The use of online job boards, especially for sourcing hourly positions, has quickly become most applicants’ favorite tool when searching for a job. According to a study done by Zety, 50% of total applicants come from job boards. With that in mind, many businesses have made use of paid sponsorships on job boards to increase applicant flow and gain an edge within a hyper competitive labor market.
Sponsoring a job posting means the job board will promote your listing to job seekers based on relevant terms. A company typically pays for this service in hopes of attracting applicants faster and in higher numbers. As straightforward as utilizing sponsored jobs sounds, recruiters should approach them with a clear plan before allocating a budget towards this method. Here are five of the best practices to make the most of your sponsored job listings.
Write an Effective Job Description
An Indeed survey found that 52% of applicants say the quality of the job description is “very” or “extremely influential” in whether or not they apply, so it’s critical to optimize your job description to get the best return on your time and money. This is your opportunity to make a good first impression and highlight your company values and culture to applicants. Besides the essentials like the job title, summary, duties/responsibilities, qualifications/skills required, and pay/benefits, there are other ways to make your job description stand out, such as promoting your post on Mondays vs. weekends.
Define Your Ideal Candidate
Knowing specifically what you’re looking for in applicants is crucial when sponsoring job posts, so that you don’t pay for applicants that don’t meet your qualifications. Besides saving money, it’s inefficient for hiring managers to review applicants they can’t hire, so by being specific in your needs you can ensure you’re receiving qualified applicants. If your job board allows prescreening, “dealbreaker” questions for applicants, be sure to make use of the feature.
Familiarize Yourself with Hiring Trends
With over a decade of experience helping over 100,000 locations manage their hourly workforce, we know that while many industries require a flow of new applicants year-round, hiring isn’t consistent throughout the entire year. Identifying the best time to sponsor posts can ensure that businesses are budgeting effectively, while also aiding their hiring needs. Certain months may see fewer applicants but more hires, or vice versa, so it’s important to familiarize yourself with the trends among your applicant flow to best know when and how to utilize your listings.
Test the Waters
Sponsoring listings may seem like a no brainer to help your company stand out, especially in industries that have more competition for applicant flow. However, budgeting for a large scale, expensive sponsoring campaign right away could be a poor fit for your business. No two businesses are alike, and neither are their needs. The best way to figure out how to make the most of sponsored job listings is to test out different approaches within the platform to see if sponsored listings are an effective way to create more applicant flow for your company. Sponsored job listings are a tool, and it’s important to figure out how they can best help you.
Make it Easy
Hiring managers are busy, and sponsored job listings exist to make their lives easier. That being said, these listings may still require time and attention to reach their full potential. Integrating job boards through your talent management solution can help streamline the process, allowing managers to set campaign time frames and budgets with only a few clicks. Sponsored listings are there to make recruiting easier – the process of using sponsored listings should be easy, too.
Need help deciding which job board strategy is best for your company? Read our blog post, How to Choose the Best Job Board Strategy for Hiring Hourly Workers.