If you own a small business, attracting the right talent can be rather challenging at times. You may be a startup, which means you most-likely lack brand-name recognition. In other cases, you may only have one or two employees and might not be able to provide the resources or benefits some of your competitors offer. Additionally, with unemployment sitting at a 49-year low of just 3.7%, the job market is increasingly competitive for small businesses looking to attract top talent.
Rest assured, there are plenty of perks that make working for a small business attractive to job seekers – it’s simply a matter of getting the right exposure for your job posting.
The key to finding and making the best hires is crafting a solid, transparent case for your small business and then promoting your job openings on the best job posting sites. There are numerous employee advantages you can touch on in your job listing to attract qualified candidates. These may include the work-life flexibility your small business offers, the diversity in your workplace, and the opportunity for career growth.
If you’re in the middle of the employee recruitment process but find yourself struggling to get applications from qualified applicants, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve gathered six of the most popular job posting sites so that you can recruit top talent right next to the big guys in your industry.
Indeed.com
First thing’s first, it’s important to know the most popular site for job listings.
Indeed is the number one job site in the world. According to Google Analytics (Unique Visitors, September 2016), 200 million people visit Indeed every month. This means you have a huge audience of potential applicants just waiting to see your job posting.
On Indeed.com, job seekers can search for listings in their specific field (marketing, culinary, mechanics, etc.) and apply to the open roles they’re attracted to. The website is mobile friendly, which is a huge recruitment benefit considering that 65% of job searches are performed online.
In the event a job seeker clicks on your job listing, applicants can be directed straight to your company page, which is a great place to broadcast more about your company culture and mission statement—a message that can sometimes be forgotten or difficult for small businesses to communicate.
Basic job listings on Indeed are free (terms, conditions, quality standards and usage limits apply) or you can pay for Sponsored Listings that cost anywhere between 10¢ and $5 per click received. Such flexibility can help you to stay within your small business’s recruitment budget.
If you want to boost your small business’s brand recognition, you can also pay to become a Featured Employer, thereby maximizing your exposure. Another great feature is Indeed Resume which allows employers to target and search for applicants based on their education history, experience, job title, and more.
SilkRoad, Sources of Hire 2017, reports that Indeed.com is the number one source of external hires, so it’s a great place to start your search.
Why Indeed is one of the best job posting sites for small businesses:
For small businesses, hiring the right employees can make all the difference. According to an Indeed survey, 64% of small businesses say that attracting the right candidates in terms of qualifications, skills, and experience is their biggest obstacle.
Indeed makes it easier to filter through candidates that don’t match your job description criteria. Through Indeed’s dashboard, you can quickly do initial screening and weed out candidates who don’t fit the role’s qualification parameters.
LinkedIn.com
LinkedIn.com is both a job posting site and social media channel for professionals. This innovative platform offers the unique benefit of being able to leverage your professional network to seek out qualified job applicants. Additionally, people can “follow” your company page to stay up-to-date with any news or job postings you have available. LinkedIn also provides real-time analytics of applicants and job viewers in addition to a shortlist of up to 50 candidates who are matched to your post.
According to a 2017 survey conducted by LinkedIn, 38% of respondents stated they used LinkedIn to gather information before applying for a job. If you want to reach a wider pool of candidates, you might consider this job posting site.
Why LinkedIn is one of the best job posting sites for small businesses:
This job posting site offers a unique pricing structure; like Indeed.com, it uses a pay-per-click model, but it enables you to set a daily budget—a wonderful option for small business owners who need to be sensitive about spending money.
If you let candidates apply with their LinkedIn profile, use a title from the dropdown, and ensure your small business has a company page, they guarantee you at least 10 applicants on your first post—or your money back.
Careerbuilder.com
Careerbuilder.com, a self-dubbed human capital solution company, offers a bevy of tools that help small business employers find the best talent. You can post on their job boards to attract the right job seekers for your open position or use their resume search engine to discover talent on your end.
They have a direct relationship with 92 percent of Fortune 500 companies, so you know that Careerbuider.com is well connected. In addition to recruitment solutions, they also offer plenty of data and information about the current labor markets.
This job posting site is subscription-based, and the price varies on the package you choose.
