Job boards are not what they used to be. We all have heard of the Good ‘ol days when recruiters used to be able to post a job and get the right candidate instantly. The problem is never with the job board. They just aren’t as effective as these to be. People are going forward more with referrals, niche job boards, and networking to find top candidates. And of course with and on recruiting efforts. If you haven’t posted jobs for a while, you might want to get back into practice. Especially because of the new technology taking over how job boards work.
If you remember, last November, Google announced its Cloud Jobs API, which is now in closed Alpha testing. The Cloud Jobs API is working with Applicant Tracking Systems, job boards and career sites such as CareerBuilder, Dice, and Jibe so far. What it does, is use machine learning to understand the common language used between candidate and employer. Google explains it on their website like this, “Much like how Google Cloud Translation API translates an arbitrary string into any supported language, Cloud Jobs API understands the nuances of job titles, descriptions, skills and preferences, and matches job seeker preferences with relevant job listings based on sophisticated classifications and relational models.”
So no, job boards are not what they used to be, they are becoming smarter. The question now becomes, which are the job boards that I should post on? Most employers and recruiters choose to post their open positions on job aggregator sites like Indeed or CareerJet. If you are hiring for niche positions, these types of sites may not be attracting the kind of candidates you are looking for. If that is something you can relate to, here are five niche job boards that you should look at now.
Jobbatical
The “Gig-Economy” is all the buzz. Jobbatical a word that combines job and sabbatical is a job board for companies offering gigs for people who want to work abroad. In its first year, this niche job board claimed over 1,200 companies in 40 countries. They had 7,000 applicants and made over 300 matches.From the employer side, they offer almost concierge service. You do not even have to write the job description; they will do it for you. From there, the job will be posted for 60 days. As an employer, you can also search their candidate database. Most of the opportunities were for IT and developer jobs. From the candidate side, I found the application process a little painful. They no longer have the ability to apply with LinkedIn, and every application section has to be filled in manually.
From the employer side, they offer almost concierge service. You do not even have to write the job description; they will do it for you. From there, the job will be posted for 60 days. When I looked for pricing, I got this, “We offer flexible tailor-made pricing solutions to perfectly fit your company’s hiring plans.” Whatever that means.
Most of the opportunities were for IT and developer jobs. From the candidate side, I found the application process a little painful. They no longer have the ability to apply with LinkedIn and every application section has to be filled in manually. For a chance to live and work in Bali though – I am sure they will get over it.
BetaList
AngelList is not the only place that caters to startups. BetaList is a site that connects startups to early adopters who will then offer feedback. Along with that, BetaList has “BetaList Jobs.” says that they do not scrape jobs from the internet. Rather, they “fetch” jobs from startups and showcase them to developers, designers, and other startup enthusiasts. Applicants can search for jobs quite easily. All jobs point you directly to the companies seeking talent. If you want to post a job, the rate is $99 per job.
Now, it could be just me, but I found the interface incredibly busy and difficult to read. However, I do feel like you can get to know the companies better using BetaList than you can use AngelList. Of course, the main difference is, you can post jobs on AngelList for free.
Working Not Working
Working Not Working is different than anything I have seen before. Built by creatives for creatives, I felt almost not cool enough to even try it. I am a fan of any tool that can help you hire faster. What is not about Working Not Working, is that they do the pre-screening for you.
“Becoming a Working Not Working member is not easy. Only 10% of submitted portfolios are approved by the Membership Board. It’s the reason our community is trusted by thousands of companies like Apple, Google, Airbnb, Facebook, Droga5, Wieden+Kennedy, R/GA, Psyop, VICE and The New York Times.”
While they boast that it is invite-only, creatives can apply on their own. Even then, they then have to be approved by members. For you, as a hirer (that is not a typo,) you can post an open position on their “UnJobBoard” starting at $250 per user, per month, per position. This is what people are talking about when it comes to the “gig economy.” Not the person who just cannot get a good paying job so they get 3 jobs. This site is for the person who is freelance and wants to stay freelance. Is it worth the $250 for one job? If they produce what they say they do, it sure can be.
PowertoFly
Looking for Women in Tech? Power to Fly is a great place to start.
“Our optimized search and sourcing tools, targeted job promotions, and high visibility employer branding services reduce the time to hire hard to reach talent pools of underrepresented female engineers at a centralized and lower cost. Through the platform companies gain full access to actively and passively build a pipeline of vetted women in tech and across digital.”
To be honest, I find this one to be a bit pricey. On one hand, it costs $1000, per seat. On the other hand, you will enjoy Unlimited searches, unlimited messaging to candidates and applicant tracking to name a few. The other piece that makes it worth the cost is that they do half the job for you. Women who apply with Power to Fly have three rounds of interviews. (yipes!) The fact that one company hired seven women in tech in just three weeks makes this a great one to try.
WorkTipper
WorkTipper offers a job board, for startups seeking technology and digital marketing candidates. Let me start by saying, it is pretty cheap. For $59 bucks, you can post two jobs for 30 days, get some recruiting tools and reach over 6,000 candidates. But here are some of the benefits. It offers a clean company profile page, resume search, and employee dashboard that will give you stats by job view. Furthermore, being able to apply with your LinkedIn account, the application experience was painless. What was a painful was the search capability. Oddly, they sort open positions by company, not by position. This company is a startup themselves, having launched on Jan. 2017 but they seem to be getting a lot of attention. Considering the price, it would be worth having a go.
As I stated, it is time to get back to posting your jobs. If “regular” job boards are not for you, I recommend checking out niche job boards to get closer to the talent you need. I will be watching the
By Jackye Clayton
Jackye is an acclaimed thought leader and inspirational speaker on recruiting and DEIB topics. She brings years of experience recruiting across a variety of industries including tech, HR, legal, and finance. In her role as VP of Talent Acquisition and DEIB, she leads all related work at Textio, provides critical expertise to customers, and serves as a leading voice in the products Textio creates for the broader ecosystem. Jackye has been named one of the 9 Powerful Women in Business You Should Know by SDHR Consulting, one of the 15 Women in HR Tech to Follow by VidCruiter, and is on the Top 100 list of Human Resources Influencers by Human Resource Executive Magazine.
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