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In this Guide
- Best Free Job Boards for Employers
- Introduction and Criteria
- Our Reviews of the Top Vendors
- Benefits of Using Job Boards
- Pitfalls to Choosing a Free Job Board
- Pricing Models
- Key Features of a Job Board
- Questions to Ask During Demo Sessions
- Implementing a Job Board as an Employer
- Free Job Board FAQs
- Final Thoughts
Hand picked by our HR Technology experts after product testing, user research, and much debate - enjoy!
Job boards are an indispensable resource to recruiters and hiring managers worldwide. Without a job board, it’s extremely difficult to get your job posts enough visibility to qualified candidates in a timely and efficient manner. Take a look at the following stats:
- 60% of job seekers mainly use online job boards to look for new jobs in comparison to 56% who mainly refer to social professional networks and 50% that rely on word of mouth.
- 53% of job seekers prefer using job boards because they can also find company reviews on there.
In an effort to save money on recruiting without sacrificing candidate quality, many companies, especially small and medium-sized ones, have been looking for places to post job openings for free.
Where are these places, you ask? From job boards to freelancing websites to online communities, we put together a list of the top cost-free options for employers to post their open roles in front of a large audience. Read below for features, benefits, pricing, insights, and more.
Our criteria: How we chose the best vendors
We take research seriously. To make sure we’re offering our readers the very best solutions in a given software category, we are methodical, rigorous, and expansive in our research. We consult with HR professionals, vendors, and industry experts. We cut through the noise to bring you a carefully curated list of vendors, along with other essential information, to help you find the right software platform for your business.
Here’s how we chose who makes the cut:
Product: We believe in gaining a comprehensive understanding of a product before we recommend it, so we start by getting to know the software. Whenever possible, we meet with a senior executive (CEO or Head of Product) for a demo and Q&A. We also test the product ourselves to make sure it has a solid UI, intuitive workflows, and the features to make it a best-in-class offering.
User feedback: We go straight to the source and compile feedback on user experience. Real-world input supports our commitment to diligence in our software evaluation methods and the products we recommend. Keeping up with the everyday experience of HR pros also puts new vendors on our radar, and it keeps us close to our community so we can better connect the right products to the right people.
Financial metrics: We are certified finance nerds, so we use all the data we can get our hands on to make selections for our guides. We comb through data for concrete statistics like retention rates, growth, profitability, and scalability. We evaluate the bottom line of each product because we know making a software purchase can put your reputation on the line.
Best for a use case: Software is never a one-size-fits-all product. Sometimes the best solution is free or cheap. Other times it’s the one that is best for global companies or the one that’s sized right for early-stage startups. Keeping this in mind, we include solutions across the spectrum so our readers can find the best fit for their unique needs.
Here's more detail if you want to read more about how we research vendors. Our dedicated staff writers rely on hard data, impartial experts, and user feedback to ensure our reviews are helpful, truthful, and hopefully a pleasure to read!
Top Free Job Boards for Employers
We track thousands of HR Tech solutions. Here are the best job boards for employers as of 2023.
Why we love it
:
SimplyHired makes recent job listings easy to find by displaying them directly on the homepage. With over 1 billion job applications passed through their platform to date, there are plenty of opportunities to connect with potential candidates.
- SimplyHired’s mobile app is available for hiring teams on-the-go.
- You can use SimplyHired’s templates to quickly craft great job descriptions each time.
- The platform comes with additional resources, including detailed advice, a comprehensive “how to hire” guide, and more.
- Their integrated HRIS system supports your recruitment efforts further with built-in onboarding, document signing, time tracking, and more.
- You’re able to view online resumes that have been created and uploaded by SimplyHired’s job seekers and receive automated alerts sent directly to your email whenever a job seeker applies to one of your open job listings.
- Because SimplyHired doesn’t sponsor any posts, it can be difficult to make your listings stand out amongst the competition.
- While SimplyHired’s pay-per-contact structure starts at $9.99, there is no way to predict the actual cost on a case-by-case basis.
