According to the Wall Street Journal Online, only referrals outrank company career websites in success at finding new employees. The Internet has evolved into an efficient resource for job seekers, offering a wealth of information about prospective employers and careers. As international research firm Potential Park notes, corporate career websites serve as a "flagship tool" for recruitment.
Branding
A career website can be tailored to market the company as an employer of choice. While nine out of ten job seekers conduct online searches, two-thirds of them trust company websites, according to a 2010 Potential Park study. Features of sites that connect with qualified talent and lead to a good cultural fit with the organization include those adding a personal feel that speaks to Generation X and Y graduates: stories, names, videos, live chats, podcasts and interactive blogs. Boilerplate statements and PR lingo cannot contribute to employer branding and should be avoided, according to Potential Park research.
Savings
Cost is a major advantage of career websites. They eliminate the need to pay fees to job boards and reduce outlays to search firms, recruiters and employment agencies each time a position opens. Through web-feed technology, companies can distribute jobs posted on their career site to free job boards automatically. The Newspaper Advertising Association reported that recruitment newspaper advertising dropped 64 percent in 2009, continuing a downward trend begun in 2006 in favor of online job advertising.
Efficiency
The average contact-to-hire time for Internet recruitment takes 12 days, compared with 25 agency contact-to-hire days. according to "Human Resource Management, 12th Edition." Online assessments built into the site's application section narrow the pool of qualified applicants, enabling hiring managers to focus on setting appointments and interviewing. Automatic email capability of career sites also saves HR time.
Exposure
According to "Human Resource Management," career websites expand the applicant pool by reaching "passive" prospects---people currently employed who would consider a change if the right opportunity arose. Other advantages include tapping a broader audience of applicants interested in a particular field. Not to be overlooked: a career website's use for internal recruiting and associated benefits of promotion-from-within. Buck Consulting views career websites as a means of keeping in touch with applicants who might be interested in future openings.
Concerns
Compliance concerns emerging from career websites include "digital divide"---a situation where limited online access could lead to a less-diverse applicant pool or exclude "protected classes," according to "Human Resource Management." Restricting access to information obtained through the site for anti-discrimination and privacy regulations as well as ensuring that rejections are based on job qualifications merit attention from a compliance perspective.
Considerations
Companies must invest in their career websites to keep them current and user-friendly. As Buck Consultants notes, applicants will desert the site if the application process frustrates them.
