Category Archives: Social media

Programmatic Job Advertising and its potential to cross the European borders.

Programmatic Job advertising caused a lot of ink to flow since we first heard about 3 years ago. According to Kenneth Kulbok from LinkedIn, Programmatic Advertising is ‘buying digital advertising space automatically, with computers using data to decide which ads to buy and how much to pay for them’. Therefore Programmatic Job Advertising is the process of using marketing best practices and tools to build awareness about your opening position. Such methods are broadly used in the US and the UK and start spreading in the rest of the European Union.

What is Programmatic Job Advertising?

Programmatic Job Advertising is a new way to post job advertising that has been revolutionizing the talent acquisition domain for about three years. In fact it can be split in two different segments. One, the most used one, within the job-boards, and the other completely outside the job-board.

In fact this technology generates more efficiency by automating some of the manual process. It helps talent acquisition professionals to do what they aren’t capable of doing by themselves: make buying decision according live data and a pre-determined set of characteristics in a split second. In short they use the best marketing methods to target the segment of the market that could be interest by your job position. In order to do so they collect data about users and correlate it to find the profiles who would be more likely to click and apply to your job offer.

How does it Work and why does it work.

But clearly how does it work? Well Programmatic job advertising mostly runs on performance-based prices such as cost per click or cost per applicant. If you purchase this type of media you would only be charged if you received clicks or applicants. Therefore it is not sold on a contract-basis like other job posts since you only pay after you see the results. In fact it is sold via a “biding” system based on the demand and competition at a given price which will determine the price per click or the price per applicant.

The first way to do programmatic job advertising, as said above, is within the job-boards. Actually, we will use this cost per click or applicant to buy according to real time data and a set of characteristics, more or less spaces on different job boards.

The second way is outside the job-boards. That is to say that Instead of working with job boards, they will buy spaces, banners etc. in any website. Just as regular ads.

We can definitely say such technology can help companies easily optimize their spending and the results of their recruitment budgets by using real-time data. Programmatic helps monitor what you want to buy per click or per applicant in a more proactive way and enlarge the scope of your campaign by reaching to jobseekers, or not (if you opt for the second way). This popular technology is mainly used by companies such as Appcast, Recreuitics, or golden Bees.

What does it mean for the future of HR field?

Programmatic job advertising is thriving, especially in the US and the UK. In fact recruitment industry experts predict that by 2020, 80% of all recruitment advertising will be based on programmatic campaigns using big data. Also, we have seen that, according to Zenith Optimedia, programmatic ad has been rising at a rate of 71% per year since 2012 in the world. This means that it went 5% of the expenditures in advertising in 2012 to 58% today. This rate is even higher for the leading countries that are the US (62% of the expenditure are programmatic advertising which represents $24 Billion) the UK ($3.3 billion) and China ($2.6 billion).

Given the changes programmatic brought to the advertising field, we cannot neglect the changes it will bring to the HR field. In fact it means that less people will be needed to recruitment marketing to do things that can be automated. Meanwhile we will need more people to understand data and use it to match the recruiting goals. This also means that companies will have an expert (internally or externally) to help them use this new technology. Someone who understands data and can translate budget and needs of the company into an effective strategy. And finally that the current technologies in programmatic job advertising will move from performance based advertising channels to technologies that can also automatically use credits companies have bought from non-performance based recruitment advertising channels. . But we cannot avoid talking about the possible limits of this trend.

The possible downsides

In fact, there are some important limits, we cannot work programmatic job advertising as we work programmatic buying for traditional ads. Usually algorithms process huge amount of data to define which ads should be placed where and when. This is made possible thanks to the equally huge amount of interesting data user leave behind them (gender, age, interests, localization…) that can be correlated to find a buyer profile. Meanwhile users don’t usually leave data behind them that may help predict whether they are engineers or a salesman.

Moreover some limits such as the massive number of people using ad-block software (software that will stop ads from showing up) could make it less interesting to us programmatic.

In fact in France 34% of the population use an ad-block software. Worldwide, it’s more than 615 million of devices that are affected (15% of the Internet users)

Plus without the proper analytics programmatic job advertising isn’t worth it, we don’t know for sure where our ads will show up, and if the price per click is lower, it’s possible to end up with a numerous amount of irrelevant clicks.

