Cheezhead Recruiting News and Opinion

Remember the old days when launching a job site actually meant having to sell job postings? Suckers!

With plug-and-play APIs from the likes of Google, Oodle, Simply Hired and Indeed, any knucklehead can launch a job site today and likely have as many jobs as its closest competitor.

Not one to be left behind, JobCentral is getting ready to open up its API to the masses. Although the site lags behind in quantity – ca. 6 million vs. ca. 500,000 – the content they do have comes exclusively from direct employers, making it less cluttered. And unlike some other free APIs, JobCentral is offering an unlimited amount of searches, as opposed cutting off the data after a certain number per day without paying the provider.

To find out more, we bugged The Chad just long enough for him to give us some more insight.

Q. Why open an API?
A. Hundreds of sites have been taking JobCentral’s XML downloads for years. Unfortunately most of the smaller sites could not handle the size of our files, so an open API was the next logical step in helping smaller companies/sites fully embrace JobCentral’s National Labor Exchange efforts.

Q. How do you choose who gets access and who doesn’t?
A. The API will be open to anyone. Interested parties will request an API key and JobCentral staff will review their site to ensure the JobCentral content is not used in a questionable manner.

Q. Do you plan on monetizing the API (if not already)?
A. No.

Q. For sites currently using your API, what has been the early feedback?
A. The feedback has been incredibly positive due to the ease of set-up, flexibility, and the cost (FREE) doesn’t hurt either. [Note: Partner site Disaboom represents a live example of the JobCentral API.)

Q. How about customization? If an association in New York just wants NY content, for example, will you parse their database as such?
A. Yes, participating sites will have the flexibility to geo-target for local jobs, filter by occupational code for industry specific jobs, provide military crosswalk capabilities and much more.

There you have it. Coming soon. If you’re looking to launch your own career center, or just want to supplement the job content you already have, the JobCentral API may be the way to go. Contact Chad Sowash for more details.

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