- There isn’t a way to contact candidates directly from SimplyHired. The pay-per-contact method only reveals the contact details of the candidate, then you’ll have to contact them outside of SimplyHired in order to initiate the recruitment process.
SimplyHired
Review:
SimplyHired’s free tool provides the basic functionality you’d expect from online job boards. However, they stand out from their competition on account of their pay-per-contact pricing plan as well as the ability to supplement their basic tools with a full-scale HRIS platform. This adds functionality like onboarding, attendance tracking, benefits administration, document management, and more.
The job search portal also features company profiles, which include complete service reviews, user ratings, and salary comparisons. Not only does this give potential candidates a better feel for your company before making contact, but it lets you know how you rank amongst the competition.
SimplyHired
Customers:
SimplyHired has job postings from Amazon.com, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Microsoft, GE Corporate, American Express, and Kellogg Company.
SimplyHired
Stats:
- SimplyHired connects more than 30 million unique job seekers with employers every month
- More than 3 million employers use SimplyHired on a regular basis
- Over 1,000,000,000 job applications have been delivered on SimplyHired to date
- The platform is available in 24 countries and 12 languages
SimplyHired
Pricing:
Employers can post job listings on SimplyHired for free, but they also have a pay-per contact pricing model. This starts at $9.99, depending on the job title, industry, and market competitiveness, and only requires payment after you’ve reviewed a potential candidate’s resume or application.
Best For:
SimplyHired is best for SMBs that need access to additional features, such as candidate screening, job description templates, and salary tools. It’s also great for connecting candidates with temporary or entry-level jobs.
Why we love it
:
PostJobFree stands out from the competition by letting employers search for potential candidates without having to sign up for an account or profile. They also offer premium service for long-term users.
- PostJobFree’s streamlined interface is highly intuitive and loads quickly with a normal internet connection.
- Since employers don’t need a profile to post a job, you can create a new job listing within seconds.
- PostJobFree automatically distributes your job listings across 20+ other job boards.
- PostJobFree automatically sends you an email notification when a potential candidate applies to one of your job listings.
- Automated resume alerts can be set up to notify you whenever a new resume matches your qualifications.
- You can communicate directly with potential candidates with PostJobFree’s internal messaging feature.
- Built-in analytics let you discover keywords and current search terms for your job listings.
- PostJobFree’s top-tier premium plans can be expensive for small businesses.
- While resumes can be searched and filtered according to keywords, they’re not organized into browseable categories.
- There are only a few video tutorials on their site, which could leave some users without the guidance they need.
- Some of the best results are reserved for members of their premium plans.
- PostJobFree’s FAQ section is quite limited and focused more on job seekers rather than employers.
- Their website lacks the aesthetic appeal of the typical job board.
PostJobFree
Review:
PostJobFree features an intuitive, online interface that is accessible from any device with an internet connection. With more than 5,000+ resumes posted on a weekly basis, there are plenty of opportunities to connect with job seekers. Since they keep a running total of these resumes, it’s easy to see how much exposure your listings are getting every week.
Employers can search for resumes or post new jobs directly from the homepage, so it saves you the time and effort of having to locate these elements within a dropdown list or menu.
PostJobFree
Customers:
Some of PostJobFree’s customers include MD Support Staffing, Action Mechanical Contractors, MSF Electric, Peace River Center, Mediation Arbitration Services, and S & E Group.
PostJobFree
Stats:
- Approximately 5,000 new resumes are posted on a weekly basis
- Reach more than 20 online job boards with PostJobFree’s automated distribution
- Maintain up to 1,000 resume contacts with PostJobFree’s top-tier premium plan
- More than 1 million new jobs are posted on a weekly basis
PostJobFree
Pricing:
While PostJobFree is free for employers and job seekers alike, there are premium plans available.
- $29 per month: 2 promoted jobs + 30 resume contacts
- $59 per month: 6 promoted jobs + 100 resume contacts
- $99 per month: 15 promoted jobs + 200 resume contacts
- $199 per month: 40 job promoted + 450 resume contacts
- $399 per month: 100 job promoted + 1,000 resume contacts
Best For:
PostJobFree is great for SMEs that are new to online job posting, as it lets them post a new job without any obligation or commitment.