Why CareerBuilder is one of the best job posting sites for small businesses:
What makes this one of the best job posting sites for employers is its all-encompassing human capital management package. Their easy-to-use WORKTERRA HCM technology can help you with not only job postings, but also phone interview scheduling, offer letters, employee onboarding and more—some rather attractive services for a small business employer who likely has a lot on his or her plate.
Dice.com
If you’re in the technology, engineering, or IT sectors, this may be the best job posting site for your small business. Finding great tech talent can be difficult, especially for small business owners looking to fill roles that require niche expertise. IT leaders say the following positions are hardest to hire for:
- Security
- Software development
- Data analytics
- Networking
- Project management
- Help desk/support
- Mobile
Dice.com could help you find talented candidates in those sectors more quickly.
However, the one caveat with this job posting site is that it can be a bit expensive depending on your small business’s budget. A single 30-day post costs $395, with a progressively cheaper pricing structure for the more posts you buy. This is beneficial for employers who don’t want to sign up for a subscription plan on a job posting site and would rather pay a one-time fee. You can also explore their various comprehensive talent solutions, such as:
- Premium Recruiting and Sourcing Package
- Award-Winning Social Recruiting Package
- Sourcing Concierge Service
- Premium Posting
- Targeted Hiring Campaign Package
Such customized recruiting campaigns on this job posting site make it worth your tech company’s consideration.
Why Dice.com is one of the best job posting sites for small businesses:
If your small business needs talented tech professionals, competition can be fierce, especially when you’re going up against big businesses. Dice.com gives you access to millions of candidates looking for a tech career – don’t waste time searching general resumes that don’t match the job criteria. Similar to Indeed.com, Dice also offers a resume search feature so you can quickly zero in on your target candidate.
Glassdoor.com
There are plenty of impressive stats Glassdoor.com can brag about:
- 30% better retention rates means hires stay longer (EMI Research, Nov. 2017).
- 57 million job seekers take advantage of the reviews and insights on Glassdoor.com (Google Analytics, CQ1 '18).
- 3 in 4 candidates are more likely to apply to a job if the employer is active on Glassdoor.com (U.S. Site Survey, August 2017)
If you’re looking for a job posting site with the stats to back it up, this could be the one for you. The posting price for a single job is between $249 and $349 depending on the market tier you fall into dependent upon your city (lower population areas are less expensive). Note that because this doubles as an employer review site, it may be better suited for companies that have an ample amount of (hopefully positive!) reviews.
Why Glassdoor.com is one of the best job posting sites for small businesses:
Small business owners on tight budgets may not be able to spend big bucks on headhunters or staffing firms to find talent. Maintaining a good company reputation online can make it easier for you to find high-quality applicants, and in turn, make it easier for said candidates to find you. If you don’t already have a Glassdoor profile, create one and ask current employees to review you to start building your reputation as a great employer.
Craigslist.org
Craigslist.org is a great budget-friendly job posting site considering a single listing only costs $35. It’s hailed as the most popular classified site, which features not only open jobs posts but also everything from cars and pets for sale to services and housing options.
Why Craiglist.org is one of the best job posting sites for small businesses:
Small business employers might be attracted to Craigslist.com not only due to its affordability but because its job listings are more geared toward entry-level positions—which could be perfect for the hourly role you’re looking to fill part-time.
However, because so many users rely on this job posting site to find first-time or entry-level employment opportunities, it may not be your best option for filling management or senior level roles.
Conclusion
Every small business is different, so you may want to test out a few of the best job listing sites to determine which are better suited to your needs and budget. You may find that using a combination of the top job posting sites is your best option for attracting the right candidates. Once applications start pouring in, it’s critical that you follow best practice hiring tips and screen each serious applicant with a compliant employment screening service before extending an offer.
ShareAble for Hires is designed with small businesses in mind so that you can conduct an employment screening in minutes instead of days. ShareAble for Hires offers a pay-as-you-go price module and is available online so you can sign up now, receive reports now, and hire now. Unlike the traditional way of employment screening, ShareAble empowers the applicant to push their background, credit, and identity verification information to you, which could help to provide a sense of security and privacy on their end. Also, because the applicant is pushing their information to you, this results in a soft query on the applicant’s credit report. Comprehensive reports are delivered to your inbox in a matter of minutes so you can weed out unqualified applicants quickly and confirm your hiring decision more confidently.
When you want peace of mind for your next hire, ShareAble for Hires is your solution.
