Job boards are dying?

Aug 11, 2009

job board grim reaper I would like to add a little bit to the discussion about the future of job boards. As a longtime job board operator, I alternate between being amused by job board bashing and being concerned over the future of our own business. In addition to running a job board, we also have been in the job search engine business for two+ years and run a number of career focused social networks.

It is true that I no longer recommend starting a job board to anyone. That's not because job boards don't have a good future, it is purely a function of the intense competition and rate of change in our industry. The job board business can still be a viable and rewarding place for entrepreneurs who have a lifetime's worth of resources, knowledge and connections in an unserved niche and have the patience to focus on delivering value. If that's not you, take heed of Don Firth's advice: "My best advice is to launch your job board in the late 90s or early 2000s. Today, it's very difficult for any new job board to compete against the established boards."

So what about the job board bashing business? Here is what I think is going on:

During a recession, everyone loves to hate job boards. During the real estate boom, everyone gorged on big houses and every conversation turned magnetically to real estate profits. During the .com bubble, everyone quit their job and started a .com. So what?
A lot of the naysayers have a direct economic stake in bashing job boards. Some are self-evident like a healthcare insurance company that is opposed to health care reform. Of course, they predict doom if reform is enacted. Recruiters are a good example. But, the handful of times I tried to use a recruiter, I asked each one not to use job boards. Each time, the recruiter ignored me and sent me resumes from major job boards. Yes, there are good and bad job boards just as there are good and bad recruiters.
Some commentators and 'gurus' have indirect economic interests in bashing job boards. Bloggers and consultants have to say something. Social networking comes to mind. The media and consultants need predictions and messages. They need something to talk about and sell, the more controversial the better. No message = no readers = no ads & no clients.
Fewer job boards is a good thing. In a bubble, everyone looks smart and most are motivated by greed. It's a very noisy time and it's hard for quality to shine. A recession weeds out competitors who pollute the marketplace with more noise than value. A few barking dogs ruins the neighborhood. Instead of predicting the demise of job boards, let's hear about sites that have actually thrown in the towel.
When we emerge from the recession and companies have to compete for talent again, employers are going to go back to throwing money in every direction. Sure, employers are cutting costs now and job boards are being punished. But talent will never cease to be the lifeblood of free enterprise. It's very likely that the recruiting industry has 10 years of steady growth in front of us. Job boards included.
Some of the bashers are motivated by the simple psychology of envy according to Jeff Dickey-Chasins: job boards are too simple and easy to start to be expensive. I cannot argue with that!

The good news is, recovery is right around the corner now, and pretty soon the wave of bad PR for job boards will begin to fade away, until the next recession!

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