Job boards are an important part of a comprehensive job search strategy. The trick is to use them effectively. Very few job seekers use job boards effectively. Most people fall into one or more of these categories:
1. They don't use job boards at all
2. They spend too much time surfing the job boards
3. They have missed some important job boards that they should have posted their resume on
4. They posted their resume but their posting was not compelling, so their resume was skipped by recruiters


People Who Don't Use Job Boards at All

There's a lot of misinformation out there about job boards. Some people are not fully aware of the shift that has occurred from print job ads (classifieds) to online job advertising. Some people are unaware of the fact that an ever-increasing percentage of people find their jobs online. According to TechTV Online's August 12, 2003 issue, between 1998 and 2003, 83 percent of employers advertised jobs online. However, in that same time period, only 40 percent of job seekers used the Net. Here are some additional statistics which illustrate the growing influence of job boards:
- In 2000, 4% of job hunters reported finding their last job online
- Source: TechRepublic, 4/12/02
- In 2001, 10% of job seekers found their new jobs online
- Source: Online Recruitment Grows Up, April 2002 Forrester Research Report
- In 2002, 6% of management-level jobs were found online
- Source: Drake Beam Morrin research study
- In 2003, Monster.com earned $423 million in job posting & resume searching fees

Focus like a Laser on the Job Board Techniques that Work

A job seeker's first plan of action should be to post their resume on several sites in a short amount of time. Keep in mind there are many job boards used by recruiters. Don't put all your eggs in one basket and rely on just one job board. You or your client can use a service like ExecReg.com which will do this for you. ExecReg.com will let you enter a resume once and will then post it on over 90 job sites including Monster, HotJobs, CareerBuilder and many more.



How likely a job seeker is to find a job through a job board depends on their profession, but the range is between a 10% and a 50% chance. 50% represents the high estimate for people in the IT Profession, and 10% represents professionals in management positions. Most people will have a 10-15% chance of finding a job through a job board. Knowing this, it makes sense for a job seeker to spend no more than 15% of the time they're allotting for job searching on using job sites unless they're in the IT profession. Just like when you invest in the stock market, you should diversify your portfolio and use several different job-searching methods, particularly networking.

Resume Posting vs. Job Searching

Job searching is a more proactive activity and resume posting is more reactive (i.e., you post your resume and react to employers and recruiters who contact you). While it may feel like you're doing more when you proactively search through job listings, it is not necessarily more effective. Searching through jobs does help you get an idea of what employers and recruiters are looking for. It is a good way to find out what salaries are being offered, what skills are in demand, and what "buzzwords" are hot right now.
But when it comes to delivering job offers, anecdotal evidence suggests resume posting yields better results with less effort. There are several possible reasons for this. One is that if a recruiter finds your resume on a job board and decides to email you, there was something about you that they liked. Furthermore, if they make the decision to contact you, they have made a certain stake (psychologically) in proving that the positive thing they felt about you was correct. Everyone likes to think they're a good judge of character. So it will be a boost to the recruiter's ego if you turn out to be as good as they thought you were.
Contrast this with job searching where many job ads yield 300+ resumes in response. As the person applying for a job, the recruiter sees themselves as and their job as the prize, and you as the contestant (rather than the other way around).

Effective Ways to Respond to Job Ads

This isn't to say that it's a waste of time to respond to a job ad. If you're one of the first people to respond, there's a better chance the recruiter will open your email than if your resume is the 150th to arrive in their inbox. If it's a job you're really interested in, come up with a catchy and relevant subject for your email so it stands out in the recruiter's inbox. You may also consider faxing your resume so it bypasses the recruiter's inbox completely! FaxMyresume.com is a service that lets you fax from your computer if you don't have access to a fax machine.
Gerry Crispin, author of CareerXRoads, says referrals are the #1 way to stand out in a recruiter's inbox. If you can say you were referred by someone who already works at the company, you will get the recruiter's attention. If you see a job you're really interested in and you don't know anyone who works at the company, Crispin goes as far as to suggest approaching someone in the company's parking lot and offering them $10 to use their name in the subject of your email to the recruiter there.

Make Sure Your Client's Resume Is Compelling

- The job seeker should make sure they're easily reachable. They can do this by providing potential employers with a phone number where they can be reached right away.
- Make sure they have a professional and working email address and they check this address frequently. Obviously, an email address such as PradaPrincess34@aol.com will not make them look like a serious candidate.
- Use a resume title that communicates their strengths. Instead of just "Accountant", consider posting the resume with a title like "Bottom-Line Focused Accountant"
- Don't post the resume confidentially unless it's really necessary. Recruiters prefer to know who they're calling before they pick up the phone or know who they're emailing before they send an email.

As this article pointed out, job boards have come of age and are an important part of a well-planned job search. However, they must be used the right way. A job seeker's goals in searching through job listings should be to learn about the job market and to respond to very well-matched opportunities. Posting resumes is less time consuming and potentially more powerful than job searching. Using a resume posting service can help you get your resume to all the right job boards and save time while doing it. When your clients put all these strategies together, they'll end up with a streamlined method of using job boards that will be effective and free up time for them to invest in other job searching methods as well.

Scott Brown is the author of the Job Search Handbook (http://www.JobSearchHandbook.com). As editor of the HireSites.com weekly newsletter on job searching, Scott has written many articles on the subject. He wrote the Job Search Handbook to provide job seekers with a complete yet easy to use guide to finding a job effectively.