Getting your job openings seen by job seekers and hiring the best candidates within a reasonable timeframe is usually the brief for employers and recruiters whenever a talent shortfall occurs. It sounds simple enough, but anyone who has tried to write job ads or been confronted by a list of hundreds of job boards will tell you it isn’t quite so straightforward.
In this article, we take the topics of how to advertise jobs and where to advertise jobs head-on, sharing tips on creating job descriptions and job ads and an employment brand, before sharing our directory of job posting sites and job boards.
You will gain valuable insights on:
- How to advertise jobs
- Job posting sites
- Fixed cost recruitment solutions
- Job board directory
How to advertise jobs
Before you can post jobs, you need to line all your ducks up in a row to ensure your hiring strategy is effective and successful. You will need to write a job description and job ad and infuse your employment brand:
Writing a job description
Creating a job description is the first step in finding potential candidates. A job description will be immensely useful when writing a job post, shortlisting potential candidates, interviewing talent, making a hiring decision, and assessing employee performance.
The job description should:
- Define job duties and responsibilities
- Highlight required job skills
- Set key performance indicators
To ensure you hire the right candidates, it is vital to discuss duties, skills, and performance benchmarks with line managers and key decision-makers.
Writing a job advert
Your job advert should integrate your job description, or a summary of it, adding further information essential for job seekers. A job title is the first addition. The job title should reflect the role accurately, and it will help to consider what job seekers might search for on job boards and a job search engine.
The first sentence of the job ad should promote why your company is a great employer. The job description is the next item to add, and job postings that perform well often follow this narrative with a bullet point list of responsibilities, personal attributes, qualifications, location, salary range (annual or per month), benefits, and perks.
A call to action is the final element. You may want to encourage qualified applicants to send their resumes by email or include a link to an online job application form.
Infusing your employment brand
For your job listing to attract the attention of active and passive candidates, it needs to portray and promote your employment brand. Failing to do so can result in job listings that look like every other, and job seekers will simply pass them by.
Your employment brand should be evident on your company careers page. If it isn’t, it is time to update it, including elements such as your company culture, story, vision, mission, and values. Don’t overlook this step in the hiring process because many candidates that find your job post on job boards or social media will visit your careers page before deciding whether to apply.
All of your job openings can be listed, but they should have their own temporary page, which is essential if you want them displayed by a job search engine, such as Google for Jobs.
Job posting sites
There are various types of job posting sites allowing you to pay or post jobs for free. Deciding where to post jobs online depends on your recruitment budget, candidate requirements, and recruiting timeframe.
Paid job boards
The top job boards that deliver the highest number of qualified job seekers are paid, either per job posting or for an annual quota. Sometimes referred to as sponsored jobs, your job postings remain visible on key pages, appear in job alerts, and when job seekers perform a job search.
The best job boards often include additional features for recruiters and employers, such as a resume database or cross-posted jobs on partner sites.
Free job boards
Many of the top job boards allow you to post jobs for free or sign-up for offers such as a free trial for seven days. However, posting a job for free usually means low visibility, and a job listing is unlikely to be seen by top talent.
Free job advertising probably isn’t the best way to engage with a talent pool unless your hiring budget is zero. Having said this, your open positions should appear on your company’s social media pages. Posting jobs on social media should include LinkedIn and Facebook.
Niche job boards
Posting a job on a niche job board can be an excellent choice if you want to refine your target audience. You can post your jobs on a niche job posting site that focuses on design, technology, science, sales etc. You can also post your job on a freelance job board to target hourly employees or hire remote workers. A college recruiter may also direct students towards a job board focusing on internships or graduate jobs.
Job aggregators
A job aggregator job board brings job openings together from various sources, such as paid job boards, free trial sites, company careers pages, associations, and even a classifieds site. Candidates typically choose job aggregators to view the whole job market in one place and find the best job opportunity.
Fixed cost recruitment solutions
Whether you have a single job to post or many, fixed cost recruitment solutions help you manage your hiring costs and attain the level of exposure you desire. Fixed cost hiring packages will help you cover all your bases, from social media to aggregators and free and paid job boards.
When you post your job openings, you can save a considerable amount of time and hassle by posting your job opening on multiple sites in a few clicks.
With an integrated applicant tracking system, you can manage and automate many actions within the hiring process. These include exporting and exporting candidate resumes, searching your resume database, screening applicants, emailing rejections, arranging interviews, presenting job offers, and creating hiring reports.
Job board directory
Paid job boards:
- Career Builder
- Glassdoor
- IEEE Jobsite
- Indeed
- Job2Careers
- LinkedIn Recruiter
- Monster
- NationJob
- Net-Temps
- Nexxt
- Resume-library
- SmartRecruiters
- Snag (formerly Snagajob)
- TheLadders
Free job boards:
- Adzuna
- Craigslist Jobs
- Gigajob
- Google for Jobs
- Indeed
- Jobs.com
- Jora
- Labor Ready
- LinkUp
- Simply Hired
- WhatJobs?
- ZipRecruiter
Niche job board directory
Design job sites:
Education & college students job sites:
- AfterCollege
- CollegeRecruiter.com
- CoolWorks
- Edjoin.org
- HigherEdJobs.com
- Internships.com
- NAFSA
- TESOL Career Center
- The Chronicle
Executive & senior manager job sites:
Finance job sites:
Freelance & remote job sites:
Healthcare job sites:
Hospitality job sites:
Geographical job sites:
- America’s Job Exchange
- Careeronestop
- EveryJobForMe.com
- Jobing.com
- Job Target
- LocalJobster
- OrlandoJobs.com
- Regionalhelpwanted.com
Information technology job sites:
Journalism, media, & marketing job sites:
Logistics job sites:
Sales job sites:
Science job sites:
Startup job sites:
Veteran job sites:
Job aggregators jobsite directory
Job aggregators:
FAQs on how to post jobs
Next, we answer your questions on job posts and hiring talent.
To start posting a job, you need to write a job description, convert this into a job advert, and post it on your careers page, social media, and job board.
LinkedIn Recruiter is the top-performing social media solution where you can encourage the best candidates to apply directly. It will help to list your vacancies on your company profile page on Facebook and LinkedIn.
The best job board sites to list your job opening are Career Builder, Glassdoor, Indeed, LinkedIn Recruitter, Monster, Adzuna, and Jora.
Although application numbers per month will be lower than paid options, you can post openings for free on Adzuna, Craigslist Jobs, Facebook, Find a job, Indeed, Jora, LinkedIn, LinkUp, Simply Hired, WhatJobs?, ZipRecruiter, and many more.
Do not forget to inform your existing employees of openings and opportunities. Employee referral schemes and your professional network can be extremely effective at targeting passive candidates in your niche or industry.
Most job boards will show your vacancy for 30 days and you should expect to see results within a few days up to a couple of weeks.