Why Niche Job Boards Can Work Better for You

As a nurse recruiter, you’re no stranger to working with specialized niche job boards to target your audience.

You have probably used them many times, and you can attest to the value niche job boards can add to your recruitment program and initiatives.

Niche job boards have been on the scene since the early 2000s, and they’re well known and widely used. They’re also more than holding their own against industry behemoths, such as Indeed.

When you compare them to larger generic job boards, they equal less sorting, faster and simpler elimination processes, and quicker access to candidates for you. The homogeneity of the audience they provide is beneficial to both you as the employer and potential employees.

Organizations looking to hire can find good candidates more readily, and job seekers can locate special jobs they’re looking for more quickly.

But they have one other special feature that big competitors just don’t offer — one worth taking into consideration.

Power of personal touch

We hear the word “personal” quite often about niche job boards because they make the process more personal in many ways. Since they are set up to reach a smaller, targeted audience, niche job boards provide things some may term niceties that big competitors can’t.

First, let’s look at what niche job boards can do for the job seekers, such as nurses. With niche job boards, nurses can create individualized profiles. They get to showcase their qualifications, experience, background, education, and special skills to employers more readily.

Nurses also are able to narrow their job search in a shorter time because employers on the board are only looking for nurses.

If the job seekers can search faster, they likely will hear back, get a call or be brought in for an interview more quickly. When that happens the process feels more personal to candidates than what multi-industry, generalist boards are able to provide.

When you work with a niche job board you will work directly with its staff. This staff will help you through any concerns and questions.

Process is easier to navigate

What can niche boards can do to make the process easier for the recruiter? The old adage “time is of the essence” comes to mind.

I’m sure you have been faced with piles of applications to go through to find the right candidates. The process was long and time-consuming, inefficient and, at worst, not very cost effective.

By using niche boards that current nurse job seekers use more often, you will be able to attract the applicants you want because your postings are being viewed by the audience you seek.

Because you have a good match between job seekers and job board, you’re able to save time, money, and energy. You’ll more quickly and effectively meet your recruitment goals and improve your time-to-fill statistics.

Among other recruitment tips, Forbes noted that “while job boards are mainstays for sourcing efforts, niche job sites should also be considered for industry-specific and specialty positions.”

Healthcare is a great example of an industry with specialized positions that are difficult to fill during the current nursing shortage.

Niche boards stand strong

Niche job boards seem to be here to stay. Understandably, larger job board companies may be feeling a growing competition with them.

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, niche boards are “muscling in” on the bigger players.

“While no one knows the ultimate fate of the big boards, it’s clear that they’re facing stiff competition from niche websites segmented by industry, function and region,” the society stated on its website. “Recruiters are balking at [mega boards’] high prices and the many unqualified candidates that they generate.”

What smaller boards can do for you:

  • Help get your posts seen by more of the right job seekers.
  • Attract more qualified, experienced candidates.
  • Reach both active and passive job seekers.

Consider the importance of the personal touch in getting the attention of job seekers. The process provided by job boards — like our nursing jobs board — can help with that touch.

For information on Nurse.com’s talent marketplace or to build your custom talent acquisition solution package, contact us today.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in March 2019 and has been updated with new content.