When looking for top-tier talent to join your company, it’s tempting to post the job listing in as many outlets as possible. The more people see it, the more likely you will be to get enough applicants to find the perfect fit.
But is going broad really the best idea? Depending on your individual situation, it might not be. In fact, here are 4 reasons you might want to focus your recruiting efforts on niche job boards instead.
1) Increase Applicant Quality
The first may also be the single most important reason to go niche: you cut off applicants who are not even close to qualified for the position you list. Posting your job on a niche job board means only exposing the listing to actual professionals in the field. Any applicants, as a result, will know the type of job you’re attempting to fill.
That result benefits everyone involved. You don’t have to dash the hopes of countless applicants who were intrigued by your benefits but didn’t stand a prayer against industry professionals. At the same time, you save valuable time that you would otherwise spend sifting through countless, ultimately irrelevant, resumes and cover letters. Rather than sheer quantity, a niche job board gives you the quality you need to fill your position.
2) Go In-Depth in Your Listing
A side effect of the above-mentioned quality of applicants that you should not underestimate is what it allows you to do with your job posting. Knowing that only professionals in your industry will read the posting, you can more easily use advanced terminology and jargon that a general audience would be less likely to understand.
An IT company, for example, may want to get very specific in terms of the types of programming languages and databases that applicants will have to know or at least be familiar with. On a general job board, that type of jargon can be disoriented. On a niche job board for IT professionals, on the other hand, it’s expected (for example ChooseYourBoss.com).
3) Improve Your Perception Among Industry Talent
Don’t underestimate the positive impact that niche job boards can make on your employer brand. Simply posting on Monster, CareerBuilder, and other generalized platform does not separate you from anyone else in your industry; your listing is simply one of countless other, similar job postings.
Compare that with a niche job board, in which professionals in your industry mingle. Posting your job here gives your employer brand instant credibility. It tells them that you know where to find the right talent, and further serves to drive quality applicants. Take Caterer.com as an example, the leading job site for the hospitality and catering sector.
4) Learn From Other Listings
Finally, joining a niche job board can serve as an educational resource for improving your own listings and applicant search. You will have direct ways of comparing your own posting to others for similar positions, based solely on merits. It serves as a type of competitive analysis that can help you get a better idea of what applicants look for, and how to optimize your job posting for success.
The same exercise is difficult on general job boards, and often futile. Just as the quality of applicants can vary wildly, so will the quality of job posting, which means you don’t get the insights you need to compare yourself against high-ranking competitors and recruiters. Only a niche job board could help you accomplish that feed.
Any recruiter knows the value of quality over quantity. You would rather have 3 applicants, all of whom you know to be capable to do the job, than 30 with questionable expertise and experience. Niche job boards enable to place appropriate emphasis on that quality, maximizing your chances of filling job openings with high-quality, successful candidates. We are glad that many of our partners have niche job sites.