Why we love it
:
Hubstaff Talent is a free platform that offers a searchable talent database, job posting, internal messaging, and automated alerts. As it’s currently available in 200+ countries, Hubstaff Talent caters to international job seekers and employers alike.
- Free solution for employers and job seekers. Not only does this minimize the risk on behalf of both parties, but it gives potential users the opportunity to use the service without making a commitment or investment.
- Accessible from any PC, laptop, or mobile device with an active internet connection. This makes it great for employers hiring for remote roles, be it for full time, part time or freelance workers.
- With 50 remote full-time jobs and more than 80 hourly-based contracts added every week, freelancers and remote workers know they can receive reliable and consistent work on Hubstaff Talent.
- Hubstaff Talent is just one of many services provided by Hubstaff, and it’s their only free solution. Organizations that want to explore Hubstaff’s other platforms will be required to pay a fee.
- The lack of a built-in rating system makes it impossible to rate candidates after working with them, and vice versa.
- The lack of prevalent geographic tags can make it difficult for freelancers to find employers in their area and vice versa.
Hubstaff Talent
Review:
Hubstaff Talent is an online job board that primarily focuses on remote hiring. It enables companies hiring for remote roles to find talented candidates from anywhere in the world, and vice versa. Featuring a job search engine, job seekers can start browsing open opportunities today. They also have a searchable talent database, making it easy for employers to find qualified remote candidates, as well as a fully customizable messaging system that lets everyone communicate in a fast and secure manner.
Hubstaff Talent
Customers:
Hubstaff Talent currently has job openings from companies in a variety of fields, including Achieve Integrative Health, Results Realty, LIM Lessons, AGT Marketing, DataKitchen, Strikingly, Inc., and Transform Tutoring.
Hubstaff Talent
Stats:
- Online Specialists, a digital agency focused on helping businesses maximize their online exposure, reduced their hiring expenses by $22,000 upon switching from freelance markets. They currently save $170,000 annually with Hubstaff’s range of services
- Skyrocket, a digital firm specializing in SEO consultation, link building, and creative content production, cut their contractor costs by 30% when switching from Upwork to Hubstaff
- Emsisoft, a computer software development company, reduced the amount of necessary administrative work by 80 hours each month with Hubstaff’s team and time management services
- LinkUp, a product-oriented software developer, eliminated two hours of required office time each workday with Hubstaff
Hubstaff Talent
Pricing:
There are no fees for posting a job on Hubstaff Talent. It is a free service for both the employer and the contractor.
Best For:
Hubstaff Talent is a great option for employers with limited recruitment budgets and those who regularly tap into the remote workforce. It’s also ideal for freelancers that frequently switch between jobs or projects.
Why we love it
:
Indeed stands out for having a massive database of candidates. Companies of any size can post jobs on it and access their talent pool - all for free.
- Indeed has a massive reach and is free for both employers and job seekers to find one another.
- The platform’s UI is modern and quite easy to navigate. New users are able to create accounts and post their first jobs within 10 minutes or less.
- There is a candidate assessment tool built in and a mobile app is available, enabling you to see candidates’ profiles, and resumes, review applications, schedule virtual interviews and more on-the-go.
- The free job posts lose visibility if they don’t get sponsored, as thousands of jobs are posted every day.
- Indeed’s video interviewing tool could use some improvement, as one employer said, “The video interviewing tool is frustrating, sometimes it’s not available, and it only works 50% of the time.”
- There isn’t a Zapier integration at this time, though Indeed’s marketplace is full of prebuilt integrations, coving most tech stacks.
Indeed
Review:
Indeed is perhaps the biggest and most popular job posting platform available today. It allows companies to post jobs and apply skill assessments to those posted jobs to reach one of the largest talent pools on the internet, all for free. Once a candidate passes the assessment(s) and their credentials have been reviewed, companies can use Indeed’s built-in messaging system to reach out to candidates and schedule interviews. Though it is optional, companies can also sponsor job posts on Indeed to reach quality candidates faster.
Indeed
Customers:
Indeed is used by over 3,000,000 companies, including Nokia, Schwab, McDonald's, and the University of Oxford.
