Free Job Posting Sites Are Not Always The Answer

In this post, read up on why free job posting websites are not always the answer when it comes to employee recruitment.

Jump To:
What do you get when you use a paid job posting site?
The Benefits of using paid job boards for employers
The Benefits of using paid job boards for job seekers

Job posting sites have revolutionised employee recruitment/job hunting. They have made the process of seeking employees and looking for a job easy for employers and job seekers respectively. This has seen them grow in popularity over the years to become the preferred recruitment/employment platform for many recruiters and job seekers.

Similar to many other online services, job posting websites also come in two flavours: free to use job boards, and premium or paid job boards. Paid job boards charge users (either the job seekers or recruiters, or both) to use their services while free job boards are free for all – obviously.

For job seekers and employers looking to save some money, free job posting sites seem like the obvious choice. While saving money might seem like the prudent thing to do, it’s important to keep in mind that more often than not you get what you pay for. And this holds true when it comes to job posting websites too.

Free means compromise for job sites

Free job posting sites are free mostly because they have compromised in one way or the other. You’ll either get paid job websites that limit how non-paying users interact with the site and what they can do, or a free site that lacks advanced features to make your search easier.

Although job websites are pretty good at what they do – bringing together job seekers and potential employers – the limitations brought about by using the platforms for free make them less effective. This makes it quite difficult for you to get the kind of worker you are looking for or your dream job (in the case of job seekers.)

What do you get when you use a paid job posting site?

The simple answer to this question is that you will be able to achieve your goal much faster as paying for the service will ensure you can fully utilise the job posting website and all its features. But this answer does not provide the full picture, so we shall look at the benefits of using a paid job board from the employers/recruiters perspective as well as that of the job seeker.

The Benefits of using paid job boards for employers

Employers who chose to use paid job boards for their job advertisements do so for these top five benefits:

1. Quick hiring. Paying to get unlimited access to the features of a job posting website will help you acquire the employees you are looking for a lot faster. These features will increase your visibility to potential candidates as well as enable you to conduct unlimited searches within the database to find the kind of talent you are looking for. Depending on the package you choose to pay for, you could also get sponsored ads that make your postings visible to candidates who match your criteria.
2. Access to niche skill sets. There’re some roles that are simply difficult to recruit for e.g. senior hires and technology roles. For these types of roles, you will often be required to use niche/specialist paid job boards to acquire the talent you want. These specialised boards justify their cost by giving you access to high-quality candidates.
3. Competitiveness. If your organisation is in a segment where competition for candidates is high, a paid job ad is a sure way to ensure your vacancy stands out from the mass and reaches the best people.
4. High ranking job ads. Free job ads usually fall in rankings on job websites as new ads are added. Since reposting the ad will not get you back to the top spot, paying to stay high on the job website’s search results will be necessary to ensure your vacancy remains visible so that you can recruit for a particular position for a longer time. This is especially important if you need several employees with similar skills.
5. Access to premium features. Paid job sites give you access to premium features such as candidate applications management, unlimited CV searches, a company profile page, among others. These help to automate and increase the efficiency of your talent search making it easier and more effective.

The Benefits of using paid job boards for job seekers

Job seekers also stand to gain a lot from using paid job websites to look for work. Some of the benefits of using a premium job site include:

1. Notifications for new job postings. Paid job sites will send you an email notification whenever a new job that matches your specifications is added to the site. This way you find out when new jobs are posted without having to visit the website and check manually.
2. Unlimited access to listings. Enrolling in a paid job website gives you unlimited access to job information and listings, and also allows you to have an unlimited number of matches per month. This will make the time it takes for you to get the job you are looking for a lot shorter.
3. Access to your resumes for recruiters. With a paid job website, you’ll have the ability to upload multiple CVs to your profile and make them accessible to recruiters. This way employers who choose to search for employees by themselves instead of waiting for job seekers to find them will be able to find you. Premium job sites will also provide privacy protection to ensure sensitive information about you does not get into the wrong hands.
4. Career coaching and resume critiquing. A paid job site will give you advice to help you make yourself more employable. They’ll provide guidance on how to write compelling resumes and cover letters, how to interview well and also provide coaching to help you optimise your skills for employment.
5. Search tools and filters. Paid job websites will provide you with search tools and filters to help you find the relevant jobs that match what you are looking for. Without these tools, you’d need to spend hours sifting through hundreds of job openings to find the kind of job you want.

Going by the number of benefits you stand to gain, paying to get unlimited access to a job posting website should not be considered an expenditure, but rather an investment to help you find the talent or the job you are looking for.