Did you see the quote by one of today’s job board industry leaders that recently made the rounds? It read, “We captured the most traffic in the industry every month, according to reports from comScore Media Metrix. The CareerBuilder network now draws more than 23 million unique visitors per month, approximately 9 million more than its largest competitor.” (This quote, BTW, originated from this press release.) This might be great for an amusement park or a toll road, but it has nothing to do with, and in fact, gets in the way of working professionals who want to explore job opportunities. Yet we will bet big money that Monster (TMP) fires back with a barrage of irrelevant facts about their visitors and traffic.

Our itzbig project is based upon the belief that the old newspaper classified model is bad. Moving it online has made it worse for everyone. Well… everyone that is except for the job boards. They seem to do alright cashing checks from their advertisers. And it’s this great wall of advertising that they care about maintaining–not connecting jobs and people.

People want great jobs!

Companies want great people!

Today’s job boards want visitors to attract advertisers that pay big fees. Is it any wonder 85-90% of today’s work force and employers are “unserved”, or at the very least, “underserved” by online recruiting? We know. We are talking to them.

This ad selling scheme worked for years with local newspapers because readers and companies, wanting to reach readers, had no competitive alternative. Then came the www offering revolutionary new concepts. So what did these job board innovators do that was new? Not much. They moved their classified advertising model to the web. And here we are twelve years later with the same failed model and Job “Advertising” Boards running press releases boasting about visitor and traffic rates. Why? They’ve erected a wall that keeps companies believing they must spend big money on ads to let working professionals and jobs connect.

How does this wall of advertising impact recruiters and candidates?

Here’s what the creator of The Riley Guide, Mary Riley Dikel, said in a recent New York Times article, “One job seeker told me, “I think I’d be more successful distributing my résumé by opening my window and throwing it out.” You do feel like you’re going into a black hole.” (From More Jobs Being Found Online, but That Doesn’t Mean It’s Easy)

So recalling Ronald Reagan’s famous quote regarding the Berlin Wall? We believe it’s time to “Tear Down this Wall” that artificially divides two communities that desperately need to be re-united: Recruiters and working professionals. Or to put it another way, “Unite the Good Candidates with Good Jobs!”

Today’s Job boards just don’t work. They don’t help people find jobs and they don’t help companies find people.
“The job boards are becoming unreliable for the best talent,” complains a recruiter in this article, SAP firms struggle to find experts.

In fact, as we said earlier, no more than 10-15% of the workforce feels job boards serve their needs. Instead, job boards serve Madison Avenue, not the hard-working men and women living on Main Street, USA. (For an example, read Tales From Frustrated Job Seekers.)

How do we know? We’re asking them. What can be done to provide more value than the job boards that moved the old online classified ad model – online?

And we are asking you. Respond to this post with your ideas about what can be done to provide more value to you the recruiter, you the candidate, or you the quiet working professional. Let’s debate it together. Join our Advisory Councils. Get involved with us in delivering a solution. Stay tuned, because if we pull it off… itzbig!

Together, we can “Tear down this wall!”

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