Job Boards – Candidate’ Friend or Foe?

First of all, let me state clearly that I believe job boards serve a very useful and valuable service to both candidates and employers. I have used a number of  job boards throughout my career and have found them to be very useful resource tools.

Having said that, I was recently surprised to learn just how much background information employers are able to obtain on potential candidates for their current and future career opportunities. The data they collect can be saved and used in future search parameters, and therefore referenced when and if the need arises.

Part and parcel of any job search, regardless of seniority level, is the provision of professional references to support your personal and professional contributions in your previous roles. This is a natural and anticipated part of any job search, and should not represent a challenge for those seeking gainful employment. The same holds true for the provision of educational ‘certifications’, which of course are also checked in the standard reference checking process.

I would suggest that job seekers provide potential employers with direct telephone numbers for their references, rather than providing letters of reference. The fact is that if the employer does not conduct a reference check themselves, an outsourced service, such as a job board, will make the necessary arrangements, either in-house, or through an affiliate, to contact the previous employers and collect all of the supporting information.

Following is a summary of the detail available to employers should they elect the option:  (NB: Some boards include these services in their fees, while others post an additional charge, depending on how ‘in-depth’ the background check is to be). 

• Employment References
• Criminal Record Check
• Address History
• Education Verification
• Salary Details

In some cases, an advantage to the employers posting their positions on these boards is a fairly handsome commission, which begins at approximately15% ‘per referral’ if they participate in the ‘affiliate’ program, which anyone can join free of charge. Naturally, the ‘referral’ the employer introduces must place an ad or request access to the appropriate database in order to earn any commission.

Therefore, depending on the hiring needs of the employers using these services, and the size of their own professional network, this affiliation could lead to numerous ‘referrals’, which would easily cover the costs incurred in posting positions in a relatively short period. In this case, their commission earnings would also increase by a small percentage.

I have provided this information for the benefit of the unemployed who are actively seeking employment and utilizing a number of job boards, as well as various social networking sites in their job search efforts.

While we all recognize that social networking sites expose us to the disclosure of our personal information, I thought I should bring this topic to light to inform you of just how much of your personal information is out there and available to any prospective employer using these types of services.

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