The biggest challenge employers face in finding niche talent for their hard-to-fill roles is the expense. They want to find the best return on their recruitment dollars. Between marketing efforts, job board postings, and career fairs, it’s expensive and time-consuming to find the perfect candidates, so employers are careful to make sure every dollar is well-spent.
As an association leader, you already have an advantage in the hunt for niche talent. You’ve got a highly qualified, targeted pool of niche candidates at your fingertips – your members. As early careerists, your members are more interested in mentorship and employment opportunities than most other benefits your association offers.
We’ve all heard the Field of Dreams quote, “If you build it, they will come.” As the job board market continues to grow, your association is in a great position to capitalize on the recruitment budgets of employers looking for top talent if you can distinguish your niche job board from your competitors.
Here are three ways you can earn more revenue through your niche job board:
1. Competitive Pricing
The standard pricing for job boards is subscription, cost per click (CPC), or paid duration ads.
Annual subscriptions are more convenient for employers with a bigger recruitment budget and many jobs to post. It also requires consistent communications with employers including service calls, results reporting, and technology maintenance.
Cost per click is a model where employers pay when people click on their job ads. This model can get costly, and employers are not guaranteed qualified applicants from the people clicking their ads.
The most common niche job board pricing model is paid duration ads. Employers can usually estimate the time it takes to attract candidates to either 30, 60, or 90 days. This is the pricing model most associations rely on for non-dues revenue.
Your members are the exact candidates recruiters are trying to reach for their job openings. Set a price point between $200 and $1,000 for a 30-day job posting that reaches the hundreds or thousands of professionals you support.
2. Member Demographics
Let employers know more about your members. Don’t be shy about sharing member demographics, regional details, or career titles to show recruiters your niche job board is the best place to find top talent.
Highlight the number of registered job seekers, job views, and current job postings on your job board to demonstrate its effectiveness. Employers are also interested to know about your member demographics. Will they be reaching more men or women, early-careerists or C-suite professionals?
The easiest way for an employer to justify their hiring budget is to see that your job board is an easy and obvious pick.
3. Billable Extras
Include revenue generating features for employers to increase their job exposure and reach more of your member audience on and off your job board.
Popular examples of revenue generating recruitment resources include:
- Career fair booths (virtual or onsite)
- Exclusive emails to members and registered job seekers
- Banner ads on your job board
- Sharing job ads on your association’s social feeds
- Ad space in your monthly e-newsletter
- Recruitment guide ads for your annual conference
Help employers and job seekers navigate their niche-focused business and career while you earn extra non-dues revenue each month for your organization.