Indeed
Stats:
- 250 million people visit Indeed every month
- 225 million stored resumes
- 5 minutes to post a job for free
Indeed
Pricing:
It doesn't cost anything to post jobs to appear on Indeed's general search results. To reach more candidates however, you may want to try sponsoring your listing. The price for sponsoring a listing varies depending on the title, location and available job seekers for your posted job. After you define such criteria, Indeed will calculate and show you the price of sponsoring your listing so you’re able to decide if it’s within your budget before paying for it. To ensure you only pay for desired results, Indeed gives you 48 hours to reject unwanted applications before you’re charged.
Best For:
Businesses of all sizes looking to recruit for any position across hundreds of industries/service types.
Why we love it
:
Ladders is a niche platform for employers to find and hire experienced professionals across a range of industries. They offer hiring teams the ability to post 1 job listing for free each month.
- You can access additional information about candidates for greater insight into their personalities, goals, and aspirations.
- Basic user profiles display the member’s last activity date, so you can easily see who’s active and who’s not.
- Custom pricing plans are available for companies with specialized needs.
- Ladders’ pricing plans are quite expensive when compared to plans with similar feature sets offered by competitors.
- While hiring teams get 1 free job post per month, some of the platform’s most useful features, such as ATS integration, are locked behind a paywall so paying is inevitable.
- Several users have reported that Ladders’ customer service isn’t very responsive in resolving issues.
- There currently isn’t a mobile app that hiring managers and recruiters can use on-the-go.
Ladders
Review:
Ladders is a unique job board that connects employers with experienced professionals looking for $100k+ positions across different industries. It lets you sign up for a free account and post one free job listing per month, however you will need to upgrade to their paid plans for anything beyond that.
With their premium job posting plan, you can promote job listings both on their site and in weekly candidate emails. They also have a talent sourcing plan with features for resume searching, saving searches, ATS integration, and live support.
Ladders
Customers:
Some of Ladders’ customers include Toyota, Hallmark, Allstate, Fujitsu, BCG, Dish, Eaton, and Teach for America.
Ladders
Stats:
- The average annual salary on Ladders is $149,000.
- 75% of job seekers on Ladders have at least 15 years of hands-on experience.
- More than 92% of Ladders members have a bachelor’s degree.
- 45% of members have a master’s degree or higher.
- Ladders currently boasts more than 10 million members.
Ladders
Pricing:
Ladders has four distinct pricing plans for job posting. Within those plans, posted jobs can be sponsored for up to eight and included in weekly emails to candidates.
- Free: Hiring Teams members are granted one free job post per month.
- Single post: $599 per post
- 3 Pack $569 per post
- 10 Pack: $539 per post
They also have three sourcing plans:
- Lite Access: $2,870 per year or $299 monthly
- Full Access: $5,988 per year or $599 monthly
Enterprise: Receive a pricing plan that is custom-tailored to meet your needs.
Best For:
Ladders is ideal for companies that are hiring for roles with annual salaries of $100k or more, especially large-scale corporations and enterprises.
Why we love it
:
Although there are paid plans, AngelList offers a free service that includes basic job posting for employers. These services are comparable to the other free job boards, but AngelList stands out due to its focus on startups.
- AngelList makes it easy to gauge the performance of your hiring strategy with built-in analytics.
- Remote teams can use the AngelList mobile app to browse and read about startups.
- AngelList provides support for company branding with a customized online profile.
- Curated hires can be commissioned via AngelList to access top talent.
- AngelList has a highly intuitive and easy-to-use interface.
- AngelList makes it easy to gauge the performance of your hiring strategy with built-in analytics.
- Remote teams can use the AngelList mobile app to browse and read about startups.
- AngelList provides support for company branding with a customized online profile.
- Curated hires can be commissioned via AngelList to access top talent.
- AngelList has a highly intuitive and easy-to-use interface.
- The best features of AngelList require a premium subscription, which can be costly for new startups.
- It’s difficult to find candidates that aren’t specifically looking to work for a startup company.
- Many user reviews report spam profiles and messages when using AngelList.
