Adding a custom job board to your online newspaper, local or trade website can be a powerful way to boost audience development, make your site stickier, and develop a reliable revenue stream.

The convenience of a targeted online job board is unbeatable, reaching active and passive job candidates wherever they happen to be and allowing them to filter jobs by location, salary, title, and more.

If you have a targeted web audience, employers in the site’s field will be more enthusiastic about listing on your job board since they know users will be a good match with their hiring needs. They’ll reach potentially valuable candidates without havingto sort through hundreds of applications from unqualified people that they would get from listing a position on a huge aggregator site. Adding a custom job board to your site can be a terrific step forward, but be sure to avoid these job board mistakes.

Mistake: Allowing Vague Job Listings

Employers may understandably want to omit specific salary information in a job listing, but when they give no indication of the salary range applicants can expect, many promising candidates will skip to the next listing. The same is true of location. Employers don’t necessarily have to give a specific address or even city, but should at least inform applicants of the region, to draw the attention of more interested applicants, including passive job candidates. Encourage employers who list on your job board to include some specifics about pay and job location.

Mistake: Sloppy Job Listings

A high quality job candidate (particularly a high quality passive job candidate) is less likely to bother exploring a listing that’s rife with spelling and grammatical errors. Everyone makes mistakes, but running a listing through a spelling and grammar checker only takes seconds. Encourage employers to do so before they upload a listing.

Mistake: Complicated and Lengthy Application Processes

Choose job board software that helps employers make the application process as simple and straightforward as possible. With every additional step involved in applying, abandonment by potential applicants increases. Show your listing employers how your job board software allows them to simplify the application process.

Mistake: Using Job Board Software That Isn’t Mobile-Friendly

People search job listings on phones and tablets an increasing percentage of the time. If listings are impossible to read on mobile devices, or if applying requires extensive typing, job hunters may be frustrated and give up altogether. Again, your choice of job board software is critical. The best job board software is mobile friendly and allows employers to make the application process as simple as possible for mobile users.

Mistake: Publishing Job Listings That Don’t Fit the Tone of Your Website

There will naturally be some variation in the tone of various job listings, and it’s good for employers to set their brand apart and make it more memorable. However, it’s possible to take it too far. If you’re running a trade publication website for educated professionals and your job board is full of listings with strings of dollar signs, all-caps words, and gimmicky touches like ”MAKE FA$T CA$H NOW!!!!!” job candidates will be turned off and may not take your job board seriously. Again, this is a matter of educating employers who want to list on your job board.

Mistake: Including Misleading Information in or Around Your Job Board

If you lead your site’s visitors to believe they’ll double their salary by applying for jobs on your board, or otherwise cause them to think your job board offers more than it actually does, you could not only ruin your reputation, you could find yourself in legal trouble. In March, a consumer protection class action was filed in US District Court against a job board that misled applicants and inundated employers with ridiculous numbers of resumes. Such practices waste the time of both employers and job applicants, and can have legal repercussions.

When job boards are done well, matching the look and feel of your site, and listing jobs that are relevant to your site’s audience, they’re a tremendous asset and a great revenue development tool. Avoid these mistakes, have a strong commitment to high quality site content, and keep your site fresh and relevant, and you’ll maximize success with your job board, advertisers, and other site revenue streams.

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