How a recruitment agency can take the stress out of using online job boards
While searching online for jobs is considered the norm these days, it can be a time consuming process, both to list vacancies and to find good potential candidates, and that’s before you even get to the interviewing stage.
So, is there a way to speed up the process? Is there a better option that can save you time? Will it save you money? And importantly, will you get good quality employees as a result?
Here we look at the pros and cons of using online job boards from an employer’s perspective and consider the advantages of using a recruitment agency.
How do you use an online job board as an employer?
If you’ve been using online job boards to find new employees, you will likely already know that it is fairly simple to create an account and post a job. However, that is not where your involvement ends. While you could just sit back and wait for your ideal candidate to pop into your inbox, you will likely be waiting a very long time. There is a lot more involved in using an online job search site successfully, which requires a significant amount of time and effort.
- You need to create a job ad that stands out and attracts the right kind of candidate.
- Your job vacancy should be promoted in multiple places such as the online job boards, your website and social media.
- You need to continuously monitor your job advert to make sure it is being seen and reaching the right people.
- Once applications and CVs start coming in, you need to sort through them to find the most suitable candidates to interview.
If you have your own HR department or a member of staff dedicated to recruitment, then this process is manageable. However, if this is just one part of someone’s job, then the time and skills involved can make this a long, drawn out and sometimes frustrating process.
What are the advantages of using online job boards?
The benefits of online job boards far outweigh those of traditional print advertising in newspapers or journals, and this has been the go to place for both employers and jobseekers for several years now. As an employer, being able to keep you job vacancy live for as long as you need is a huge advantage, plus having the flexibility to change, edit or remove job ads means they are always relevant to your requirements.
Online job search sites have the advantage of technology so that your job listing can be seen by the right people to bring you possible candidates, relatively quickly and easily. There is the potential for your job vacancy post to reach hundreds of well qualified, professional people and being online, your advert is accessible to everyone, everywhere, at any time.
What are the disadvantages of using online job boards?
Online job sites are designed to be user friendly from both the employer and candidate perspective. This means that not only is it a quick and easy process for you to post your vacancies, it is just as easy for job seekers to apply for jobs. This is, of course, an advantage of the system, except when it has the potential to increase the number of unsuitable applicants. It is not unusual to receive applications from people who either don’t possess the right qualifications, skills or experience, are not really serious about your job or may even be in the wrong location. While intuitive software can filter out the most irrelevant applications, many do still get through and these require sorting manually which can become a time consuming process.
Some job listing websites require a subscription fee for employers to post vacancies, while others may charge per listing or offer a bespoke package. It can be enticing to see the option of a free listing, but with the amount of competition on these sites, your job can soon become buried down the list unless you pay for a sponsored post. There is no guarantee how quickly you will fill your position, so you need to consider the costs before they start to build up.
Having a large pool of potential employees, means even when you filter out the irrelevant applications, you can still be left with a long list of possible candidates to sort through before you get to the interview stage. Whether you do this yourself or assign it to the Department Manager or a member of administrative staff, it is still hours that will be taking them away from completing their usual job, which can have an impact on productivity and costs.
What are the benefits of using a recruitment agency rather than job boards?
In any business there are certain aspects that you need to outsource. If you don’t have your own finance department, it is likely you use an accountancy service to take care of your accounts and payroll because they are qualified, experienced professionals in this sector. In the same way, recruitment agencies are specialists in sourcing the most suitable staff for your business.
Recruitment agencies are not strangers to job boards, and they will be part of the system they have in place to advertise, promote and filter applications. However, they understand how job boards work and can use them successfully as part of their recruitment marketing strategy to source the most suitable candidates. Of course, by using a professional service you are not limited to online job boards. Recruiters have their own database of potential candidates who are pre-screened and checked, so they may already have people ready for interview that they consider highly suitable for your vacancy. This could include people that are not actively looking for work yet are ideal for the role you are looking to fill. If you were limited to job boards alone, this potential new employee would not be found.
A bespoke recruitment agency will often specialise in a specific sector, so you can be confident they will have the right knowledge, experience, resources and connections to find the best possible new talent for your particular industry. You will also find that through their expertise they can advise you on the current job market and how best they can work with you to reach your recruitment goals.
Job boards can provide you with a list of many applicants, but the real talent is often found faster and more efficiently when sourced by the professionals. There are no upfront costs with an agency, you only pay a fee once the post has been filled, so by using this more personal service you can save time and money, avoid frustration and stress and be confident that your recruitment process is in capable hands.
Find out more about how Cosmopolitan Recruitment can help you find your next landscaping or engineering employee here.