Gerry Crispin and Mark Mehler of CareerXRoads have produced their 8th Annual Source of Hire Study (PDF). It’s a worthwhile read that gives insight into the activities and mindsets of recruiters.
During the month of January 2009, we invited our contacts in more than 200 large (5000+ employees), high-profile, firms to participate in our study by supplying information about their sources of hire as well as a few of their related hiring practices for 2008. 55 firms responded by January 30, 2009 … 45 firms completed our January, 2009 survey. These firms employed approximately 1,863 recruiters and sourcers and filled 309,600 openings during 2008.
Key findings range from a desire to reduce hires (and associated costs) attributed to third-party recruiters, newspapers and job boards, while increasing tactics connected to social networks and search engine marketing to how important referrals are to recruiting.
Of job boards, the executive summary said, “We believe [job boards as a] source of hire has indeed peaked and predict it will diminish in the future.” Their study revealed 12.3 percent of external hires come through job boards.
Monster led from the choices listed, followed by CareerBuilder, LinkedIn, Direct Employers, HotJobs and TheLadders. According to the report, however, between the two, more hires come from CareerBuilder, saying “within the category, Monster has lost ground to CareerBuilder.”
“The two of them account for half the job board hires but both are losing ground to the ‘long-tail’ of niche sites, social networks and other online search engine marketing capabilities that are expanding their reach. The gray area where boards are morphing into much broader suites of services makes it difficult to draw hard and fast conclusions.”
Vertical search engines like Indeed.com and Simply Hired were noticeably absent from the options. Considering the growth of Indeed.com, this was an interesting omission. According to Crispin, “The vertical search engines are there under job boards (Aggregate – 1.7%). They are, in my opinion, still poorly tracked.
“If the job seeker goes to google and types in electrical engineer job in phoenix and gets a link to Simply Hired which provides another link to the IEEE which links to the job description on the company site, your guess is as good as mine and clearly the dilution of SEM, aggregate job boards, company site etc. make it extremely difficult to analyze sources well enough to make a decision on where to spend 2009 budget. Even if there is data in the field – which is the point most people overlook – the report focuses on what is needed to improve the quality of the data, not accept it as a benchmark.”
Niche boards got particular recognition in the study as well. When asking employers to name three niche sites used to generate hires, a total of 60 were mentioned. Dice, Jobing, Craigslist and JobCentral were all highlighted in this category.
“The growth of niche sites is due in no small measure to the ease of use of job distribution services such as JobTarget.com (one of dozens of competing firms in the category, JobTarget is a prime example of how the category has grown as it has built a solid relationship with SHRM and is marketed to SHRM’s 250,000 members), the study noted. “This job distribution category offers user-friendly means for a firm to select niche sites to post, automate the posting, and aid in the measurement of results.”
Lastly, near and dear to our hearts, search engine marketing (SEM) seems to be gaining momentum and is noted as a potential threat to traditional job boards. “This category is growing rapidly as firms learn about and develop internal capabilities or partner with suppliers and vendors. We believe this is one of the potential tools to disintermediating traditional job boards.”
The entire study and more information can be found at CareerXRoads.
Popularity: 4% [?]
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:49 pm
It’s my belief that Yahoo! Hotjobs should no longer be classified as a “job board.” I am currently using them and although I am represented on the Hotjobs space with postings I am running search marketing campaigns through Yahoo! Hotjobs is also able to behaviorally target the entire Yahoo network. That puts my recruitment based advertisements in front of 140 million monthly visitors.
Joel, we know you hate Monster and everyone knows that Careerbuilder is run by money hungry hard-ons. I think it’s time to stop labeling Hotjobs as a job board, they have expanded our recruiting horizons.
March 3rd, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Good article and study both interesting. Thanks.
March 3rd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
According to this study job referrals are clearly more effective than job board postings. It’s who you know before what you know.
March 3rd, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Good article, thanks for providing the PDF!
Cheers!
- Jessica M
Akken staffing software and recruiting software
March 3rd, 2009 at 7:11 pm
Companies need to start becoming more proactive then reactive when it comes to recruiting. Its cheaper in the long run.
http://jobsinpods.com
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:26 pm
Thanks for the insight Hunter. How are you progressing toward your goal? I hear they are pealing back HJ’s goals for Q1 due to the economy. You do work at HJ, right?
