Correcting Conventional Wisdom
It’s almost a weekly occurrence. Some self-appointed pundit or alleged expert makes the statement, “Job boards are dead.” Or “Job boards are dinosaurs.” Or “Job boards are obsolete.”
The statements appear in newspapers and magazines, at conferences and in Webinars, on blogs and in articles posted online. They are uttered without proof but with all of the authority of an oracle. As a consequence, they have become the conventional wisdom – accepted as true not because they are, but because hardly anyone is saying they aren’t.
Oh sure, job boards refute such claims all the time when they talk to their customers. But, they’re talking to the convinced. The people who are now using job boards already know the truth. It’s all the other recruiters out there who are in the dark.
Moreover, there’s plenty of evidence to make the case. The CareerXroads’ Source of Hire Survey and the WEDDLE’s Source of Employment Survey have both consistently shown that job boards remain among the top sources of external hires.
Even the employer surveys that tout alternative sources provide a backhand acknowledgement of job board effectiveness. Surveys about social media sites, for example, typically ask, “Have you ever hired anyone from a social media site?” and then celebrate with great fanfare when recruiters report that they have. So, why doesn’t the same question appear in surveys about job boards? Because the answer is obvious – employers have been hiring new workers with job boards for almost twenty years.
Which begs the question – why aren’t we doing more than talking to the convinced about the effectiveness of our sites? Why aren’t we calling out reporters and columnists and speakers and bloggers on their unsubstantiated and simply untrue statements about job boards? Why aren’t we putting them on the spot and forcing them to back up their claims or acknowledge their error? That’s the one best way to correct the conventional wisdom and install a better one.
Private Research Bulletin
It’s tough to keep track of what’s happening in the online employment services industry. Companies are being bought and sold, new technology and services are being introduced, partnerships and alliances are being formed, and alternative business models and strategies are being tested and promoted. All of the time.
Staying on top of it all is critical to bottom line success. But who has the time to collect and read what’s published at the multiple channels that report on such matters? And equally as important, who wants to read everything when only a subset of the information is likely to impact your business?
WEDDLE’s Research Bulletin – a private, monthly e-report – solves these problems. It uses a wide range of sources – both inside and outside the industry – to capture the latest news relevant to online employment and then curates that information to deliver what’s most important with commentary about why and what it could mean.
The WEDDLE’s Research Bulletin is a for-fee publication that gives you your own in-house research and analysis arm. It focuses exclusively on the online employment services industry and delivers exactly what you need to know in just four easy-to-digest pages.
For more information about the Bulletin and its cost, please contact Peter Weddle at peter@weddles.com.
Is Your Recruitment Technology World Class?
There’s one way to find out … or prove that it is.
The Recruiting Service Innovation Awards (the ReSIs, pronounced Rezzies), are the only global awards in our industry that recognize sourcing and recruiting products and services which enable recruiters to perform at their peak.
There’s been plenty of attention of late paid to the candidate experience, but the simple truth is that you can’t optimize the candidate experience unless you first optimize the recruiter’s experience. And, the ReSIs celebrate recruitment technology that does just that!
The awards are administered by the IAEWS, while winners are determined by a Selection Committee of corporate Talent Acquisition executives. Nominations are accepted for products and services in five different areas of talent acquisition and can be made by any recruitment technology company worldwide. For more information and a free nomination form, email director@employmentwebsites.org.
What’s Your View?
Want to know how your views on the trends, challenges and opportunities in our industry stack up with your peers?
Well now, you can. Complete the 2015 IAEWS- Job Board Doctor Global Survey online – it takes just 17 minutes! – and you can receive the Final Report with findings from hundreds of sites around the world.
It’s easy. It’s quick. It’s free. And it provides one-of-a-kind insights into your business. So, don’t delay. Click here and take the survey right now.
Book of the Month: The Accidental Houseguest
This intriguing book spoofs Job Boards as well as the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Flamboyant Miami Lifestyle.
Following the downfall of WarmBodyJobs.com – the job board for losers, “Where 2nd Best is Just Too Good” – the owner, Gerald Owen, flees to Miami and unintentionally and unknowingly assumes the identity of an undercover DEA agent as a guest of the reputed mafia boss, Vincent Campari. It’s an easy-to-read, short novel, wittingly written by job board owner, Clive Quarmby.
The book is available at the IAEWS Bookstore.