- AngelList’s candidate pool can be lacking for roles outside of IT.
- There isn’t an internal method of verifying candidate credentials.
- The best features of AngelList require a premium subscription, which can be costly for new startups.
- It’s difficult to find candidates that aren’t specifically looking to work for a startup company.
- Many user reviews report spam profiles and messages when using AngelList.
- AngelList’s candidate pool can be lacking for roles outside of IT.
- There isn’t an internal method of verifying candidate credentials.
AngelList
Review:
AngelList’s free tool is comparable to most other popular job boards. Through it, employers can post jobs, edit listings, track potential candidates with AngelList’s built-in applicant tracking system (ATS), and even integrate AngelList with a select number of third-party ATS platforms.
Employers who opt for their free service will also be able to benefit from their online resources, which include helpful articles regarding AngelList and the online job market as a whole. To gain full access to their online suite of tools, however, a paid plan is required.
AngelList
Customers:
Some of AngelList’s customers include Amazon, Twitch, Front, Preset, Elite HRV, and Stripe.
AngelList
Stats:
- There are more than 8 million startup-ready candidates on AngelList
- AngelList Recruit has driven 100,000+ companies from pre-seed to post-IPO
AngelList
Pricing:
AngelList currently has three separate pricing plans:
- Starter (Free): Their free, entry-level plan lets employers post jobs and manage applicants.
- Pro (Starting at $249 per month): The Pro plan provides unlimited access to all of AngelList’s features.
- Team (Custom): Custom-tailored solutions are also available. Contact the AngelList support team for more information on pricing.
Best For:
Dubbed as “the world’s largest startup community,” AngelList is best for small, startup businesses and up-and-coming entrepreneurs who need to assemble their team as quickly as possible.
Why we love it
:
Upwork is one of the biggest platforms for freelancer hiring. Basic job posting can be done for free, and their premium plans add on other features such as online chat and file sharing, advanced reporting, talent sourcing, payroll, onboarding, and more.
- Their freelancer rating and review system lets you get an idea of a candidate's abilities before making a commitment.
- You can leave your own reviews to let others know the strengths and weaknesses of specific freelancers.
- Periodic screenshots make it easy to verify that your freelancer is spending the appropriate amount of time on your project.
- Integrated messaging lets users stay in touch via desktop, or mobile devices.
- Freelancers aren’t always vetted for credentials, qualifications, and experience.
- Many user reviews mention frequent account issues.
- Extensive and confusing guidelines are difficult to follow for some users.
- Customer service could use improvement, especially when it comes to dispute resolution.
- Some technical bugs and glitches are still present in the platform.
Upwork
Review:
Upwork offers a free job board that is focused on the freelance workforce. It has a large database of freelance workers, many of whom are ready to start at a moment’s notice. With Upwork’s free service, employers can post jobs, browse freelancers and agencies, and invite potential candidates to apply for specific listings.
Their free service also includes access to Upwork Messages, which lets you chat and share files with potential candidates. Built-in invoicing tools round out their free tools.
Upwork
Customers:
Some of Upwork’s customers include Microsoft, General Electric, Airbnb, Coty, and Bissell.
Upwork
Stats:
- More than 30% of Fortune 100 companies use Upwork.
- Businesses report cost savings of 50% when compared to traditional hiring methods.
- Upwork contains a database of freelancers with 5,000+ skills across 70+ categories.
- More than 5 million businesses currently use Upwork.
- Upwork has secured $168.8 million in funding from 19 investors to date.
Upwork
Pricing:
Upwork has four pricing plans:
- Marketplace: Upwork’s basic pricing model is free on a month-to-month basis, but it does charge a fee of 3% - 5% per transaction on their client marketplace.
- Enterprise: This is a custom-tailored pricing plan that is determined according to the size and scope of your operation.
- Any Hire: This service lets you bring your own outsourced freelancers into the Upwork system for management and processing. It’s available at a rate of $49 per month plus 3% transaction fees for contractors and $49 to $799 per employee per month plus 3% transaction fees and payroll fees ranging from 5% to 70%.
