Job seekers and employers alike have turned the Internet into a one-stop shop for employment these days, and while job boards have many benefits, they also have many downsides. When employers open positions, job seekers can apply by the dozens, the hundreds, or even the thousands. This leads to productivity issues for employers and many wasted hours by those interested in employment.

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1. Can You Handle the Attention?

As the economy rebounds and millions start to go back to work, the prospect of full-time employment is still quite attractive to many would-be workers. With this stated, it’s not uncommon for employers to be flooded with applications and resumes for a single open position, with limited quality control. Do you really have the manpower and time to review all of these applications?

If not, you’re providing false hope to the unemployed and the underemployed. In taking on so many applications, you’re also not doing your business any favors. To find the right professional, you can’t scan 100 applications or resumes per hour. You need to be able to take serious time to read each one in-depth. If you can’t commit to such a task, then you need a third-party recruiter or matching solution.

2. Paying to Post

Paying to post open positions is one of the key reasons employers find themselves facing the above-listed problems. Yes, you may save a little bit of money by posting to discount job sites that send your posting to a multitude of other job sites, but are you really receiving targeted resumes from qualified candidates? It’s likely that you are not. A better way may be for your company to work with a company that only requires payment per qualified applicant.

3. Third-Party Recruiters

When you work with third-party recruiters who charge per application submitted, you save time and money. Instead of reading through a sea of applications and resumes, your recruiter does the work for you, only passing along the best candidates that meet your business’ standards for employment. This lessens the amount of time you need to spend on the candidate search, and it also lessens the chance to waste time and money on candidates who seem to match up on paper, but who don’t actually possess the attitude and skills you’re looking for in real life.

4. Finding a Recruiter Who Charges Per Application

In order to find the right recruiter, avoid ones who promise amazing results. No one can guarantee you anything when it comes to finding candidates. Some weeks might be great, some weeks might be horrible. A recruiter’s job is to look for candidates, but if those candidates don’t currently exist, if they’ve left the industry, or anything in between, they simply aren’t available.

Also, if a recruiter tells you that he or she has access to thousands of resumes, it’s likely that he or she is simply using services like LinkedIn that are free to begin with. Remember, you want to take a targeted approach, so free services, however robust, are likely not going to yield the results you want.

5. Use Technology to Your Benefit

Job board platforms have warmed up to the idea of pay-per-applicant after years of conversations suggesting that this strategy would never take off. With so much data available due to the explosion of online application options for job seekers, employers can use matching technology offered by recruitment advertising platforms, such as RealMatch, to identify top-tier talent. This allows employers to save the expense of hiring a third-party while also providing a targeted market of qualified applicants.

One of the biggest issues employers face with pay per posting is the lack of proper applicant targeting. Visit RealMatch to find out why paying per applicant will yield a much better return.

Andrew Rusnak is an author who writes on topics that include social media and digital marketing. Want more like this?