To simplify your decision-making process when starting a job board, this article will outline 8 key features and functionalities you should look for when selecting the best job board software.
1. Customizable appearance to match your brand
Branding is vital for your job board to create a consistent and professional image that matches your business. Seek a job board software that offers enough customization options, allowing you to personalize the platform to match your brand identity.
Look for features that enable you to upload your logo, choose colors that align with your brand palette, and change copy to match your target audience of job seekers and employers.
Ideally, your provider allows you to define functional aspects like:
- Managing required application fields for job seekers. For instance, resume field or a mandatory link to their LinkedIn profile.
- Social logins, for example via Google or LinkedIn for easier account creation on the job seeker and employer side.
- Setting which information employers need to provide when posting a job on your board. For example, detailed remote options or a required salary range.
Customization empowers you to create a seamless and visually appealing user experience, all while not having to decide on each little layout configuration.
If you want further customizations, look for a job board software that allows you to add custom CSS code in addition to the standard settings, like Niceboard.
2. Job sourcing
One of the primary functions of a job board software is to simplify the process of sourcing and posting jobs. Look for a software that allows you to easily import jobs through backfill, URL or XML.
Backfill jobs
Backfill involves accessing a database of jobs from external sources such as Ziprecruiter, AppCast or Talroo ensuring an initial stream of opportunities for job seekers.
Imagine having access to a vast network of job boards, recruitment agencies, and other sources, all feeding into your job board software. This means that you can offer a wide range of job opportunities to your users, increasing the chances of finding the perfect match for both job seekers and employers.
To make sure the backfilled roles are relevant to your niche, you should be able to filter by category, keywords, and location.
The backfill feature in Niceboard will automatically pull jobs from our partner's job feeds to populate your job board with fresh job offerings in your niche, according to detailed filters.
URL, XML or private API import
A URL upload feature enables you to manually add job listings from a URL, saving you time and effort. Instead of manually entering all the information for each job listing, a URL upload feature will automatically populate all fields with the necessary information from the job posting. This saves you valuable time and effort, especially if you have multiple job listings to add.
The same is true for bulk uploads from XML job feeds, automatically scraping and import jobs of any live feed.
No more manual data entry errors or inconsistencies across different job listings.
The ability to source and post jobs easily is a crucial aspect of any job board software, and these features are designed to make that process as smooth as possible.
3. Mobile friendliness
With over 50% of job applications submitted via mobile devices, it is crucial to choose a job board software that is not only mobile-friendly, but mobile-first.
Ensure that the job board software you select is optimized for mobile viewing, scrolling, and applications, with a responsive design that adapts seamlessly to different screen sizes. This ensures that job seekers can easily navigate and interact with your job board, regardless of whether they are using a smartphone, tablet, or desktop computer.
Look out for the ability to go through the whole application experience, from filtering roles, creating an account to submitting files of resumes via a smartphone.
This feature will not only attract more job seekers but also enhance their browsing and application experience. Hence, significantly increasing the visibility and accessibility of your job board, leading to more qualified applicants and successful hires.
4. Customer support and feature development
When investing in job board software, it is essential to consider the level of customer support available to you. Look for a software provider that offers responsive and knowledgeable customer support to solve any technical issues that may arise. In contrast, a free job board plug-in for WordPress for example usually lacks the option to get personalized support.
To ensure you will receive great support, look for testimonials or reviews from other customers to get a sense of how satisfied they are with the support they received.
Feature development
A provider that prioritizes active feature development demonstrates a commitment to continuously improving their product, offering you access to the latest advancements in job board technology. It allows you to stay ahead of the competition by offering cutting-edge features that enhance the user experience and streamline your business processes, such as automations.
Furthermore, consider the provider's approach to gathering customer feedback. A software provider that actively seeks input from its users demonstrates a commitment to understanding their customers' needs and preferences. This feedback-driven approach ensures that new features and updates align with the requirements of the customers.
Our committed developer team at Niceboard takes feature updates and customer requests seriously. We usually release monthly updates in our changelog based on feature requests from customers.
5. Job seeker features making it easy to find and apply to roles
Your job board software should not only cater to the needs of employers but also provide an exceptional experience for job seekers. Look for software that offers features allowing job seekers to easily search and find relevant job opportunities, such as:
- Filtering jobs based on job seeker preferences. For example, keywords, industry, location, salary and remote working options.
