Careers
Driving Traffic to Your Association’s Job Board During Low Unemployment
Periods of high unemployment often mean a boom for your career center. But what do you do when leading economic indicators are more positive. In periods of low unemployment, associations face unique challenges in driving traffic to their job boards from both employers and job seekers. With a competitive job market, it becomes crucial for associations to leverage their job boards effectively to attract the right audience. Here are some strategies to help associations achieve this goal.
Targeting Employers
- Highlight the Quality of Your Candidate Database: Associations can promote the quality and relevance of their candidate database by showcasing the types of professionals in their network. Use data to demonstrate how efficiently your job board can connect employers with highly qualified candidates in specialized fields.
- Offer Integrated Recruitment Marketing Tools: Provide employers with tools to build their brand and attract candidates directly. This could include enhanced company profiles, employee testimonials, videos showcasing workplace culture, and promoting open roles across multiple channels.
- Provide Analytics and Insights: Leverage data around job posting performance, candidate behavior, workforce trends, and more to deliver valuable analytics and insights that help employers make smarter recruitment decisions.
Attracting Job Seekers
- Focus on Niche Audiences: General job boards face immense competition. One advantage an association has is access to a robust pool of prequalified industry candidates, their members! To differentiate, associations should concentrate on building out dedicated niche audiences for specific industries, roles, and locations. Craft a candidate experience tailored to those seekers. For example, having a feed of relevant and recent jobs appear in their membership profile based on their tenure, job title and experience.
- Invest in Content and Community: Become a valuable career resource by investing in high-quality content like industry news, job search advice, professional development tips, and more. Build online communities where job seekers can network and discuss topics important to them.
- Simplify and Streamline the Application Process: Make applying to jobs as seamless as possible. Use modern application flows, enable applying from anywhere, integrate with profiles/resumes already online, and provide status updates throughout the process.
- Offer Career Planning Tools: Provide personality assessments, skills profilers, resume builders, and other tools that allow job seekers to better understand themselves and explore suitable career paths.
Promoting Your Job Board
- Utilize Your Association’s Website: Ensure your job board is prominently featured on your association’s website. Use widgets and job feeds on the homepage and relevant inner pages to attract both passive and active job seekers.
- Leverage Email Marketing: Send regular emails to your members and registered employers highlighting the benefits of your job board. Include job alerts, tips, and best practices to keep your audience engaged.
- Engage on Social Media: Promote your job board through social media posts and ads. Use platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to reach a broader audience and keep them informed about new job listings and updates.
- Attend/Host Industry Events: Participate in trade shows, conferences, and other industry events to build network connections that could lead to job board listings. Use these opportunities to promote your job board and its benefits to both employers and job seekers. Career Events both in-person and virtual can accentuate your associations footprint with workforce development in your industry.
Generating Non-Dues Revenue
- Attract Advertising and Sponsorships: Use your job board to attract advertising and sponsorships from key employers in your industry. Offer premium content, market special services, and promote webinars, conferences, and other events to generate additional revenue.
- Offer Paid Job Postings and Subscriptions: Provide options for organizations to pay for sponsored job posts on your job board. Consider offering annual subscriptions for unlimited posts or access to a resume search to create a steady revenue stream.
While low unemployment creates challenges for association job boards, it also represents an opportunity. By focusing on candidate and employer experience, leveraging data, and delivering unique value, associations can continue driving traffic and engagement even in a competitive job market. Implementing these strategies will help associations remain relevant and valuable to their members and the broader industry.