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:43 pm
Here’s my problem… of the 20% of hires from the Corporate Career Site, I would bet my bottom dollar that at least 50% of the traffic to a corporate career site comes from a job board. Most ATS systems still do a HORRIBLE jobs of tracking where a job seeker came from. I also feel that Corporate HR has a tendency to give credit to the Corporate Career Site more because it is a source they own…and who wouldn’t want to make their own source look better.
March 4th, 2009 at 1:09 am
Robert- I agree that jobs do drive some traffic to company ATS’ and it could be tracked better, but Crispen targeted “(5000+ employees), high-profile, firms to participate in our study” and to think that candidates could not find these high profile companies by simply using Google is just plain silly. Many of the fortune 500 don’t use Job Boards and rely on their own website to drive traffic through organic search results. Boards are great for business that cannot drive search engine traffic on their own and that’s about it.
March 4th, 2009 at 10:29 am
Associations, especially if they’re credentialling bodies, are the way to go as far as niche job boards are concerned. They have far more targetted audiences and anymore have as sophisticated functionality as anything else. A relationship with an association also potentially opens up more opportunities for a company to really play a role in an industry. Would like to see CareerXRoads look at that a little closer. …says the person who works at an association. :)
March 4th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Search engine marketing and SEO are definitely changing the way many things are done online.
March 5th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
“…Boards are great for business that cannot drive search engine traffic on their own and that’s about it.”
-Really?! I’d like to see some data to back up this grand claim. Fortune 500s are all over boards, and use the marketing channels provided by the big ones to drive lots of traffic to their corp. sites, board postings, and to create general mindshare on the internet. And even with a large corp site, check out some 3rd party metrics on their career page traffic vs the traffic generated with a successful campaign on a board (yes, for only their company). It’s scary how much the “big picture” escapes this industry…
March 6th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Job Boards like all other business functions will have to evolve with time and possibley utilise social media sites in an innovative way.
March 9th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
It’s been said that job search is increasingly becoming more relationships-based. I definitely see truth in this as companies seek to reduce hiring risks by running with pre-vetted candidates.
March 12th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
One job board diminishing at a fast rate is Jobing.com. They are finishing up on yet another around of layoffs. 40+ AND they have now canceled their job fairs in all markets except Phoenix.
March 13th, 2009 at 11:17 am
Severance- I hear that their Houston office just took a hit today, Dallas yesterday, Denver the day before and their Fort Worth office is no more. Seems more people will lose their jobs today, too. Some Jobing locations have a habit of letting people work thru the end of the day on Friday and then firing them.
March 13th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Danny – Of course they will have you work thru the day. As far as they are concerned if they are going to pay you for the day they want their moneys worth. At this point it is strictly about the numbers. You stand two Joblings side by side with the same job title, one has a wrap car and the other doesn’t, they are going to let the one WITH the wrapped car GO. That is an extra $6000 a year not counting the gas.
March 23rd, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Jobing has their downsizing to an art form.
1. They don’t “layoff”, they FIRE people! Makes a big difference in unemployment costs.
2. No severance packages offered.
3. They don’t offer any sick or vacation days to any of their employees so no payouts. It also gives them a reason to fire someone if they need time off since there is no set amount of days an employee can have.
So there is the 3 step plan of how to downsize at no financial risk from Jobing.com.
GOOO JOBING!!!
March 24th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
in response to Just ask Aaron Matos CEO of Jobing.com, your information is totally and completely incorrect.
just to counter your points…
1. They don’t “layoff”, they FIRE people! Makes a big difference in unemployment costs.
–in times like this it is just semantics. many released were done so because of performance in conjunction with the poor economy. jobing is not immune to the troubles in the labor market.
2. No severance packages offered.
–everyone i know who was release was given some kind of severance package with their insurance continued through the end of the month of the last paycheck received.
3. They don’t offer any sick or vacation days to any of their employees so no payouts. It also gives them a reason to fire someone if they need time off since there is no set amount of days an employee can have.
