Expert Interview with Marcos Lujan on Job Board Innovations

The task of searching and applying for a new job is stressful enough without adding the complication of trawling endless websites and job boards.

So when Marcos Lujan and his two business partners began building Jobmanji at the end of 2012, their goal was to create a job site that was easy to use, offered a high-quality user experience compared with the biggest job sites on the market and was a one-stop spot for job listings.

Jobmanji is like Google for job postings. The site aggregates information from job boards, recruitment agencies and companies, saving job hunters from having to scour multiple sites to find positions worth applying for.

Here, Marcos shares about the history of the site as well as offers his thoughts on best practices for both job seekers and employees when it comes to using sites like Jobmanji.

Can you tell us a little about Jobmanji…when and why did you start your site?

We started Jobmanji at the end of 2012 because we noticed that the biggest job sites were difficult to use and generally offered a poor user experience. We thought we could do things better and wanted to create a website where people could find all job listings easily.

Who should be using Jobmanji?

Jobmanji is for anyone looking for a job, but especially people who don’t use LinkedIn. For companies, posting jobs is free, unlike with many other sites. We want to provide the largest and most up-to-date job database, so it is ideal for job seekers, employers, recruiters and job boards alike.

How does it work?

Job seekers can simply go to Jobmanji.com and start searching for jobs. Our site works well on mobile and desktop. Companies and job boards can start by signing up to post jobs for free.

What sets it apart from similar job search sites?

Jobmanji focuses on the user experience and using the site for job seekers and companies is free. Compared to other job aggregators, we strive to provide quality results and the biggest selection of jobs possible.

What advice can you offer job seekers on posting a CV or resume that will get them noticed?

Job seekers need to really work on their CVs. Too many people rush their CV or, worse yet, use a template they find online. Your CV is what sets you apart from the other candidates, and a lot of time should be spent refining it. Another thing that candidates don’t do is customize their CV for each application. You should not assume that your CV fits all jobs you’re applying for. If, for example, you’re applying for a job that is more technical than your previous role, you should really make sure your CV highlights your technical abilities.

What do you think are the biggest mistakes job seekers make when searching for positions online?

The biggest mistake job seekers make is not researching the companies they are applying for enough. They should really spend time learning about the company they are applying for to see if it really is a company that they will be happy working for. We spend so much of our lives at work that it really is worth it making sure you find a job you will love. That extra time spent on finding the right job will have a huge impact on your life and overall happiness.

What are some best practices for employers when it comes to posting job ads?

The most important thing for employers is to give as much detail about the jobs as possible. Many times employers make jobs too generic or omit important information, leading to applications which are not relevant, therefore wasting both the employer’s and job seeker’s time.

What are some of the biggest challenges of running a job site like yours?

The biggest challenges are gaining exposure, getting new people to find out about us without spending a fortune on marketing. After all, we are free to use and we index millions of jobs, meaning we have to keep costs of systems as low as possible while still providing fast and frequent updates to our databases.

How has your site adapted to mobile technology and social media?

From the beginning, we realized we had to build a website that was mobile friendly. We chose to use a responsive design and we picked Bootstrap for this, which allows us to a have a fast mobile-friendly site without compromising on-site functionality or asking users to download an app.

Social media is a totally different story. We help people out on Facebook but we still have a long way to go to make our site sharing friendly, and we still need to implement Facebook’s open graph markup.

SEE ALSO: Social Media and Job Boards: Why You Need Both

How important are these trends for both employers and job seekers?

These trends are extremely important for everyone. Last year we conducted an analysis of our own data, which showed that mobile and tablet job searches were increasing 2 percent month on month compared with desktop searches. 2013 was the first year in which mobile job searches surpassed desktop.

People want to be able to search for jobs while on the go, and though we have enabled them to do this easily, many employers still have a long way to go making the job application process mobile friendly.

Social media has also become incredibly important for job seekers and employers. Employers who are not treating their employees well are being outed on social networks and as a result have to spend a lot of resource managing their online reputations. We are seeing companies react in different ways, and many are choosing to embrace social media.

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