If you’re an employer or job seeker, it may initially make sense to start your search for the perfect candidate or job using a huge job board, particularly if you’re not picky about location. But people quickly grow dissatisfied with large job aggregators. Employers find they’re deluged with resumes from unqualified people and people who probably didn’t even read the job description. Job seekers wonder if their applications are even seen, swimming as they are in a tide of hundreds or thousands of others.

Some of the more successful new job boards are narrower in focus. They may focus on a particular industry, profession, or even subspecialty, or they may focus on a particular location. Employers like them because they can list where they’re more likely to find suitable candidates, and job seekers like them because they can more narrowly select jobs to apply for based on their particular skills and experience mix. If you are considering including a custom job board on your specialty blog or trade publication website, here are some of the characteristics of today’s narrow job boards that you should know about.

SEE ALSO: Should Your Job Board Be Niche, or Not?

Searches Are Customizable in Multiple Ways

Narrow focus job boards allow job seekers to easily customize searches in a number of ways: by location, job title, job category, specific company, or how recently the job listing was posted. Job seekers with specialized skills and qualifications may find it easier to start searching on very specific listings, and broaden their search if they need to. It saves time on the part of the job seeker and helps employers be confident they are reaching qualified candidates who won’t waste their time.

Nontraditional Interfaces

While most job seekers are used to traditional interfaces on job boards that are used similarly to how search engines are used, some job boards are using different types of interfaces. One example is Coroflot, a job board for designers that has a graphical interface for premium listings. For the graphic design industry, this type of visual interface makes sense because it gives designers an immediate hint at the aesthetic style of the employers making the listings. A category listing is also included, to help designers in various sub-specialties find listings more easily.

Simple Registration

Many of today’s job boards are moving toward simpler registration processes and easy resume uploading procedures. Because people search for jobs in all kinds of settings, using a range of devices, simple registration, application, and uploading is essential. People aren’t interested in doing a lot of typing on their phones or tablets, and job boards that don’t require this have an edge over competitors that do. One of the main purposes of narrowly focused job boards is to save everyone time, and a simple interface along with mobile friendliness contributes greatly to this.

Narrow Specializations in Specific Fields

Some professions, while seemingly quite focused to begin with, actually consist of numerous sub-specialties. Job boards that address these sub-specialties offer convenience to job seekers, who can search only for job listings that address their particular qualifications. For example, a job board for programmers may place job listings in categories like user interface programming, programming architecture, or telecommunications programming. A job board for healthcare professionals may categorize listings for LPNs, RNs, pharmacists, phlebotomists, and healthcare IT specialists.

Employers and job seekers know they can access hundreds of thousands of job seekers or job listings on major job aggregator sites, but many quickly tire of the hassle of narrowing down the possibilities. Both employers and job seekers are discovering the value of custom job boards that are narrowly focused, and these job boards may be found on specialty blogs, local news sites, or trade publication websites. Narrowly focused job boards emphasize quality over quantity, saving everyone time, and helping employers fill vacant positions as efficiently as possible.

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