FOCUS ON: Job Search

Online Job Boards Morphing as their Influence Decreases

Not so long ago, people looked for jobs by searching the Sunday classified ads. The Internet changed all that. Between company Web sites, online job boards, and specialized search engines, about 45 percent of hires now come from the Internet; roughly 12 percent of those hires come from job boards.

But the recession's long arm has reached online giants Monster and CareerBuilder. Revenues are down sharply for both because many firms find that general purpose job boards simply do not reap results.

Paul Whitney, VP of human resources at Infinera in Sunnyvale, California, found that job boards filled just five percent of his openings though his staff spent 25 percent of its time going through the résumés that came from those postings. He now focuses on finding passive candidates—those already employed and not actively job searching—through employee referrals and sites such as LinkedIn. Job boards are "too generic" to help Whitney fill positions requiring specific skill sets.

In fact, nearly 45 percent of recruiters claim to use networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook, according to a study conducted by the AIM Group. Firms are instead turning to niche job search sites and search engine marketing to attract workers. While the cost of advertising on the big job boards is certainly a factor, multiple reasons exist for the decline in their influence.

One threat to the generalized job boards is specialty job search sites. The number of these area-specific search sites has grown dramatically since online job boards first appeared in the mid-1990s and now number as many as 100,000. These sites attract job seekers with specific skill sets and account for about 3 percent of total job hires.

Search engine marketing has also contributed a loss in revenues and influence for the major generic boards such as Monster and CareerBuilder. Search engine marketing earns revenue through pay-per-click ads—sponsored ads seen when site visitors click through and apply for jobs employers advertise on the Web site.

Vertical search engines such as SimplyHired and Indeed work by finding job openings from all over the Web and thereby provide comprehensive job searches. These innovations net more qualified applicants and are gaining in popularity.

Finally, free or nearly free job listing services affect the big job boards. Craigslist only charges only $25 per listing in major cities, although recruiters do not view the popular site as particularly helpful. Screening candidates submitting résumés from Craigslist takes too long, they say.

In response to the change in the marketplace, the major job board players are becoming more competitive by expanding their services. Monster launched a site redesign, purchased several profession-specific sites, and has reduced the number of steps it takes to post a résumé. CareerBuilder helps job seekers chart their career path, get skills training, and connect through its own network, BrightFuse.com. And Yahoo's HotJobs offers an enhanced matching technology. It also features "smart ads," which turns a listing into a display ad and "narrowcasts" it to its users.

As online job seekers and advertisers expect more, the job boards in turn are evolving into career management and development tools. They will have to continue to do so to remain relevant.