- Payroll: Available as an add-on to the Enterprise plan, this service charges a total fee of 23% per contract.
Best For:
Upwork is ideal for employers who often tap into the freelance workforce to fill open vacancies. It’s also a great option for organizations with minimal budgets.
Why we love it
:
Jooble is a free job board with an international scope. It houses more than 750,000 active job listings on any given day, with opportunities spread out all around the world. It also makes the job hunt easy for candidates by separating their job listings into multiple categories.
- With availability in nearly 70 countries, Jooble caters to job markets from around the globe.
- An online message board lets you chat with the Jooble research team, report problems, or connect with other users.
- Employers can start posting new job listings immediately by utilizing their database of sample job descriptions.
- Employers can increase the effectiveness of their job listings by browsing the most popular search terms and updating the job listings to reflect common keywords and phrases.
- Up-to-date salary data gives job seekers and employers a better idea of industry standards.
- Jooble’s mobile app is available via the App Store for iOS and Google Play for Android.
- Jooble doesn’t offer a privatized internal messaging system, so employers can only contact potential candidates outside of the Jooble platform.
- Since Jooble’s listings are pulled from so many different sources, some employers might request removal of job listings that were posted without their permission.
- While Jooble’s services are free for employers, sponsored job listings are only available for a fee.
Jooble
Review:
Jooble provides aggregate job listings that are free for job seekers and employers. Companies that want to stand out from the competition can opt for a sponsored job listing, but this requires a small fee.
The variety of job listings seen on Jooble makes it a great solution for remote workers. Couple this with the fact that it’s available in so many different countries and languages, and it’s easy to see how Jooble caters to such a large international audience of both employers and job seekers.
Jooble
Customers:
Some of Jooble’s listings come from notable brands such as Amazon, Hyatt, Pizza Hut, Popeyes, Target Brands, Inc., Rumble Boxing, and News Corp.
Jooble
Stats:
- 1 billion annual website visitors
- Services available in 25 different languages
- More than 750,000 individual job listings available
- Aggregates job listings from more than 140,000 online sources
- Used by employers and job seekers in 69 different countries
Jooble
Pricing:
Job posts are collected and aggregated from other sites at no additional cost. Vacancies can be posted for free and certain listings can be sponsored for a fee. Optional pricing plans include:
Best For:
Jooble is best for enterprises who regularly tap into the international workforce.
Why we love it
:
Job Spider’s website features simple formatting and coding, which keeps loading times at a minimum. Since it’s a dedicated online platform, Job Spider is easily accessible – for job seekers and employers – from any device with internet access.
- Job Spider features a highly simplified and intuitive interface that is free from clutter.
- Job seekers can set up automated job alerts that will notify them if you post a job that matches their qualifications.
- New listings on Job Spider are often picked up and aggregated across additional job boards.
- Job Spider doesn’t collect resumes from across the web. Instead, all of their resumes were uploaded by actual job seekers on their site.
- Separate sections on the site make it easy to find the resources needed as an employer or job seeker.
- Job Spider features a highly simplified and intuitive interface that is free from clutter.
- Job seekers can set up automated job alerts that will notify them if you post a job that matches their qualifications.
- New listings on Job Spider are often picked up and aggregated across additional job boards.
- Job Spider doesn’t collect resumes from across the web. Instead, all of their resumes were uploaded by actual job seekers on their site.
- Separate sections on the site make it easy to find the resources needed as an employer or job seeker.
- Job Spider doesn’t integrate with your CRM or HR software. It is only compatible with select ATS platforms.
- There is a rather small pool of candidates when compared to other, similar sites.
- The site doesn’t offer an internal messaging system, so employers will have to reach out to potential candidates via email.
- The overall presentation and aesthetic appeal of the site isn’t as professional as some other job boards.
- While they do their best to prevent fake accounts and spam, some manage to slip through the cracks.
- Job Spider doesn’t integrate with your CRM or HR software. It is only compatible with select ATS platforms.
- There is a rather small pool of candidates when compared to other, similar sites.
- The site doesn’t offer an internal messaging system, so employers will have to reach out to potential candidates via email.
