Having a degree is critical for landing a job, but in today’s job market even college graduates are having a tough job finding entry-level positions.
“Over 20 percent of recent graduates are underemployed, and we want to help these people get productive jobs within their field as soon as possible,” says Karl Hughes, director of marketing for JobBrander.com, a website he created to help entry-level marketing professionals find jobs and internships.
We recently checked in with Karl to get insight on the challenges graduates are facing in finding employment and how job sites like his are changing the game.
Tell us a little about the history of JobBrander.
I founded the site in January of 2013. I had been managing dozens of marketing and writing interns with my job at the time, and while many of them were smart, very few were getting exposed to concepts like SEO, using social media constructively, or email marketing.
What services do you offer?
Currently our focus is on helping employers find interns, but we’re also starting to experiment with job listings and content marketing packages for employers. We didn’t even attempt to monetize the site until this year, so we’re still in the early phases.
What sets you apart from other career-oriented sites?
Our focus is on entry-level jobs and internships in non-technical fields. This portion of job seekers is having an especially hard time right now, so we’ve been able to quickly build an audience of readers and job seekers.
What’s the benefit to employers for listing their openings on your site? What do you to attract business owners?
We actually meet with our clients, talk to them about the company’s culture, and get pictures of their office and team. This content-first approach gives job seekers a much more compelling story than simple jobs listings.
What are some of the problems people who are just starting their careers are facing in today’s job market?
The biggest problem I see is a skills gap. I’ve met journalism majors who have never had a professor teach them about how search engines work. This is insane to me. Similarly, most marketing majors don’t ever touch a line of HTML during their college career. There is a base level of knowledge about how the Internet works that students just aren’t learning in college.
How do you help them overcome those challenges?
We try to gear our topics toward things that job seekers aren’t getting taught in school. Sometimes that’s social media, sometimes that’s professional networking skills, and sometimes it’s basic online marketing that will help them build a personal brand.
What have you done to build awareness about JobBrander and drive traffic to the site?
For the past year we’ve been building traffic and subscribers through organic SEO, social media and guest blogging. This year, we’re investing twice as much into content creation and may experiment with affiliate partners as well.
SEE ALSO: 8 Tips for Promoting Your Job Site
What do you think is the future for job sites like yours?
Job boards are quickly becoming dinosaurs in the world of the web. Sites that try to intelligently match candidates with open positions will probably replace the job board model that currently exists. Also, you’re going to see more employers paying only for results rather than paying just to post a listing.