Human Resources Kit For Dummies
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Job boards are extremely popular with job seekers. These websites, used by employers to advertise jobs, may be the best way for a company to reach a large number of candidates quickly. Literally thousands of job boards cover virtually every industry, profession, educational background, experience level, ethnic group, and much more.

Two of the best-known traditional job boards are CareerBuilder and Monster. These and similar sites cover a wide range of industries and locations.

Complementing them are niche job boards, which more closely target their audiences by focusing, for example, on a particular profession or field. Dice, for example, is a popular job search site for information technology professionals. LawCrossing focuses on legal positions, and eFinancialCareers is dedicated to jobs for financial services professionals.

Another type of job board is an aggregator, such as Indeed, Simply Hired, and many others. These services pull together job listings from thousands of sites across the web, including traditional job boards, newspaper and classified listings, professional associations, social networks, content sites, and company career sites. Then they distribute those jobs on their websites, as well as on social networks, blogs, and other website partners.

Clients can gain premium placement across aggregators’ networks through pay-per-click advertising, whereby advertisers pay each time their posting is clicked. Some aggregators are more specifically targeted, including jobs from company websites only, for example.

These are just a few of the job boards existing today. You can be confident that, by the time you’re reading this, many others will have joined their ranks — or replaced them.

Part of job boards’ appeal is their ability to help you locate qualified candidates at extremely low costs. More candidates for less money? Sounds like a hiring manager’s dream. But hang on. It also can become a nightmare if not managed properly.

For starters, it has the potential to dramatically increase the number of responses to your ads. Many HR managers report that they have great difficulty even keeping track of submissions. Even small companies can receive hundreds of résumés from a single posting, depending on the position and job market.

Online job boards come with a number of legal implications that you need to understand and properly manage. You must consider an alphabet soup of laws affecting the handling of online job ads and candidate responses.

Any time you post a job opening, make sure that you don’t imply that candidates can apply for the job electronically only. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) stipulate that employers can’t discriminate in any aspect of the employment process. This rule, of course, includes interactions via the Internet.

This requirement is particularly important given the fact that some candidates may not only send you résumés electronically but may also direct you to web pages that extensively showcase their accomplishments and qualifications. Keep in mind that those without access to such online tools deserve an equal chance to be considered for a position as those who do have access.

Being responsive to job applicants is simply good business practice. Anyone who comes in contact with your company forms a perception that can influence the firm’s reputation. A simple, straightforward message sent to all applicants is a good way to showcase your organization’s professionalism.

About This Article

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Max Messmer is chairman and CEO of Robert Half International, the world's largest specialized staffing firm. He is one of the leading experts on human resources and employment issues.

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