- The overall presentation and aesthetic appeal of the site isn’t as professional as some other job boards.
- While they do their best to prevent fake accounts and spam, some manage to slip through the cracks.
Jobspider
Review:
Job Spider isn’t meant as a one-stop shop for all of your hiring, recruitment, and HR needs. Instead, it focuses on one thing – connecting job seekers in the U.S. and Canada with local or remote opportunities that are right for them.
One thing that sets Job Spider apart from the competition is their dedicated Scam Awareness section. Not only does the site acknowledge the existence of scammers across modern job boards, but it provides several helpful tips to how job seekers can avoid these scams. If nothing else, it helps build trust between companies and their prospective recruits right from the start.
Jobspider
Customers:
Job Spider’s customers include Donmich Corp, Business Information Technology Solution (BITS), Inc., Inster Canada, AgFirst Farm Credit Bank, and Blue Shark Transport.
Jobspider
Stats:
Jobspider
Pricing:
JobSpider.com is free to employers and jobseekers. There is no charge to post a resume, post job(s), search through the resumes, search through the jobs, or create a job alert.
Best For:
Job Spider is great for workers who want to browse potential opportunities from the comfort of their own home. It’s also perfect for small businesses and employers who maintain limited – or nonexistent – recruitment budgets.
Benefits of Using Job Boards
For recruiters and hiring managers looking to find and employ skilled applicants, job boards are incredibly useful. Here's why:
- Job boards decrease hiring time: If your business website doesn't get a lot of traffic, neither will the jobs you've posted on it. Job boards help you get your job postings in front of millions of job seekers, cutting down on the time it will take you to find and recruit candidates.
- Job boards decrease hiring cost: Engaging the services of recruiting firms is much more costly than posting your vacancies on job boards. These firms usually charge a percentage of the annual salary of each hired candidate, costing you thousands of dollars that you could easily save by simply using a job board.
- Job boards are great for employer branding: Not only do job boards allow you to post jobs, but many of them will also allow you to create a profile for your company so you can showcase its culture, values, mission, and vision, which many job seekers would want to know about.
Pitfalls to Choosing a Free Job Board
The main pitfall to free software products is that they often are very limited in terms of features. When it comes to free job posting sites, many of them limit the number of job posts you can post per month, sometimes to as little as 1 job post a month, which is fine if you only have one position to fill, but most companies require more or unlimited job posting quota.
Another pitfall of free software products is that they may be temporary, meaning you only get to use them for free for a limited period of time, and then you have to pay, or they are temporary in the sense that they aren’t robust and scalable enough to accommodate your company as it grows, which means you’ll need to switch to another provider later on.
One more thing to consider here is this: just because a software product is free, it doesn’t mean it isn’t costing you money. For example, because free products often come with limited automation features and 3rd party integrations, this means your team will do a lot more manual work than they would with a robust, full-featured solution. This wasting of your team’s time translates directly into wasting money.
Even with a limited recruitment budget, sometimes it is better to invest in a paid job board. The key is to identify the features you really need and only spend on those features. This way you get what you need faster and more efficiently, without spending money unnecessarily.
Pricing Models
The pricing models of job boards vary from one vendor to another. Some vendors offer a free plan where companies can post jobs at no charge. Besides that, job board vendors may employ any of the following pricing structures:
- Pay-per-click: In this pricing model, you pay every time your job post is clicked. This pricing model is typically implemented for advertised jobs.
Pay-per-post: In this pricing model, you pay a fixed amount for each job you want to post. Job boards may have discounts if you purchase a certain amount of job posts in a package in one go. - Pay-per-contact: In this pricing model, you pay every time you want to reveal a candidate’s contact information.
- Pay-per-month: In this pricing model, you pay a fixed monthly fee for either a limited or unlimited number of job posts, depending on the platform in question.
Do keep in mind that in all cases, additional fees may apply for on-demand services such as product customizations and dedicated account management.
