More than likely you’ve heard of or have used Indeed to recruit for your business. Heck, you might be relying only on Indeed right now. After all, Indeed is the largest job board on the planet. Advertising your jobs on the site should definitely be considered as part of your marketing mix. But relying solely on their services for all your recruiting needs can be a mistake and here’s why.
- Traffic doesn’t equal conversions. Indeed boasts hefty traffic numbers to their site with thousands of jobs posted there every day. Sure, their traffic numbers are impressive but does indeed work? What you should be focussing on are conversions. Did a job application equal a hire? How many times have you actually filled a role using Indeed? Once? Twice? Never? The long and the short of it is, if you’re relying on indeed to bring in truly qualified candidates, you could be waiting a long time. And as the days tick by and your need to fill a role intensifies, your job moves further and further down the search page. The only way to compete is to increase your spend. And even then, there are no guarantees.
- Indeed reviews can hurt your employer brand. If you’re sending all your job seekers to your Indeed landing page or Indeed postings, those same seekers are most likely to look for reviews of your company. According to a study conducted by Bayt, 76% of professionals rely on the internet to research a company when considering a job opportunity. If these reviews are unfavourable, you may turn off great candidates. Or, you might be spending a lot of your time mitigating these reviews. Your time could be better spent developing and nurturing your employer brand and telling your own story on your own site, rather than letting others tell it for you.
- Indeed isn’t the only fish in the sea. In most cases, each role you are hiring for is unique. Often requiring specialized skills and experience. So why rely on one source for candidates? You need to find the right market for your role. That could mean advertising on a specific association or LinkedIn group where members have similar skills and experience. Or posting to a niche job board or creating a targeted Google ads or Facebook campaign. It’s important to take all aspects of the role into consideration and deploy a well targeted campaign where the right people will be seeing it.
- Indeed is for active job seekers. You may be thinking: shouldn’t I be looking for active job seekers? Absolutely. Active job seekers are an important target group. But what about passive job seekers? These are people that are currently employed and not actively looking for work. Chances are, these people aren’t trolling indeed. It’s important to think about where these people might be spending their time and how you might grab their attention like your website, or groups and associations. Depending on the role, this will vary.
So what’s the solution? You need to have a well defined recruitment marketing strategy that is based on historical data and is uniquely tailored to the position you want to advertise. First, look at where your best candidates have historically come from. What advertising gave you the most value – meaning hires? And what didn’t? Also speak to your team. Where have they typically looked before and had success? What groups and associations would this person belong to? And lastly, look at where you can cast your net wide enough to ensure more eyes are on your open position. While indeed is worth considering, it definitely belongs as part of the marketing mix and not as the entire strategy.
