Global skill shortages and “brain drain” in certain countries are reasons why employers are developing international recruitment strategies in modern times. Each country has its own challenges and reasons for having skill shortages in certain industries, and international recruitment has become a viable way to fill in these gaps. When developing these strategies, often employers question whether they should focus on using generic vs. niche job boards.
Worldwide Job Boards
Online recruitment and job seeking are nearly completely facilitated online in today’s modern world, especially for professional jobs and in developed countries. International recruitment efforts are benefiting from this trend, as the Internet brings the world closer together.
Job boards have emerged as the leading method of employers connecting with candidates. When it comes the creation of distinct worldwide job boards, the complexities of: languages, economies, currencies, and legal issues, has stopped them from emerging. The Network is the closest service that’s been created that resembles a worldwide job board – connecting over 50 top jobs boards with talent in over 130 countries.
Generic vs. Niche Job Boards
When employers are seeking talent within their nation or internationally, they’ll find either generic or niche job boards to post their positions on. Generic job boards include a comprehensive list of industries and job seekers, while niche job boards narrow the jobs down to specific professions or industry segments (e.g. web developers, sales, hospitality, etc.).
Why Generic Job Boards Are Better for International Recruiting
Although online technology has made the world a smaller place economically, it’s still a large place full of complexities. Overall, generic job boards offer employers a better chance of finding talent that’s qualified and willing to relocate for the position. Here are three main reasons why:
- Larger pool of candidates than niche job boards
- Ability to appeal to cross trained candidates
- Saves employer time and effort
This doesn’t mean employers shouldn’t use niche job boards in addition to generic, yet only for specific positions that have been historically difficult to fill. Niche job boards have much fewer applicants than the top generic job boards of each country – like the job boards The Network partners with.
When trying to find talent to fill in skill shortages, employers will want to post on numerous top generic job boards in multiple countries. This will give them the best chance of finding talent willing to relocate for the positions. Narrowing the search down to specific small niche job boards in specific countries takes too much time and effort, unless it’s for a specific position that’s difficult to fill otherwise.
Generic Job Boards are Improving
As the workforce looks toward online technology to find jobs and employers grow to depend on job boards to attract new talent, job boards are improving to meet the demand. The top generic job boards in every country are becoming a consolidation of niche job boards.
For instance, North America’s Beyond.comj ob board, has over 50 interactive talent communities where employers and talent can find skill specific job opportunities and connections. Top generic job boards also have: search tools to find specific industry opportunities, automated notifications according to the job seeker’s profile, mobile accessibility, blog article resources, industry specific resources, online resume creation classes, and more.
Basically, top generic job boards around the world are becoming more user-friendly and resourceful for candidates and employers. Although not as simple as niche job boards, generic boards have more resources and offer niche like segments within them.
Conclusion
When it comes down to it, the top generic job boards in each country are where employers need to focus for their international recruitment efforts. The large pool of applicants found on top generic job boards give employers more chances to find qualified candidates willing to relocate for the position. Niche job boards can be helpful for specific candidates that are difficult to find otherwise, but should be used only in addition to top generic job boards.
The Network is a unique service designed to help employers with global recruitment, consolidating over 50 top generic job boards with millions of candidates in over 130 countries around the world. Rather than managing generic and niche job boards in each country, employers can partner with The Network and consolidate their efforts. The Network streamlines international recruitment with one point of contact in the client’s country with industry expertise, one currency, and one contract.
