The 2015 Job Boards Trends Survey results are in, and some definite trends can be distinguished among the nearly 200 respondents questioned for the survey. Among them, five trends in particular can be used to job board owners and users advantage:
- Half of respondents get at least 50,000 unique hits every month
When you consider that most job board owners rely on site traffic for advertising revenue and for credibility to build more employer subscribers, 50,000 unique hits is encouraging. This would be a great statistic to advertise to job seekers and employers alike. The traffic can be interpreted to mean that more job candidates are visiting those sites, or it could be read to mean that more employers are using that particular job board to find qualified employees. Either way, those kinds of traffic numbers are positive.
- The quality of applicants is viewed as valuable for 80% of respondents
This particular statistic bodes well for job applicants, employers, and job board owners. The quality of the job candidates directly reflects on the quality of the job board. It also influences how many employers will use that job board to find quality candidates. In turn, job seekers will be able to rely on those types of job boards to be able to choose from hundreds of jobs. This one is a win-win all round.
- Half of respondent sites get 20% of traffic from mobile devices
As the following article looks at, of the 5 job board trends in 2015, this is perhaps the most telling. You might think that people are at home on their PC or laptop, giving full and serious attention to looking for a new job. But the reality is that many of the job seekers visiting these job boards may already be employed, albeit unhappily. So, they are checking out the job boards from their iPhones and tablets while on break, at lunch, or even in the middle of company meetings. Job board owners need to sit up and pay attention to this one. Their sites should be responsive and mobile ready at the least.
- LinkedIn is threatening in a big way
In fact, most of the job board owner respondents mentioned LinkedIn as one of the top threats to their revenue. Why is that? If you think that LinkedIn is just another social media site, you’re wrong. It’s become one of the top professional networking sites that can be used to drum up business, offer services, and yes – find a job. Job candidates should be building their LinkedIn profiles just as arduously as they build up their resumes, because this trend isn’t going away.
- General jobs board sites get more traffic than niche sites
Specifically, niche job boards get between 5 and 20 new applications each day, whereas general sites get between 11 and 30 new applications each day. Check out Get Outdoor Jobs before you turn your niche job board site into a general one, consider that the uniqueness and quality of your candidates may be better suited to your employer subscriber base. The best course of action in this case may be no action. Sit back and wait, and the tide may turn. Staying on trend with survey results; watching what the competition is up to is always good business; especially when your business is matching employers with qualified employees. About the Author: Kate Supino writes extensively about best business practices.