To conclude

In the end it is not possible for now to say whether it is the best solution for quick, low-cost, efficient recruitment campaign since there are many grey areas. It would definitely improve the efficiency of recruitment if we were able to collect more relevant information about users, which is going to be more and more complicated in Europe given the new legislation (GDPR)

Finally we must not forget the strength of Job-boards. Even if programmatic job advertising seems tremendously fantastic on the paper, it is important to moderate. Programmatic job advertising outside the job-board will surpass traditional job-boards with difficulty since job-boards create more traffic by retargeting job offers and serve as important market places.

We hope you have found this article “Programmatic Job Advertising and its potential to cross the European borders.” useful! Please let us know if you’d like us to cover any specific topics in the Jobboard Finder blog

Posted on June 5, 2018 by Armelle.

Is LinkedIn still a good recruitment tool?

LinkedIn is considered as the professional social network. Ever since its creation in 2003, the website has become inevitable, has gathered more than 500 million of members and has kept on developing new features, more or less controversial. On the page 40 of Recruitment Grapevine magazine, we found a very interesting article discussing about LinkedIn last week’s latest updates that lead us to provide an overview on the social network. We will wonder whether LinkedIn remains a good recruitment tool, as it is considered as a very simple site, easy to use that allows candidates, recruiters and employees to meet each other on a single platform.

Unconvincing new features

According to many recruiting professionals who spend a lot of time on LinkedIn, it seems that the brand new features added in the last couple of weeks have made the website more complex to use, especially for their free and premium access. There were so many complaints that LinkedIn’s developers have promised to bring back some old features. So there is definitely an issue, especially because for some people, some changes seem to encourage unconscious bias, a recurring problem in recruitment which we talked about a few weeks ago, in an article on blind recruitment. This unconscious bias is especially highlighted when you choose a college, only to see the candidates coming from the biggest schools.

It is true that new technologies improve and help recruitment, allowing recruiters to save time and money to make the most of an expensive campaign. However, social media and other technologies must not be the only ways to make decisions, as we explained in a previous article.

Does LinkedIn remain a good recruitment site?

It is first important to remind everybody that on LinkedIn, there are more than 3 million of active job adverts, and this, all around the world. As it is a much visited international website, it remains one of the best mean to find a job or a good candidate. Algorithms and artificial intelligence used by LinkedIn are made to do a first selection. This first screening will not help find straight away the best candidate, but instead to save time that recruiters often spend with wrong applications and rule out candidates that don’t match the position and the skills required, especially thanks to their behavior online and on LinkedIn.

It therefore remains a good recruitment tool, but we have to say that these new changes must not impact the very essence of LinkedIn, so as to remain something professional. Even if there are many issues on the standard website, the LinkedIn Recruiter version is still very efficient and simple to use and it will always remain a good recruitment tool.

To learn more about LinkedIn’s job board activities, you can have a look at its profile on Jobboard Finder.

For both employers and job seekers, Jobboard Finder is the first decision-making tool for recruitment campaigns and job searches. By gathering tools and services that recruiters can use to search and compare employment websites from all over the world to find the best job search sites, it really is the best solution for recruitment needs. Today recruiters can also purchase job advertisements for the media they have selected and manage their postings directly from our unique platform. Then they can rate and review the job boards they have used in the past for our community of professionals to see.
Keep up to date with our news articles and receive them directly in your mailbox by subscribing to our newsletter. If there is a particular topic that you would like to see featured on our blog please let us know.

Posted on June 13, 2017 by Anne-Marie.

Are recruiters relying too much on social media?

Some recruiting experts and other trainers for interviews and advice on recruitment always tell you to add your social media accounts on your CV. Companies or recruiting agencies often want to learn more about the candidates’ non-professional personalities before interviewing them. They want to see what you are twitting about or other professional experiences you didn’t mention on your CV. As almost everybody looks for a job online, it seems that recruiters have the obligation to look at your social media accounts. However, aren’t they relying too much on it? Is it really unavoidable? How did recruiters manage when social media was not existing? This is what we are going to deal with in this article.

