Chicago , IL - May 10, 2006 - These days people aren't just looking at classified ads in their local newspaper, attending career fairs and networking to find their next job. They're also going to the Internet and surfing job boards. In fact, job boards have become one of the most popular ways to find a job.

Many staffing companies are tapping into job boards as a way of letting people know about the openings they have, and to make the most of their job board use. Job boards have changed quite a bit since they first came on the scene a little more than a decade ago. They've also experienced increased growth in recent years. Job board revenue and postings are going in one direction - up - and that's expected to continue in the future.

Making the Most of Job Boards

John Smith, VP of the recruiters business unit for CareerBuilder.com, says staffing agencies should use not only a job board's postings but also its resume database. Smith also recommends that staffing agencies take advantage of job board staff, because they can help write ads as well as answer questions and handle concerns. "Wherever they need the help or assistance, we'll be there for them," he says.

Staffing agencies also should make sure the jobs boards they use are integrated with their applicant tracking system, says Smith. Staffing agencies can experience a 200% to 300% increase in candidate flow if their applicant tracking system is properly linked with job boards, he claims.

Peter Weddle, CEO of WEDDLE's, a Stamford CT-based research, publishing, and consulting and training firm, says staffing companies shouldn't just limit themselves to large, national job boards. Weddle recommends staffing companies use two general-purpose job boards plus three niche job boards. The first niche job board should focus on a career field, the second should focus on the industry and the third should focus on location, he says.

Job Boards Have also Changed over the Years

When job boards first started, they mainly listed technology jobs and were used by information technology professionals, says Smith. "They were the only ones who knew it," he says. Today, though, job boards have become much more commonplace, points out Smith. They feature jobs in nearly every field and are used by people from all walks of life.

It's so easy to apply for jobs on job boards these days that people will go ahead and apply for anything they see that sounds interesting, even if they're not necessarily qualified for the job, says Smith. That means job boards today are burdened with weeding out a wealth of applications coming in from people who are not qualified for the job.

Today, job boards have electronic databases, points out Jim Ingham, president of computerwork.com. Monster, for example, provides everything on its site from interviewing pointers to resume assistance to articles on office culture and politics and working abroad.

Also, job boards have longer and more persuasive postings than they used to, points out Weddle. The average job board will allow an organization to post an ad of 1,400 words or more, he says.

In the beginning, there were only a handful of job boards, whereas today there are at least 40,000 "and they continue to launch every day," says Weddle. While there are plenty of new job boards, some also have gone out of business because they are not able to generate a profit, explains Weddle. "They don't attract the kind of talent employers and staffing firms want," he says. "They throw a party and no one comes."

"The Internet has become a mainstream vehicle for recruitment, and online job boards have become integral components of companies' recruitment programs," says Smith in an e-mail. "The popularity of the job boards is driven by the ability to reduce time-to-hire and cost-per-hire by providing instant access to a wide pool of relevant candidates. This, coupled with a strong job market and increasingly competitive labor market, will continue to fuel industry growth in the future."

With Job Boards Booming, Are Classified Ads Still Going to Be Around?

Peter Zollman, founder of Orlando FL-based Classified Intelligence LLC, which works with newspapers, dot.com companies, staffing companies, and recruitment advertising agencies and other companies to help them better understand what's going on with classified ads, predicts that despite the online revolution, classifieds will still be around for while. "The nature of classifieds is changing," concedes Zollman. "They are migrating from print to online and other media. The whole environment for classified advertising and recruitment advertising is changing. But I [still] expect that newspapers will continue to carry job ads for years to come."

Despite all the doom and gloom, newspaper classified revenue is up, says Zollman. Newspaper recruitment revenue went up in 2005 and 2004, reaching $5.1 billion in 2005, according to Zollman. But, it's still short of the peak of $8.7 billion in 2000, he says.

Staffing Companies Use a Number of Job Boards, Including Their Own

When Staff Management has a job board need, it turns to its proprietary ATS/Candidate processing software PeopleScout, says Denise Foy, PeopleScout's executive officer. She says Staff Management takes advantage of large job boards such as Monster, Career Builder, Hot Jobs and Americas Job Bank, as well as niche job boards, geographic job boards such as Chicago Jobs.com and a Canadian job board for its Canadian customers. Staff Management has been using job boards for three years. "You can reach a lot of people quickly [with job boards]," points out Foy.

Job boards have become an efficient way for staffing agencies to find candidates they want, and for job seekers to find that dream job they've been looking for. Both staffing companies and job seekers are using job boards with increased frequency, and job boards are expected to continue to increase in popularity in the future. The challenge now is for staffing companies to make the most of what job boards have to offer.

About PeopleScout
PeopleScout is a division of SeatonCorp, a best-in-class staffing and recruiting company recently named by Crain's Chicago Business as one of Chicago's largest privately held companies. PeopleScout is a leading provider of recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) services aimed at helping companies with their exempt and non-exempt hiring needs. The firm's suite of services includes RPO, employment branding, on-boarding, and employee retention. Annually, PeopleScout facilitates over 184,000 hires via partial-cycle RPO engagements and end-to-end RPO engagements. Industries served include airline, financial services, telecommunications, retail, utilities, insurance, pharmaceutical, and transportation.

PeopleScout's clients include some of the more recognizable names in the Fortune 500 list of companies. PeopleScout has succeeded in being selected for four consecutive years to HRO Today Magazine's Baker's Dozen - the closely watched list of industry - leading RPO providers - as well as being named #1 in large deal capabilities. The firm also has also been recognized as the #1 RPO Provider by The Black Book of Outsourcing on its "2008 Top Ten HRO: Recruitment Process Outsourcing/RPO" list. For more information, please visit us at www.peoplescout.com or call 800-966-4803.

For More Information
Gerry Sullivan
Vice President, Solutions Development
(312) 915-5036
gsullivan@peoplescout.com