David Searns | Co-CEO
Why do staffing companies get mad at Indeed? If you read ASA Central, you know there is a lot of animosity toward Indeed.
That’s really not fair.
They are doing exactly what we want them to do – getting jobs in front of people…and getting those people to apply.
That’s what we pay them to do. And they are really good at it.
In fact, when we compare candidate sources, Indeed delivers the lowest cost per apply for most job categories.*
* Yes, this varies greatly by market…and job title. If you want specific data, contact Matt Lozar, our Director of Recruitment Marketing, for our team’s latest industry research on apply costs).
So why all the wrath?
I know. I get it.
It’s the cost of advertising. And the quality of the candidates.
With regard to cost, let’s not forget that Indeed is a for-profit business trying to figure out how to best maximize its revenue by effectively serving its customers.
Staffing companies and Indeed (actually all job sites) don’t have perfectly aligned goals – you want the best talent at the least cost, and they want to provide you with the best talent (and the most talent) at a fair price.
There’s a lot of overlap in those two goals, but not perfect alignment.
Love them or hate them, Indeed is doing their job…and doing it really well.
7 ways to get more value from Indeed
- To get more candidates, write better job posts.Sell your opportunities. Show the WIIFM.
- Try posting the same job with different titles. I know job boards don’t like this, but your ideal candidate might be looking for a job with a different title.
- Create videos to go with your job posts. Having a video embedded in your job post will increase response (and you can use the video to screen out candidates who would not be a fit).
- To get better-qualified candidates, use screener questions. Your cost per apply will go up, but the number of unqualified candidates will go down.
- Skill market the candidates you don’t place. You spent money to get people to apply—what can you do to help more of them find employment? Maybe create your own talent showcase offering screen candidates at a special discounted rate?
- Use software to manage your job spend. I almost hate using the word "programmatic" because it has gotten a black eye the past few years, but when you use software to control your ad spend, you get a much better return on your investment.
- Create a "not ready to apply" option. For higher-skilled positions, the best talent may have questions before they apply. Make it easy for them to contact you to get those questions addressed.
Going Beyond Indeed…and Job Advertising
Do you know the expression about great real estate?
It’s Location. Location. Location.
For recruiting, you can change that to ATS. ATS. ATS.
What are you doing to maximize the value of the thousands (or even millions) of candidates already in your ATS?
Once upon a time, way back in the pre-internet days, recruiters would get together for call blitzes to reach out to every candidate in their ATS (or, back then, file cabinets), update contact and job status information, and “reactivate” talent.
Today, automation lets you do this at scale and in a fraction of the time.
Tools like Sense and Bullhorn Automation make it easy to:
- Update candidate information.
- Reconnect with candidates you placed.
- Promote job opportunities.
- Reactivate people looking to make a career move.
- Ask for referrals.
Now, there are AI tools, like ConverzAI, that will automate outbound calling to connect with your candidates and see who is interested in the jobs you represent.
I recall speaking with a staffing company a few years ago that had a team of people dedicated to ATS mining.
When a new job order came in, recruiters would send the details to the “mining team” to source talent before they would be allowed to place a job ad.
Not only did this reduce the cost of job ads, it also allowed them to fill orders faster and improve service to both their clients and candidates!
Long Live Indeed!
Without job sites like Indeed, ZipRecruiter, LinkedIn, and more, where would our industry be?
Job sites have enabled staffing and recruiting firms to source better talent more easily and for less cost than we could at any point in the past.
While we (as an industry) may have become a little too reliant on the job sites, they play an essential role in our success.
So, let’s not get mad. Let’s make the most of what they provide. |
