Are Job Boards Worth Your Time?

Job boards, such as Monster, CareerBuilder, Indeed, and SimplyHired are getting a bad rap these days. The word is out that job boards are no longer effective or relevant for job searchers. Their image problem can be summed up in the words of a client who recently said to me, “C’mon, have you really heard of anyone getting a job from Monster?” 

It was not that many years ago job boards were seen as the next great thing. Instead of going to newspaper classifieds, job seekers could now go online to these supercharged job listings that held many more postings of descriptions from all over the country. Not only that, but they were being constantly reviewed by recruiters searching for talent. I remember speaking to a recruiter in 2008 who told me most of his day was spent trolling Monster and CareerBuider. They certainly were an improvement on the old and restricted methods available pre-Internet. 

In the meantime, however, the job searcher experience has deteriorated using these sites. Users now find themselves flooded with cheap emails from for-profit “career” schools asking them to spend money they do not have or from New York Life and Aflac and the like trying to convince them to become 100% commission salespersons. Oh and of course, starting your own franchise for whoever will really change your life for the better. Right! I have gotten to the point of recommending to clients who heavily use job boards to dedicate an email address to their job search, so that their regular email does not become inundated with this junk. 

Another concern for many regards posting their resumes to these sites. Yes, many more eyeballs will be on them, but maybe not all the eyeballs belong to people you want to see them. In particular, is the worry about contact information. Of course, you need to have a way for potential employers to reach you, but do you want your home address seen by a large anonymous audience? This is one of the reasons why more and more people, particularly women, are opting out of having their mailing addresses included on their resumes. 

Probably the biggest problem is that many jobseekers think sitting at the computer for a few hours each day submitting their resumes for positions that have great sounding job descriptions, but for which they have no networking connections at all, is job hunting. It may feel like you are doing something valuable, but the truth is very few jobs are acquired this way. Too much time can be wasted, and your frustration increased. 

So, are job boards passé? Not necessarily. They still have practical uses. I often recommend they be used for research. For example, individuals who are either trying to enter the job market or who are hoping to transition to some different type of employment can find the job descriptions included on job boards revealing. By finding appealing descriptions you can more easily determine how you are a fit for such jobs. Does your list of qualifications closely match the required skills for the job? If not, what can you do to reinvent or improve your professional status? 

Another great use of job descriptions on these boards is to use them for harvesting relevant keywords. When tailoring your resume, it is important that it contains keywords like those contained in the job description you are targeting. Alignment of what you have to offer with what a potential employer needs is key to securing an interview. 

And yes, sometimes people do find jobs on Monster. I place it far below good networking and even outreach to recruiters in effectiveness, but it can happen. In general, I recommend spending about 10% of your job search time looking at job boards, 20% getting the attention of recruiters, and 70% on effective networking. 

The challenge for job boards is to stay relevant in the ever-changing world of job searching and career development. Time will tell if they can do it. 

Bill Ryan