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.

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.
  

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?

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.

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.

What are the best job boards out there?

The best job boards out there are Ladders, AngeList, Upwork, Indeed, PostJobFree, SimplyHired, Hubstaff Talent, and JobSpider.