Too much reliance

A very interesting article found on Recruitment Grapevine explains the situation really well. Some CEOs and recruiters believe that if you rely on social media too much, this could affect your recruitment campaign. And if you put things into perspective, what you see on social media can affect your decision and your opinion on a candidate that could suit your recruitment needs. This concerns especially what you can find on Twitter or Facebook because LinkedIn, even though some updates make it look like Facebook, remains the only social media where people remain professional, and where nobody would put a picture of themselves drinking at a their birthday party as a profile picture (even though I’m sure some people did it to be completely honest). You may think that nobody would put their Facebook name on their CVs, but you are sure that some recruiters will look for you. And with Facebook latest job board feature, your profile will definitely be seen and examined by the companies and their recruiters. In the article, the CEO interviewed even adds that some recruiters could become “lazy” and could even eliminate a good applicant and stop the hiring process because of social media. There are good reasons for sure, but sometimes it is just an excuse.

How to properly use social media in recruitment?

In the digital era, it seems unavoidable not to take advantage of all platforms available to recruit the best talents. It also help you save time and money. Social media is more than useful, I’m not going to lie, however, recruiters should not only rely on it. Let’s take an example: Mark Jury, a recruitment manager interviewed by Recruitment Grapevine explains that telephone is still their most important recruitment tools, and that “in-depth telephone interviews are the best way to get a real feel for a candidate’s strengths, weaknesses, achievements and experience”. Have you ever wondered how recruiters before social media and Internet used to hire the best ? They used to get out of their office to meet people face to face, and this is the real social network.

So yes, social media makes recruitment easier and quicker, but it has to be used properly, not as a spying tool or something that could bias you, or form an opinion based on a superficial impression. Human relationships will remain complex, because if digital seems to be nowadays’ only response to all our problems, there is something it can’t control: humans.

Posted on May 11, 2017 by Anne-Marie.

Job posting on Facebook

Last week, Facebook introduced in the USA and in Canada (and in a few days to the rest of the world) a new feature on its social network, a more professional one. Recruiters will now be able to post a job advert directly on their Facebook business page, and job seekers will be able to apply for it directly on the pages’ wall.

As specialists in job boards analysis, we will try to tell you more about this new feature and give us our point of view and tell you whether you should use it to recruit.

Facebook versus Linkedin

One thing is sure, with this new feature, Facebook wants to compete with Linkedin.

When Linkedin became quite famous, everybody was considering it as the Facebook for professionals, this website on which you could add as a “friend” a business contact, post a piece of news related to your professional activity just like you would post a Facebook status or as well update your profile just like you would update your Facebook profile.

These are similar features that must not have pleased Facebook that has decided to take revenge by counterattack on Linkedin on its own ground, and this by going further. With this brand new service of job posting, Facebook thought about a category of job seekers that Linkedin did not really think about, or that they seem not to attract and that do not subscribe automatically on Linkedin: the lower-skilled workers and people not looking actively for a job. Indeed, the majority of Linkedin users are team leaders, executives or managers currently in position or looking actively for a job, and they focus on name of schools and education. On Facebook it is not the case.

How does it work?

Businesses pages will be able to post as a status their job offer. By clicking on them, a Facebook page dedicated to the more detailed job advert will open. Users interested in will then click on “Apply Now” so then the job seeker will have access to a pre-filled editable form with his or her name and a picture. These information will be taken on the user’s Facebook profile. The job seeker really interested will be able to directly get in touch with the recruiter on Messenger.

This job post will work just like a classical status post: a user will be able to tag a friend maybe interested in the job offer and as it remains a business page, the job post could then be boosted by a charged advert.

Because even if it is still a free service, this could not remain free, given the price of a job advert publication in today’s market.

Jobboard Finder’s opinion on Facebook Jobs

Jobboard Finder is the world’s largest job board search and comparison tool engine. As regular visitors and deep analyzers of job boards from all around the world, you definitely need our objective point of view. Given the number of Facebook users and the number of visits on their website per month (around 25 billion visits), recruiters should definitely use Facebook Jobs, as soon as other countries have access to this feature. However, we do think that your adverts will be seen only if you have already a huge notoriety on Facebook. For smaller companies, you may have to boost your publications.

