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What is the difference between a career site and a job board?

Written by Radhika Wangoo | May 3, 2023 12:04:31 PM

Job posting on the best online platforms is an important step of the recruitment process. It involves active research, networking with contacts, and engaging potential candidates for the job openings. In the same way, finding the best job can be a turning point in the professional career growth of the candidates. Getting the best employment opportunity in top-rated companies is the dream of every working individual.

Many candidates and recruiters need help choosing the best portal for posting jobs and hunting for amazing opportunities to work in the best company. 

Before posting your job requirement or open-to-work opportunity online, it is essential to understand the difference between a career site and a job board. 

This article will give a complete guide to job boards for intelligent recruiters and help them know how the job-hunting process works. Candidates will also get an insight into searching the best platforms to find jobs online.  

What is a Career Site?

A career site is a dedicated online platform or central hub where organisations and companies list the job opportunities and work culture or environment to the candidates.

Job seekers on a career site can explore job openings listed by the companies and learn more about the company, like employee benefits, salary structure, policies, and job location, before submitting their application to the company. 

Generally, career sites comprise inclusive information about the company, like its values, mission, goals, and plans. Giving the most convenient way to explore, search and find the best job opening, it also helps organisations, recruiting agencies, and companies engage and attract top candidates or active job seekers more efficiently. 

What is a Job Board?

A job board is an online platform where many companies post about job openings and work opportunities. Organisations worldwide widely use different job boards to locate the best job opportunities based on their requirements, skills, preferred location, and experience. 

Employers and recruiting companies widely use job boards for advertising job openings and engaging candidates actively for job opportunities. Job boards provide a cost-effective and convenient way to reach many active and passive candidates worldwide.

How Do Career Sites and Job Boards Differ?

Job boards and career sites have the same purpose but differ in some aspects. Job seekers and employers should clearly understand which platform to use for job searching, listings, and engaging the best candidates for different roles in the company. 

Explore the difference between job boards and career sites:

Parameters

Job Boards

Career Sites

Purpose

The prime purpose of a job board for employers is to provide a centralised online platform to post and advertise job openings for the company.

The primary purpose of a career site is to list detailed descriptive information about culture, mission, values, and job opportunities.

Job Listings

There are many options for job listings available on the job boards. Companies and industries can opt for these listings to post jobs.

There is a limited choice of options on a career site specifically for companies and recruiting agencies.

Company Information

Job boards are entirely focused on job listings. Limited information about the company, mission, culture, and other benefits exists.

Job seekers can explore in-depth information about the company or organisation, such as culture, history, achievements, employee benefits, and mission.

Branding

Companies and recruiting agencies cannot post much about the branding parameters.

A career site is integral to a company's branding strategy and plan.

Recruitment Type

Posting jobs on job boards attracts a large talent pool and gives quick options to connect with job seekers.

When you post jobs on a career site, you will get engaged with specific audience types.

Target Audience 

Job boards generally engage many candidates worldwide.

Career sites are aligned with candidates who are interested in particular types of job roles.

Job Search Tools 

There are advanced search tools available on job boards. Employers can easily search for the best candidates based on different criteria like industry, location, and job titles.

Career sites have basic functionalities to search for jobs.

Mobile Optimisation

Offering a user-friendly interface, job boards provide a mobile-optimised mode for recruiters to search for the best candidates in different fields.

Career sites can be freely assessed online by recruiters and employees.

Cost 

There are different plans to post job openings on the job boards.

Career sites are generally free to access worldwide.

Communication

Job boards usually do not provide a direct communication link between job seekers and employers.

Recruiters and candidates can directly communicate with the hiring companies or organisations.

Job Matching 

Job boards have algorithms or particular systems to match applicants with job listings.

Candidates can search, browse and apply online for the available jobs.

Accessibility

Job boards offer an accessible and comprehensive platform to engage candidates, considered the best mode to locate top talent worldwide.

Career sites are less accessible to locate job seekers unaware of your company or organisation. 

Job Description

Job boards have a complete format that lists job roles with descriptive details.

Career sites have customised forms and job descriptions as per the requirement of the roles.

Diversity

Job boards may not include the diversity of the company.

Career sites put focus on the diversity and initiatives taken within the organisation.

Analytics

HR professionals or recruiting agencies can track the hiring KPIs based on the tools and monitoring analytics.

Recruiting companies can have a detailed list of applicants directly approached by recruiters for job openings.

Job Alerts

Job boards give notification about job alerts to employers.

Candidates do not receive any further action when applying on career sites.

Features 

Job boards do not have features like company videos, testimonials, or news.

Career sites can include employee testimonials, news and articles, videos, and other details.

Job Security 

In this competitive job market, job boards offer a fast-paced approach to employers.

Regarding the direct approach, there is no better option than career sites.

Customer Support

Job boards are aligned to post ads and jobs of the company.

On the other hand, career sites have customer support services for applicants and candidates.

Hiring Process

Job boards are developed to list job openings online and reach a broad pool of applicants to fit in the role.

Career sites can be included in the company's overall recruitment process.

Ownership

These are 3rd party platforms, mainly based on listing job posts from various sources.

Individual organisations and companies operate career sites.

Candidate’s Screening

When choosing the right candidates, job boards have advanced tools and analytics to screen the applications based on the required skills and expertise.

Career sites receive all types of applications. HR professionals must invest time and effort to locate the right fit for the job role and the company.

Focus 

Job boards have the option to feature listings from different industries and employers.

Career pages are aligned to a particular company or organisation. These are widely used to promote job opportunities available in the company.

Which One is Best for Hiring Managers for Recruitment?

Hiring is an important task, and HR professionals must strategise in-depth plans for the company's recruitment. In today's digital world, you must take advantage of the chance to involve advanced technologies and tools in recruitment.

For that, different job boards are available with interesting features and plans, which can not only make hiring an easy deal but also help to track your recruitment efforts in detail.

It is important to include both of them, as when you promote your job listings, the company's vision, and approach; you engage a large audience worldwide. You can explore the job boards' subscription plans or free offerings to make hiring easy and time-saving.

It will help you to know more about the hiring process and help you to post to multiple job boards to attract top talent, take their interviews, assess their skills and expertise, and onboard them as employees in the company.

Conclusion

The job board meaning in recruitment is vast and purposeful in many ways. If you are a recruiter or HR professional in a company actively looking for the best candidates, start your hunt by posting jobs on the job boards. You can also run ads to locate the right candidate for job roles.

Recruiters can also use analytics to explore more about key performance indicators like cost to hire, time to hire, retention rate, etc.

If you are a candidate actively looking for the best opportunity in the best company, you should explore the career sites of the top companies. Generally, the company has a dedicated page to post about jobs on the career page. Candidates can directly apply on the career page by filling in their details and submitting their resumes online.