It is well known that job boards are used by companies for posting and distributing job vacancies in order to reach the talent needed. However, nowadays, several other alternatives are used by them in order to find their rare pearl. The trend belongs to the professional networking platform LinkedIn which allows you to do specific research and gain access to a large bank of potential candidates.

Here is a translation of an article by Don Goodman, published on the Career realism website, which provides 5 reasons that make job sites less effective than they used to be.

For the original article, click here!

Here is the summary :

Before, job boards were the primary resource for job seekers. This was the place to make his resume available to employers and recruiters and to apply on job openings. Today it is different.

With the advent of social networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, it is easy to reach the right contacts with the help of its network of connections. In fact, posting sites have a 2-4% efficiency rate versus networking with a 50% rate.

Put yourself in the shoes of a hiring manager, would you prefer to meet an unknown candidate or a candidate who has been referred to you?

The referred candidate is less risky when it comes time to fill a position, and that's why networking outperforms job boards.
Here are some other points that demonstrate the limitations of job boards:

1. Your resume ends up in a black hole

Over 85% of companies use software to sort and rank resumes by skills, experience and keywords According to a human resources manager, out of around 400 applications received for a job opportunity, only the top 10-20 cv are watched.

2. A hundred candidates applied before you saw the offer on the job site

Before being posted on the job board, the position to be filled has already been shared by internal employees. So when you send your application through a site, your application is already behind several others.

3. You are wasting your time because your application does not go directly to the hiring manager

You're much more likely to be referred to the hirer directly, and you can accomplish this with the help of a networking site and not through a job site.

4. Several job offers were not displayed on the job boards

Employers receive a large number of applications, which are not always relevant, when they post a job opportunity on bulletin boards. This is one of the reasons that some companies work with recruiters who allow better targeting of profiles. Not having a network of contacts can cause you to miss out on great opportunities either, those that are not posted on job boards.

5. Employers and recruiters look for talent on the LinkedIn platform

The majority of hiring managers looking for a candidate turn to LinkedIn to find their rare gem. Job resumes posted on job boards are often not up to date, while on the networking platform LinkedIn, the information is generally more current.

Do not think that this is the end for job sites since they remain an essential resource for job seekers. However, your job search will prove to be more productive if you use your connections to connect with the right contacts.

To read the article, follow this link.