct and separated by both time and method -…
The dangers (and benefits) of backfilling job listings
Once upon a time, if you visited a job board, you knew what you would get: whatever jobs the board had on that day. These were jobs that the board's sales force had convinced employers to post, on that job…
What is the value of job seeker registration?
Is job seeker registration good or bad? And if you require registration, how much is too much? And...how much value should you attach to these registered users? Personally, I think a little friction is a good thing (as does Seth…
Should job boards have resume databases?
In the beginning was the job post - a classified ad on the internet. Then came the resume database - a collection of job seeker wit and wisdom, long and short, awful and awesome. Employers and recruiters saw the resume…
Is free the wave of the future for job boards?
You can't cough these days without bumping into free job boards, i.e., a job board where employers can post their jobs at no charge. Free job site, free Tweets, free everything. Now, there have always been a few of these…
What woodworking has taught me about job boards
I've built various items with wood for many years. Some resemble furniture, others...well, they were interesting to create. Yet, apart from the sheer fun of cutting, chopping, paring, and (occasionally) pounding wood, I've also managed to extract a few lessons…