The traditional method of using one or two annual contracts with national job boards may have worked well for your company in the past. For some positions, those same job boards may still provide the candidates you’re looking for. But by and large, throwing all your recruitment dollars into one basket is old school, passe and worst of all, ineffective in today’s talent marketplace. Here’s why.
Annual job board contracts restrict your reach.
If you limit the ads you purchase to one or two job boards, it may work fine in some cases. However, there are thousands of other job boards where candidates are searching for opportunities – and there’s no guarantee that your target prospects are going to those few job boards you’re spending money on.
Placing your jobs on multiple boards expands your advertising reach and increases the likelihood of your postings resonating with your target audience.
You’re not making performance-based decisions.
Having month-to-month flexibility in where you post your openings, versus being locked into a yearlong contract, allows you to make more informed decisions, based on specific job board performance.
- It just makes sense: If one board is converting at a higher rate, then that’s where you want your budget dollars to go. Having this flexibility results in a better ROI.
You can’t adjust your spending as business needs change.
Especially in light of the market uncertainties of the past year – the lesson learned should be: expect the unexpected – staying adaptable in your job board usage enables you to pivot with seasonal staffing changes, as well as those brought on by the ebb and flow of customer demand.
When all is said and done, you’re lacking a true recruitment budget.
The best formula for your effective recruitment budget focuses on cost per application, cost per hire, and the number of job orders. With a more flexible spending plan, creating a truly workable budget becomes much easier. It lets you keep control on your side, not in someone else’s hands.
The Solution
Old habits die hard, but as you move away from annual job board contracts, optimize the use of current technology and make all your decisions data-driven. It’s 2021. Your tactics need to keep pace with today’s candidate and business needs.
Programmatic job advertising, while not a panacea, can be an excellent way to distribute your jobs to a variety of boards at once, without needing individual contractual relationships with each one or having to manually post information. It’s not going to solve all your recruitment challenges, but it offers myriad benefits including:
- Diversification of job boards.
- The use of algorithms, which are capable of making decisions on where to post jobs faster than any human could.
- Only having to pay when a candidate actually applies, not just clicks.
Turn to the Recruitment Marketing team at Haley Marketing to help you craft the job advertising strategy and budget that best meet your company’s needs and keep you ahead of the competition in attracting top talent. Read our related posts or contact us today to learn more.
