Job boards don’t stick around long unless they are doing something right. Case in point is JobsInTheUS.com a local job network based in Maine. They’ve been around for 18+ years and are still going strong. I caught up with their new General Manager for a quick Q&A.
Who is JobsInTheUS?
JobsInTheUS (aka JiUS) is a network of 51 hyperlocal state job boards including DC. They’re all aggregated onto JobsInTheUS.com which is our performance based recruiting site and national job search engine. We’ve been online since 1999 and are headquartered in Portland, Maine where we got our start. [bctt tweet=”As one of the first ever local job networks we strive to maintain a local job search experience and are known for our dedicated customer service.” username=”jobsintheus”]
When did you join the company and why?
I joined JobsInTheUS as CEO/GM in 2016. My experience in the uber generalist job board world led me to believe that the hyperlocal model is a great way to grow this business organically and more effectively serve employers and job seekers. I was thinking about the niche job board world and then realized that local is the new niche. Welcome to the hyperlocal world of recruitment.
Describe your background in the job search industry?
I actually started my career in the Human Capital space (1993) of which recruiting/search is one segment. I started in time management software and moved into HRIS software and landed at Monster.com 2006 after a yr as independent consultant.
What’s the JiUS value proposition?
JobsInTheUS has an amazing history which spans 18 years and is intensely rooted in helping job seekers and employers find one another at a local level. It is where job searching begins. Serving a two sided market, I believe our value proposition is different for each constituent group. For employers, our goal is to deliver the most engaged local seekers at a competitive price in every state. From JobsinME to JobsinWA, we offer an ecommerce self serve product, free or sponsored offering nationally and traditional duration based advertising. For Job Seekers we offer vetted local jobs in every state, repository for keeping multiple resumes and some for the simplest apply methods in the market.
What will job boards look like in 5 years?
Just think, Monster was launched in 1994 and JobsInTheUS in 1999. A lot of time has passed with little change because advertising essentially is very straight forward no matter the medium.
Recruiting hasn’t changed much and neither have supporting technologies such as ATS’s (although newer vendors are now popping up). I see a lot of thought and funding being put into tools to support employers and recruiters with words like AI but job boards will need to start thinking about tools to address seeker needs and also growing their own traffic
Growing organic traffic will essentially be back in style when people realize the damage done to great businesses who became addicted to purchasing traffic. It’s hunt and farm for your audience or hemorrhage your business one 25 cent campaign at a time. A little dire but we’re blazing our own traffic strategy here at JobsInTheUS.