The method for sourcing the best talent has shifted over the past four years. Internet job boards currently account for 42% of quality hires, followed by social networks and employee referrals. Both active and passive candidates are turning to job boards to search for opportunities, although active candidates are leading the way on this with 67% choosing to log on. Job boards are also the top search choice for passive candidates with 59% taking advantage of them.
While social networks and search engines are still popular choices for job seekers, job boards are leading the way when it comes to quality hires as they are more focused and more relevant for candidates.
For relevant job listings and quality hires, niche job boards take the gold. Job seekers who use job boards rated the quality of jobs as the most important element of an internet job board. Industry focus also appeared on the list of the most desirable qualities of a job board. Both of these factors indicate that niche job listings are a strong asset to job hunters with specific qualifications and interest in a certain sector.
Larger job boards which have thousands of job listings are time consuming and often overwhelming for job searchers. Specialist job boards offer fewer listings and these have the added benefit of being relevant to a specific industry or field of work. In the medical sector, 60% of candidates search for job openings on job boards. Candidates are more likely to be able to find an opportunity that’s right for them on a niche site because specialist job boards only deal with one industry.
As such, niche job boards usually have a better search function for the specific job market. Whereas a large job board might only categorise medical related jobs under the broad term of “healthcare,” a niche medical job board would have a search function that allows users to be more specific about the role they’re looking for. Jobs may be divided into relevant professions such as doctors, nurses, pharmacists, social care and then filtered by grade and then again by specialism. For example, a search could be made for a nurse in grade D with a speciality in vascular nursing.
Niche job boards have the added benefit of being able to provide candidates with networking opportunities. Specialist sites attract professionals from that industry and often build communities through forums, blogs and social media. These can be invaluable resources for gaining insight into the job market, especially for new professionals or those considering a career change.
Recruiters and employers will find that targeted job listings on niche job boards produce strong results through exposure to relevant, high quality candidates.
About the Author: Ron Stewart has worked in the recruitment industry for 30 years, having owned companies in the IT, construction and medical sectors. He runs the Jobs4Group, and is CEO of Jobs4Medical.
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