080926 Great Job Board 3

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080926 Great Job Board 3

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

(Sep 25, 2008) To wrap this up, let’s explore the idea that a great job board is all in the eye of the beholder. If it gives me more value, of a kind that I want, than I invest, it’s a good thing. If it gives me less value than I invest in it, it’s a waste of my time and energy.

The reality is just that simple. While execution can range in complexity, it all boils down to "do I get back more than I give?" for each and every one of the stake holders.

Hmmm, that looks like a nice dead horse. Let’s beat it a bit more.

Free is not enough (on the candidate side). A job board has to return more than I invest in time AND money. Most of the cost of using a job board is not the expense of paying for an ad. The majority of the cost is my time and my
opportunity costs (the value of the other things I could be doing when I waste my time on your free job board).

There is a non-subtle point here:

What you give away for free has to be worth getting. There

In a recent article on the attention economy, Kevin Kelly said:

"this tight coupling between attention and money is dependable, bankable. Google made its billions because in addition to having a service that people wanted (the assumed minimum) it knew that sooner or later (and probably sooner than later) where attention flowed, money would follow. They won constant attention by providing slightly better performance and vastly better design. In the beginning they did not know exactly how the money would flow, only that it would. Facebook, Myspace, Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, and thousands of other startups are working on the same principle. Right now the attention of readers has shifted from newspapers and magazines to blogs. We can say with certainty that money will follow this shift. Fortunes have already begun to flight from print to the screen, and the world of media will continue to tilt towards the flow of attention."
– Kevin Kelly, The Technium

A great job board (or for that matter, a great anything online) involves a balncing act. Attention and value for both sides of the deal are at the heart of the matter.

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.

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