Where should you post your open jobs? How much will it cost? What kind of results can you expect? The answers to these questions are more complex than ever! Keeping up with the best approach—and the best price—can be overwhelming. Let’s take a look and sort out the good deals from the time and money wasters.
Before deciding where to advertise, realize that most applicants who respond to an online job board end up being “active” job seekers. This means they’re either unemployed or actively searching for something new. Many of them will post their resume to every job they see, whether they’re qualified or not. As a result, wading through bad applicants to find a few good resumes can be a major time commitment without much of a return. To combat this nasty reality, employers must develop strategies to get the best return out of online job postings. As you develop your strategy, consider the following about the most popular options:
Craigslist
The easiest and most affordable option available in most markets.
Pricing
Postings range from $25 to $75 for a 30-day spot and vary by location.
Considerations
Listings are posted in reverse chronological order so a job you posted two days ago might get buried and not show up until page 8.
IOHO (in our humble opinion)
It’s cheap, but prepare for a high volume of unqualified applicants that may end up wasting a lot of your time.
LinkedIn
The professional networking site has become the go-to place to attract “passive” candidates (i.e., people who are employed and not looking for a job).
Pricing
You can get a single 30-day posting for $495 or a discount for purchasing bundles of 5 and 10 postings.
Considerations
To maximize response, pay attention to (1) the title and profile strength of whoever posts the job; (2) what’s on your LinkedIn Company Page; and (3) how you want candidates to apply (i.e., do they have to go to your website or can they apply right there on LinkedIn?
IOHO
Results come at a price—and for us it’s usually worth it. We get good results from postings and also from profile searches. When used effectively, LinkedIn is by far one of the best places to find quality candidates.
CareerBuilder:
One of the most well-known job boards and typically the place professional job seekers start when they find themselves without a job.
Pricing:
Expect to pay $419 for a 30-day single posting with additional volume discounts for buying postings in bulk. Postings are based on a single location within a 50-mile radius.
Considerations:
The best use of CB is to access its resume search capability which can be cost prohibitive if you don’t have a large number of roles to fill.
IOHO:
It’s efficient for finding customer service, administrative, skilled trade, and entry level candidates and lousy for higher skilled roles. You will also struggle to find quality candidates with a stable, compelling work history.
Indeed:
Whether you post your job here or not, Indeed will likely pick up other paid postings as part of its aggregation algorithm. That’s because any jobs you post on the “big boards” such as Monster or CareerBuilder will be picked up by what are called, “Job Search Aggregators” and Indeed is one of these. These services crawl the web for any job postings and then put them in one place for job seekers to find what they’re looking for. As a result, job seekers love Indeed because they can go to one place to see many job opportunities at once.
Pricing:
Anyone who sets up an account can post to Indeed for free. Sponsored job ads are offered through a “pay per click” pricing model that charges you based on how many times someone clicks on your ad.
Considerations:
Indeed makes money from sponsored job ads, so if you don’t pay, you’ll often find your job at the bottom of the heap because other firms pay big money for featured postings.
IOHO:
While you’re not likely to get any higher quality applicants through Indeed than Monster or CareerBuilder, you can control your costs more actively by setting limits on your “per click” ads and you can shut them down if you don’t like what you’re getting.
SnagAJob:
Posting for hourly jobs only.
Pricing:
$89/month for a 30-day package of up to 20 postings.
Considerations:
Be aware…your credit card information is stored on file and will automatically charge your card unless you email or call to cancel your account during business hours.
IOHO:
It’s a decent option to fill large numbers of hourly positions.
Dice:
Specifically for Engineering and Technology positions.
Pricing:
Prices start at $350 for a 30-day single posting, but you can get this down to $250 if you purchase a package of 5-10 postings.
Considerations:
The best use of Dice is to access its resume search capability (ResumeView) to access candidates who have at one time posted their resumes to this job site. However, this access is pricey and makes financial sense only with a large volume of positions to fill.
IOHO:
It’s not cheap. However, it’s the highest concentration of tech talent in one place, making it a decent spot to advertise since tech talent is often open to changing jobs for a better opportunity. Word your ads accordingly.
Monster:
As well known as CareerBuilder and typically where the lower skilled workforce starts a job search.
Pricing:
$375 for a 30-day single posting, or a 60-day posting for $395. Discounts for bulk postings and regular promotions are available, particularly with a 12-month agreement.
Considerations:
The best use of Monster is to access its resume search capability which can be cost prohibitive if you don’t have a large number of jobs to fill.
IOHO: Monster is a good place to find administrative, skilled labor, and recent graduates. It’s terrible for higher skilled roles. Similar to CareerBuilder, you will struggle to find solid work histories here, especially for those who actively apply for your jobs.
Insider Tip:
You may want to skip the job boards altogether and go straight for the resume search feature that is available with many of them. Using this tool you can search for people who meet your criteria and can look at resumes/profiles back several years. Even though most of these people will have taken other jobs, you can still find a phone number and connect to sell them on your opportunity. Chances are some of them are not happy and might already be thinking about other opportunities. Prices for resume search capabilities are high. It costs nearly $7,000 annually for Monster’s service; CareerBuilder is just under $5,000; Dice requires a custom quote and LinkedIn offers free profile searches to everyone, but sells “recruiter seats” that starting at $5,000+ per year for one user.
Happy Hiring!
Ask us questions about the job boards via our online chat tool in the lower left corner of your screen. We are passionate about helping companies hire, develop, and retain smart employees and we love to share what we know!