The arrival of job boards was supposed to signal the end of third party recruiting, but the growth of public staffing firms exploded with the advent of online employment. Most managers bemoan the fact that their recruiters are reliant on job boards, but the idea of taking those boards away would frighten them half to death.
And then there's the candidate site. Nick Corcodilos, the maverick headhunter, doesn't like job boards, and thinks that you're a sucker for using them.
Why do otherwise-savvy job hunters even consider using services like CareerBuilder? Because employers promote and prop them up. Companies need to get their heads out of the sand, and their boards of directors need to take an axe to wasteful recruitment spending. Stockholders should be squawking. Any human resources department that is paying for resumes from CareerBuilder and its ilk should be shuttered and boarded up. Recruiters need to get off their duffs and go spend face time in the professional communities from which they recruit, or get out of the business. CareerBuilder, Monster, HotJobs -- they're for dopes.
I would agree, to an extent. If you're a highly qualified, net-savvy job-seeker, the boards are a waste of time, most of the time. Even the best developer knows that if they're busy, and just want a throwaway contract, putting your name on Monster or Dice will give you a load of calls from recruiters. That can be handy, if you're finishing up a contract, or want to move to a new city.
For those net-savvy and well-networked individuals, that's not much of a benefit. But the average person, working in a variety of jobs that aren't technology, can find a lot of benefit from the boards.
If you have a well-defined career path, and your title is not ambiguous, then a job board is a great place to go. I don't buy that 2% number of job board hires. I think it depends on industry and level of talent. I found several jobs through Monster, and I am a great networker. I didn't use Monster solely, but sometimes is just works out that way.
Be careful of experts. Sometimes the only people who benefit from their advice are other experts.
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