Job Boards Connect.
It has now been over two weeks since I joined many others in the job board industry at London’s Job Boards Connect. JBC is an international gathering for the industry to look at what is happening and what we can expect in the coming months.
The global online staff advertising industry is worth $34Bn, and it has a real impact on people’s employment. For Recruitment Agencies, Staffing Firms and employers advertising for staff, JBC’s discussions are very relevant. I will try to summarise a day’s worth of presentations and discussions.
It is interesting that neither of the world’s biggest players, Indeed or LinkedIn, attends events like this. Maybe they feel they don’t need to. My business, The JobsBoard, is a relatively small player in the sector. Still, it is ambitious to grow in its defined markets, supporting small and medium-sized recruiters and companies and giving free advertising to charities.
So, what were the hot topics at JBC 2024?
The Market’s Pulse.
Like many other countries, the UK is experiencing talent shortages, while some, especially India, have a glut of talent.
There is some consolidation happening amongst job boards. Recently, Monster and CareerBuilder merged, and others may follow.
The other move is vertical integration, with job boards moving up or down the recruitment process. The development with the greatest potential to disrupt is Indeed competing directly with staffing firms that provide temporary labour through IndeedFlex. Watch this space!
User Experience.
Job seekers expect and deserve a simple, clear, relevant, and personalised experience when applying for a job. Job boards need to deliver this and provide a quality experience.
As 77% of people apply for jobs using their mobile phones, your job board or recruitment site needs to optimise the mobile experience; otherwise, you will miss out.
Salary Transparency fits in here, but it was also the subject of lengthy discussion at JBC. Including the salary in your job advert significantly increases the number of applications, but it is also essential in preventing bias in applications. Including salary is mandatory in many countries. The recruitment industry should take the lead here and ensure that salaries are in every advert.
Using AI in the Recruitment process.
Artificial Intelligence has been used for a few years on job boards. Technical improvements mean you can analyse the job seeker data held by job boards and help to improve the recruitment process.
The controversy concerns using AI in the selection process. Systems can select and grade CVs based on given keywords, but is this diminishing the recruitment consultant’s human touch?
One envisaged development is the creation of verified CVs for job seekers. These CVs would have qualifications and employment history checked and locked in, so recruiters and employers knew they were reading a candidate’s true representation. This is some way off, but it could have a positive impact.
So, that was a brief look at JBC 2024. There was much, much more. JBC is a vibrant, collaborative, and fascinating event run by Louise Triance and Louise Grant and supported internationally. Job Boards Connect is back in May and October 2025.
Thank you to all of the delegates who I met for your thoughts and advice.