This brand new feature nevertheless remains a very useful tool at the cutting edge of technology. Even if the site is a little bit muddled, there are already many job offers and there is no doubt that this will be successful and that Facebook Jobs will have its profile on Jobboard Finder.

Posted on February 21, 2017 by Anne-Marie.

Snapchat used to boost recruitment!

In one of our previous articles we had explained how Instagram was becoming one of the hot trends for recruiters to expand their hiring audience and target a group of people who would be suited to their company. Seeing as social media platforms are the number one reason millennials are asking for smart phones these days, businesses are now getting a hold on social network pages to boost their employer branding and social media is proving to be highly effective for successful recruitment campaigns. This new generation are using Snapchat to broadcast themselves and in a way to publicize their skills on the internet for others to notice, so recruiters should start to do the same.

One of the big new hits that we have seen dominate the lives of many young people is the rise of Snapchat. For anyone who does not know what this is, Snapchat is a video messaging application that allows its users to share videos, photos, and messages with their network. They can customize the photos however they like and they can send it to all of their friends and also people who they add on the application. The app now has over 150 million users who are online every day and 10 billion videos are uploaded daily, so it really is a hot house for anyone wanting to spread a message to a large proportion of the population.

It is undeniable that Snapchat is a useful asset for recruiters in this modern age. With a free platform to broadcast messages and videos, it can be used a great way to show the world your employer branding. Today an increasing number of companies are managing Snapchat and Instagram accounts to recruit young talent and create new business for themselves. Also, the use of photos and videos adds a touch of intimacy that allows your followers to see what goes on in your work place and this can create an attractive company image. Much like a form of recruitment marketing, this strategy can boost the number of applicants and people interested in working for your business as it provides a quick glance into working life.

Another feature that Snapchat unveiled a while ago was its promotional story tools for businesses that wanted to broaden their targeted reach. By paying for a space on Snapchat’s continually updating storyboard that all users can see, businesses are guaranteed an extra bonus of views and a jump in candidate interest. This could be used in turn with a recruitment campaign to emphasize the fun loving and technologically savvy side of your company. But recruiters and recruitment marketers must be aware that one of the attractive qualities of Snapchat is its natural and authentic content. Therefore, all videos and photos posted must not be staged or faked, otherwise your vigilant and smart audience will realize that you are faking it.

Keep up to date with our news articles and receive them directly in your mailbox by subscribing to our newsletter. If there is a particular topic that you would like to see featured on our blog please let us know.

Posted on January 17, 2017 by Maria.

3 reasons why you should be recruiting on Instagram

Instagram has had an astronomical boost in popularity over the past 5 years and is now at the forefront of social media usage. It is competing with the likes of Facebook in terms of users and has even over taken Twitter on the number of hours the average visitor spends a day. In November 2016, over 500 million active monthly users were using Insta to edit and share their photos with friends and followers. Now recruiters are starting to realize that this is an untapped resource and medium to attract candidates during recruitment campaigns. This tendency that has started to appear more and more over the past few years is changing the way Instagram is being viewed by recruiters.

1. Target a passive audience

With 90% of Instagram users under the age of 35, it comes as no surprise that marketers are looking at this social platform to target a younger demographic. The millennials that use Insta are often very creative, technologically aware and socially minded, which makes it the perfect hub for recruiters looking to find a certain type of candidate. It also allows companies to find passive candidates, those who are not actively searching for job offers. Those who don’t have LinkedIn pages but who do have skills that make them perfectly suited to a position.

2. Build brand awareness

Already Instagram is used by 48.8% of brands—a number that is expected to rise to 70.7% by 2017 and this doesn’t have to be just brands. But also companies can use it to grow and build their own branding. To attract top talent, the best way is to sell your company and entice interest through your social media pages. Instagram is a good way to market your company for free and this can have a very positive effect on your recruitment campaign. Also this social media platform can be used to boost the company culture among colleagues and in the office. Employers can encourage employees to share photos and videos of interesting day to day events in the office that will make outsiders see how enjoyable it is to work for the company.

