080923 What Makes a Great Job Board?

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080923 A Great Job Board?

Topics: All, Job Boards, John Sumser, JohnSumser.com, Online Community, by John Sumser

(Sep 23, 2008) Jason Davis started a great conversation over on RecruitingBlogs.com. Take a look at "Building a successful Job Board". Like most discussions that try to generalize about a big idea, you run into trouble quickly on this topic.

Success is one of those ideas that is entirely in the eye of the beholder. Often, my definition of success is your definition of failure. Here are some examples of the question that get closer to the heart of the matter:

What’s the easiest way to make $100,000/year in TaxTalent.com)
Can I build real wealth in the niche job board business? (hint: see RetirementJobs.com)
How many viable job boards will there be? (a million? more?)
What’s the best way to make a small fortune in the job board business? (Start with a large one.)
Will there always be room for a craigslist in the market? (probably, they’re not really international yet)
What is the role of technology ion a job board? (Sucking up the entrepreneur’s money)
Build or Buy? (Buy)
Won’t assessment change everything and make job boards like eHarmony? (sure. They’ll feature competitive videos of candidates singing "Kumbaya")

There are huge fortunes yet to be made in the job board business. Really.

Expect to see Jobing.com become the role model for the next wave of entrepreneurs. Although their technology is passable, the meaty difference is organizational design and market strategy. With a clear and sustained focus n the local market, Jobing sets a standard for giving both sides of the Recruiting Equation (employers and candidates) more value than they should expect.

With increasing regularity, job boards will be tied to the shared interests and communication styles of specific subsets of the market. Local areas are a smart target, There’s a ton of room for professional job boards in specific regional niches.

It’s somewhat surprising that there aren’t big job boards for Parrot Heads or Dead Heads. The non profit sector is exploding and no entrepreneur has really figured the area out (Jobing does interesting stuff with local non-profits in the cities

About the author

John Sumser

John Sumser is a principal analyst for HRExaminer, an independent analyst firm covering HR Technology and the intersection of people, tech, and work. John’s mix of experience over the course of his career gives him a broad and unique perspective on the industry. Like anyone trying to process a lot of information, he is two or three steps ahead in some areas and still learning about others. Sumser’s work includes deep research into the nooks and crannies of HR Technology to identify and explain rapidly evolving trends. Built on a foundation of engineering, design, and philosophy, John’s seeks to understand and advise clients on where their technology works best, for whom, and in what context. Each year, John examines the insides of hundreds of companies, their products, and ecosystems. He delivers vendor analysis by building the framework from which to deliver the critique. He is constantly connecting and making visible the front end of change. He can help you see the path of evolution and the risks on the journey. The HRExaminer is Sumser’s vehicle for understanding and explaining the inner workings of the industry. With three weekly podcasts, and written commentary, he covers emerging ideas, the state of the industry, and the executives who operate it.