- Subscriptions to automatic job alerts that match their specified criteria via email. A simple way to keep passive job seekers in the loop without them having to constantly visit your job board.
- Letting job seekers submit their applications directly on the platform to streamline the application process for job seekers and employers.
- Allowing job seekers to create profiles storing their application data such as resume, photo, and job preferences. The job seeker profile serves as a digital resume, showcasing skills, experience, and qualifications all in one place, making it fast for job seekers to apply to roles.
By providing these features, your job board can attract and retain top talent, ultimately benefiting both job seekers and employers.
Niceboard offers advanced filtering, including a remote ok/only filter, job seeker accounts, and three different options to submit applications, on the platform, via email or link.
6. Payment facilitation for employers
If your job board is intended to generate revenue through employer job listings, it is crucial to provide a seamless way to facilitate payments. Job board software that implements with a trusted payment provider, such as Stripe, is crucial for ensuring secure and efficient payment processing.
For employers, it is essential to have a reliable and secure payment gateway in place, knowing that their transactions are protected and their sensitive data is handled with the utmost care. A seamless integration with a known payment provider streamlines the payment process, making it easier and more convenient for employers to complete their transactions.
Pricing plans and upsells
You might have a large range of employers posting to your board, from small businesses with limited budgets, to huge corporations willing to pay a premium for priority placement. And your job board software needs to support this with different pricing tiers and payment models:
- For instance, you can have a basic pricing tier that offers regular placement lasting 30 days, and a premium tier that provides priority placement and the ability to add more than one job. This way, you can provide different employers with options that suit their requirements.
- Offering both one-time payments and subscription-based models gives employers the flexibility to choose the payment method that works best for them. Subscription pricing is a great way to receive a reliable stream of revenue from employers on a monthly, or yearly basis.
- Providing the option to purchase upsells such as access passes to your gated pool of job seekers can be another easy way for you to generate revenue with your job board.
Niceboard facilitates all payments from employers via Stripe. With a few simple clicks, employers can make payments, receive confirmation, and proceed with posting their job listings. Our job board software is engineered for profitability with unlimited pricing tiers, a gated talent pool, and configurable upsells.
7. SEO optimizations to win organic traffic
In a competitive job market, having relevant organic traffic going to your board is one of the most important indicators of success. Therefore, it is essential to select job board software that is optimized for search engines (SEO) and allows indexing for Google Jobs. Look for software that offers built-in SEO features, such as:
- Indexing API that enables your job listings to show up in Google Jobs for increased exposure.
- Ability to customize key SEO settings, such as editing Meta Title and Meta Description for all pages on your job board ensuring that your job board ranks well in search engine results. Ideally this is done automatically by your provider.
- Automatic technical optimizations such as sitemap submission to improve the overall performance and speed of your job board.
Niceboard automatically optimizes your job board for SEO, with technical optimizations, one-click sitemap submission and Google Jobs real-time indexing API.
8. Automations and integrations
Automations and integrations are transforming the way businesses operate. When selecting a job board software, consider whether it offers automation features such as automatic job posting to social media platforms or job alert emails to enhance efficiency.
Lastly, consider whether the software allows integrations with third party tools that help streamline your work, such as Zapier.
Action steps to do next
Before making a final decision, it is crucial to gather insights from other users who have already implemented the job board software you are considering, as well as testing the job board software you are considering.
Analyze user reviews and case studies
Look at user reviews and case studies to understand their experiences and the software's potential benefits and limitations. A great way to find independent reviews for job board software is via third-party review sites, such as SoftwareAdvice, Capterra, or GetApp.
Test the software
Nothing beats your actual user experience. Ideally, the job board software provider offers a free trial, or at least an interactive demo that allows you to test the platform yourself. Using the software firsthand will allow you to assess its user interface, features, and overall performance, ensuring that it meets your organization's specific requirements.
In conclusion, selecting the best job board software involves considering a range of key features. From sourcing jobs and customization options to mobile friendliness and customer support to features catered to both job seekers and employers–each aspect plays a pivotal role in the success of your job board.