3. Complement other social media

If you already have profiles on other top social media networks then Instagram can be the cherry on your social branding cake. Companies can use it to complete their online presence and this allows users who would not usually find their content on Facebook or Twitter to see an attractive brand through a different medium; a series of photos. 75% of Instagram users take action, such as visiting a website, after looking at an advertising post, which proves that it is a successful platform to promote your company.

Building a community around your company on Instagram is so rewarding as it boosts your online presence and allows you to target a whole new demographic that you would not usually be able to reach through the common recruitment channels. It offers a personal window into your company culture and lifestyle through the uploading and sharing of photos which in turn promotes your recruitment drive. So it’s a win-win decision for any recruiter.

Posted on November 29, 2016 by Maria.

How to Recruit Amazing Talent with Pokémon Go

Nobody could have foreseen the cultural phenomenon that is Pokémon Go. The popularity of the game has divided everyone in two camps. Those who absolutely hate it, and can’t understand what the fuss is all about, and those who absolutely adore it.

As a recruiter, you shouldn’t take sides, and realize that this is a great opportunity to find some of the best young talent there is, before anyone else.

Global Phenomenon

Using Pokémon Go to find talent in your field might sound like a risky venture, but sometimes recruiters have to take calculated risks, if they want to be get the best, and brightest young professionals. And with the large number of people that are drawn by this phenomenon, the probability that some of them are the future employees you are looking for is high.

Before you start developing a strategy, the first thing you’ll want to do is to get to know the game. Install the app, and see what the experience has to offer. Don’t feel bad if you don’t get it at first. Even millennials sometimes have a hard time figuring out all the ins and outs of these new apps and programs. If they wouldn’t, there wouldn’t be a need for handy websites that offer how-to guides on how to use all sorts of college apps.

Powerful networking tool

Pokémon Go can be a great networking tool. Capturing the actual creatures is just a part of what the game presupposes. The real fun begins when several people gather around a PokeStop. These are places that generate in-game consumables. There usually close to real world landmarks, such as monuments, and important buildings. In PokeStop locations, people get to meet-up and socialize. Because, even though it may not seem like it, the most appealing part of the Pokémon Go phenomenon is the feeling that you are part of a community.

In these spots, players place lure modules. A lure is an in-game device that attracts Pokémon to a specific location. In certain places that have many PokeStops, such as parks, players set up PokeFarms, that basically provide them with near-infinite amount of consumables and Pokémon. These hotspots can attract hundreds of people.

Take advantage of the trends

The Pokémon Go app provides you with a map, on which you can see all these PokeStops. Apart from the map, you can also check Facebook to find events. These events can bring hundreds, even thousands of people together You can track down the locations where these gatherings are going to take place, and canvass the crowds to spot young talent.

If you can afford the investment, you can choose to sponsor one of these events, and get your company’s name out there. Millennials are definitely going to be impressed with your interest in pop culture, as long as you don’t oversell it. Don’t try to mask the fact that you are there to find young talent for your company, and don’t try to package it as part of the event itself.

Scanning through these Facebook event pages can give a good idea of what to expect from the community. You can even use some of the information obtained here to find potential candidates for your business.

Another thing you can do is to take advantage of the PokeStops in your area. A lure module costs about 50$, and it can attract a sizeable number of people. It’s a relatively inexpensive way to make the most of the craze. Promoting the event on Facebook, and other social media platforms is a must, if you want to maximize the potential number of people that are going to attend it. You can also use lures to attract young talent to events you’ve already got planned. You can use them to enhance the appeal of your job fair stand, or networking event.

Problems you could expect

One problem that can come up when you’re trying to find talent using Pokémon Go is that you may find yourself attracting the wrong kind of people that aren’t really interested in getting a job. For this reason, you shouldn’t hide the fact that this is a job hiring opportunity. When the reasons behind your corporate event are going to become apparent, your potential candidates might feel insulted.

Pokémon Go is still by and large an entertainment app. It’s not really designed to work as a hiring tool. But you can use it to make your brand more visible to millennials looking to get hired, and adapt your image to make it more appealing to young talent. The app is still currently subject to changes and updates, and since the phenomenon doesn’t seem to be winding down any time soon, you should keep yourself in the loop. There might be more efficient ways of using it to the benefit of your company in the future.

Posted on August 8, 2016 by Marc Mendelman.