Key Features of a Job Board
Not every job board is the same. Aside from price, they often differ in terms of features. Be that as it may, the following are some of the most common features you can expect from a job board:
- Job post sponsoring/promoting: Employers should be able to sponsor job posts on a job board to ensure that they surface more often in candidate searches and don't slip further down the search results over time. This is particularly important if you're recruiting in a competitive industry or using a popular job board where thousands of new jobs are posted every day.
- Searchable talent pool: A job board gives you access to a large pool of registered job seekers who are willing to work. All you have to do is search this pool for job seekers that fit your job criteria, then review their profiles to see if their experience and skills are a good match for your open position.
- AI-based candidate matching: Candidate matching is a useful feature that many job boards pack. Leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, this feature saves recruiters a lot of time by searching the job board's database and automatically pulling up the most eligible job seekers for the role.
- Candidate assessments: Many job boards give recruiters and hiring managers the option of creating assessments to test applicants’ career aptitude, cognitive abilities, and skills necessary for the job.
- Interview scheduling: Another useful feature some job boards have is the ability to schedule interviews. This feature allows employers to communicate with candidates, confirm availability, and arrange meetings easily. Most of the time, the interview scheduling function takes into account the time zones in which both the interviewer and the candidates are located and sends out reminders to both parties as the interview time approaches in order to prevent no-shows.
- Company page: Several job boards allow employers to create branded company profile pages. These pages can display lots of relevant information, including the history of the company, its vision and mission. These pages are also a great place for employers to highlight their company’s culture, which is something of interest to most job seekers.
- Send messages and automated rejections: For fast communication, a good job board should allow you to contact candidates directly through the platform. It should also allow you to send bulk rejection letters to applicants that didn't make the cut.
- Analytics: Analytics is an essential feature of every software product or online platform. This provides you with a snapshot of your activity and indicates how well you are doing against your objectives. An analytics feature on a job board will provide you with information that you could use to boost your job posting. This information includes the number of times a job post has been viewed, candidate bounce rate, and more.
- ATS integrations: To improve the candidate experience as well as the recruiting process for employers, most job boards integrate with applicant tracking systems (ATS). With an ATS integration, applicants who click-to-apply on the job board are sent directly to your ATS without interruption, and information about your job posts is constantly up-to-date on both platforms.
Questions to Ask During Demo Sessions
We always recommend scheduling as many demos as possible with various providers when buying a job board (or any solution for that matter). This is to ensure their solution is suitable for your company’s size and needs. During those demos, you can ask the following questions:
- How many registered job seekers are on your platform?
- How many countries does your platform work in?
- What filtering criteria does your platform have to search for particular candidates?
- Can you walk me through how I can contact applicants through your platform?
- Does your platform offer a job promotion or sponsoring option?
- Do you distribute job posts to other job boards or online communities?
- Does your platform have AI-based candidate matching?
- Do you screen candidates that register on your platform?
- Can I create assessments that candidates can go through before they apply for a job?
- Does your platform have an interview scheduling capability?
- What processes can I automate through your job board?
- Can I create a profile for my company on your job board?
- Do you offer a product implementation service?
- What business solutions does your product integrate with?
- How much does your product cost for my team size/business needs?
Implementing a Job Board as an Employer
It's relatively easy to use a job board, especially since most of them are cloud-based. Once you've registered for (or purchased) a plan that suits your needs, you can immediately create an account and begin configuring it. This includes designing your company profile, creating job posts, searching for relevant resumes, and more.
Free Job Board FAQs
What is a job board?
A job board is online database of open roles that job seekers use to source their next positions.
How can job boards benefit employers?
Job boards are a great place for companies to post their open roles to reach a large, targeted audience of potential hires. Job boards are also a good place to build your talent brand and share content. Employers often see reduced time- and cost-to-hire.
Final Thoughts
If you are looking to post jobs and have them reach a large number of candidates quickly, then you should definitely consider using a job board. As you should know by now, there are many free job boards available on the market, so having a limited recruiting budget is not a problem. All of the job boards we’ve listed in this guide are free of charge and would make a great addition to your HR tech stack. All you have to do is:
- Carefully consider the needs of your business and choose a job board that meets them;
- Schedule demo sessions with different vendors to get all of your questions answered.
Best Free Job Boards for Employers
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