Busting Past the Job Board Mentality for the Job Search

Most job seekers believe they must post résumés on job boards to find a job. While job boards may be a good tool, they are not the be-all and end-all of a job search strategy.

As a former internal recruiter/employment specialist for a major aerospace corporation, this is how I recruited new employees:

First, I looked at the succession plans for current employees. I asked employees if they were ready to move up the ladder to fill higher-level positions or if they were interested in a lateral position that would provide them with additional skill sets. 

For example:

• An aircraft mechanic might be interested in completing an A&P license to obtain the position of aircraft inspector.
• A project lead might be interested in obtaining a PMP certification to move into project manager positions.
• An administrative assistant might be interested in obtaining an undergraduate degree to move into a higher-level administration or analyst role.
• A Project Manager (PMP) might be interested in moving into a more senior role requiring a clearance.
• A deputy director may be interested in a promotion to director. 

After filling positions via succession plans, I asked employees corporate-wide if they could recommend anyone who might be a good fit for my open job orders. These requests led to referrals. I could then interview someone who knew someone who worked at my company. And if it was a hard-to-fill position, I used my budget to offer a bonus to the employee who referred a candidate who then became hired and remained employed for 12 months.

If these methods did not work, I contacted associations, attended conferences, contacted alumni career offices, and attended job fairs. I tried to get as much “face-time” as possible. 

So far, most of these recruiting approaches were low-cost and focused on hiring candidates that our employees knew or via referrals from other vetted sources, e.g., associations and alumni career offices. 

If my efforts were expended without a viable candidate, I contacted external recruiters/agencies and posted jobs on different platforms. These methods used my budget quickly and did not guarantee any referrals or that I was hiring someone who knew someone, or who knew someone. 

I recently spoke with a hiring manager at a storefront business with about 100 employees. She informed me that she recruits for her admin-type positions by word of mouth. She stated that 99+% of her admin/front desk/receptionist roles are filled by word of mouth and referrals. She spends zero on advertising for these jobs.

For her specialty positions like doctors, business developers, and practice managers, she first asks for referrals from her staff and posts positions through her industry association for a nominal fee. If she cannot place a specialty position, she advertises on Indeed (her preferred job board) for about $800 per ad/position for one month. If the job board does not deliver a viable candidate, she pays a recruiting agency upwards of $40K to find her a viable employee. She stated that it costs her money to have a vacant position, and even though it pains her budget, sometimes it is worth the recruiter fee to help secure a new employee. 

I explain the recruiters’/hiring managers’ perspective to help you, as a career coach, help your clients understand that putting all of their energy into applying for hundreds of jobs on job boards—and not building relationships, networking, and communicating with others—means the candidate is missing out on scores of jobs that are never posted. 

Many job seekers focus on job boards. They create spreadsheets of all the jobs they apply for online. They get discouraged when they are ghosted, and never hear back from an application for which they believed they were the perfect candidate. By investing most of their job search energy into job boards, they miss out on potentially great-fit positions because they are unwilling or uninterested in “networking.”

A job seeker’s most significant strategy must be communicating with others, and breaking away from only applying on job boards. They need to flip the pyramid and put energy into tapping into the job market for positions that are not posted. Examples include:

• Attend an association meeting or conference, and volunteer to manage the registration table – this provides a superior opportunity to meet people in the industry.
• Mingle through local job fairs, bring a hard copy résumé, and meet recruiters – this puts a face to the résumé.
• Join “networking groups” in the local community to gain visibility.
• Mention to your friend that you are seeking new employment – ask for referrals.
• Talk to someone in your industry, and ask them if they know anyone hiring.
• Volunteer in the community for a good cause in a position that will put you in touch with many other people. Ask where they work.
• If you have a hobby, join a group, e.g., bowling, hiking, cooking, walking dogs, etc. Meeting people outside your regular circle will expose you to new people who may receive a company referral bonus if they refer a viable candidate. 
• Attend virtual job fairs, meetings, training, or conferences if you are not able to attend in-person events. 

To solidify this theory, when I worked as a special agent investigator, one of my colleagues left to work at an aerospace company. A year later, the employment office sought an employment specialist to set up the background investigation process for new hires. He recommended me. I endured several interviews and was hired (he received a referral bonus from the company).  A year later, my section expanded, and my supervisor asked me if I could refer someone to fill a new position. I recommended two colleagues, and one was hired. 

A young adult, post-college, was seeking employment. She applied for over 200 job board positions and was very reluctant to contact people on LinkedIn – she considered it “cold calling”.  While attending a meeting of voting volunteers for the next election and just talking to other people at the meetings, she mentioned her desire to find a job in the legislature. A week later, she received a call, was interviewed, and received a paying internship. 

A laid-off man contacted a company in his industry and asked for an interview. He described his experience and expertise and asked if they would hire him on a trial basis. That was 12 years ago.

These are all common stories of people mingling or reaching out to others. 

Job boards can be a good tool for research. They tell job seekers potentially where jobs might be opening up—for example, if a company suddenly opens up scores of positions in an industry or a company. They are also a good tool for reviewing job descriptions and helping candidates find good-fit positions. However, applying to job boards against potentially hundreds or thousands of others and being ghosted or informed that your resume did not make the “cut” is a difficult process. 

One of our clients’ best job search strategies is to change their mindset and focus on meeting people instead of only applying for jobs on job boards. They need to learn to think and act like a recruiter.