Expect free job boards to flourish during a downturn

by Brett Iredale July 30, 2008

In an economic downturn free job boards should flourish.

Advertisers know they need to keep advertising even when times are tight however constricting budgets will mean they will be looking for more cost effective solutions.

This does not include startups who hope to attract advertisers with $10 or $29 or $79 job ads.  Startup job boards heading into the next 12 months should be frantically revising their strategies because job advertisers are even less likely to be taking punts on start up job boards now, no matter what the price per ad.

A fascinating article on Interbiznet today reinforces the importance of continued advertising during a downturn.  You can read the article here but some of the highlights are:

  • Maintaining a company's advertising during an economic downturn will give the image of corporate stability within a chaotic business environment, and give the advertiser the chance to dominate the advertising media
  • Economic downturns reward the aggressive advertiser and penalize the timid one
  • When times are good, you should advertise; when times are bad, you must advertise

Not everyone can afford to increase or even maintain advertising budgets through a downturn so this is where free job boards will become a great option for those looking to maintain branding and awareness when times are tight.


9 CommentsAdd your own

1. Kevin Howard July 30, 2008 at 11:15am

That's all very well Brett, but in a downturn recruiters usually have less jobs, that means less jobs to advertise.

At the end of the day, smart recruiters look for value. There is no value in free jobs boards if they don't deliver the candidates you need. It's just a waste of time.

However, here in Australia we are not having a 'downturn', yet, although I'm sure we could talk ourselves into one ;)

2. Brett July 30, 2008 at 11:39am

I agree the market is still pretty good Kevin but I think many will beg to differ.
Gerry Harvey in this morning's SMH for example.

Smart recruiters explore all avenues.

3. Mariel Castro July 30, 2008 at 12:07pm

Kevin's got it right on the money.

Hopefully those recruiters who are not paying attention to where their candidates come from will begin to soon.

In my experience, when it comes to candidate sourcing, we've had a substantial number of employers at both extremes.

Some ask us to exactly list how many boilermakers we've placed in the northern Sydney suburbs of Chatswood and Hornsby.

I've also had employers tell me they have no idea where their successful candidates come from as they don't keep track.

The mind boggles on the latter.

4. Matthew King July 31, 2008 at 11:00pm

I personally see free job boards can be an alternative for smaller recruitment agencies to maximise their jobs exposure to attract as much candidates as possible.... some new job board like http://jobs.adoos.com.au, http://www.jobmarket.com.au and http://www.ozjobster.com not only offering free job post but with functions that are quite attractive for a free job board.

5. confused August 1, 2008 at 10:32am

How will any job board flourish if they are NOT receiving revenue for the service and candidates they provide? A get-something-for-nothing mentality from advertisers only drives new job boards backwards and puts the established general and niche job boards in a stronger position.

6. Thomas Shaw August 1, 2008 at 11:42am

Matthew, those new free job sites you have mentioned contain little or no jobs at all. With one claiming "Thousands of vacancies across a range of industries, nationwide" were infact there is around 12 roles.

ReverseJobs.com.au & nowhiring.com.au are stand out leaders in the free job boards.

nt3.com.au and jobslive.com.au have both failed to make any impact at all in the marketplace.

7. Carey Eaton August 1, 2008 at 3:59pm

You've failed to mention that advertisers will need to pay Jobadder or one of your illustrious competitors to get those jobs onto those free sites Brett :-)

Unless you're promising everyone free lunch?

8. Brett August 4, 2008 at 8:58am

We don't have any illustrious competitors Carey. But no not at all, NowHiring.com.au and others were doing well long before JobAdder come along.

I speak from experience as we launched NowHiring in a very down market and it is an acknowledged fact that advertisers are more inclined to consider options such as free job boards in a challenging market. Of course when I say "free job boards" I really mean job boards where the job listings are free. I don't mean they do it all out of love.

I would expect any "free" job board to still have a revenue model otherwise they are just the empty Mcdonalds containers and plastic shopping bags of the internet.

9. Declan O August 7, 2008 at 12:38pm

If we do go into a downturn anyone with half a brain will still keep advertising heavily for obvious reasons. Anyone with any decent negotiation skills will also use it to their advantage. So there.

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