–the reason jobing doesn’t have a policy like this is because they are pro-employee. they believe that if someone needs the time they take the time and the take what they need. it is very progressive and was done in the benefit of the employee. i know many employees who benefited from the policy.
i offer these thoughts as fact and not opinion because i was employed with jobing.com for more than 2 years. i was laid off 7 months ago and i agreed with the layoff due to what was right for the business. my function was no longer required given the current state of the business.
i was offered a generous severance package with insurance benefits extended during that time.
during the first 9 months i was employed, i required time off for three surgeries for family members, of which two required me out of the office for extended periods of time. i was told to take as much time as i needed. the only thing i was asked to do was keep my team informed.
while i am no longer with jobing, i still have a deep love for the people and mission. i drank the kool aid and loved it. i was heart broken when my employment ended. everyone searches for a job they are passionate about, one where they love going to work everyday because it isn’t work. that is what i had there.
as i told aaron and brian the day i was let go, it was a hell of a ride and i hope i get a chance to get on again.
good luck and go jobing!
March 25th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Michael,
Thank you for verifying the truth in my statements. Like how Jobing does NOT offer sick or vacations days and it is very true that they use that as leverage to FIRE people when they need time off. Lucky for you that you were in Aaron’s and Brian’s good graces when you needed time off. Not all people were as fortunate as you.
It is also very true that when Jobing started downsizing many months ago they FIRED people for “performance issues” as apposed to laying them off with a severance package. You can spin it anyway you want, but the reality is that Jobing needed to shed weight in a falling economy and that was the cheapest way to do it. Did they do anything illegal? Probably not. Was it wrong? I would say it was and I am sure that the People who were effected would agree.
Jobing is a small company and the people who work there are like family, a family of sheep.
Good for you that you “drank the Kool Aid and loved it”. I drank the Kool Aid as well, but Jobing puts way too much sugar in it and after the sugar high wears off it leaves a very bitter taste in your mouth.
GO JOBING!!! Or get fired from Jobing.
March 26th, 2009 at 9:50 am
Just ask Aaron Matos CEO of Jobing.com i believe you are excellent in the art of spinning information to prove your point. clearly you are upset by your current situation and i completely understand your pain. i was very upset by my layoff as i no longer would work for a company i love. i suspect you are not the only person in your inner circle whose employment was affected by the current state of the economy. if jobing did one thing wrong it was keeping employees around too long. no ceo likes to let good people go and i suspect aaron agonized over the decision very long. to your point, i was not in aaron or brian’s good graces. i was simply an employee who worked hard for the company and was thankful for the opportunity presented. if you work hard and are committed to your success, it is recognized accordingly.
i hope you overcome your anger quickly as it is going to hamper your ability to find a great opportunity. utilize this time to ask yourself some tough questions about who you are and what you want to do. everyone deserves the right to be happy. find the right opportunity and company that is going to give get you where you want to be, you deserve it.
i wish you the best of luck in your job search. i hope you find something soon
March 26th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
Michael,
Shame on you for so ignorantly assuming you know my situation. Not that it is relevant, but I am very happy with the work I am in now. My departure from Jobing was untimely but a blessing.
The things I have written are not only on my behalf, but on the behalf of many of my good friends who are current and former Jobing employees.
I would like to make it clear that all the statements I have made about jobing and their carelessness of their employees livelihood are in fact very true.
There are many other things I could bring to light if you care to continue this conversation. Otherwise, go drink some Kool Aid.
Don’t be a sheep and DON’T GO JOBING!!!
March 27th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Just ask Aaron Matos CEO of Jobing.com, feel free to contact me if you wish to continue the discussion offline.
March 30th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
No, I’ll pass. However I do plan to comment on every blog on every site that has Jobing’s name in it, so I am sure we will talk again.
For a company that has such a community focus and that is so image conscious it surprises me that Aaron would have condoned. I hope it was worth it for him.
March 31st, 2009 at 7:23 pm
Image conscious is right. I just saw the most recent Go Jobing! Magazine for 2009 and they are still using a group photo of the staff taken back in September of 2008. WHY? Because they don’t want all their clients (employers)to see that Jobing has shrunk to the numbers they are at now. Hilarious consider there was always a new group photo taken each and every magazine.