Many employers looking for new staff prefer to use online job boards. If we compare the initial costs of posting a job on an online job board with the fees required by recruiting firms, job boards are much less costly. However, most employers are unaware that the costs relating to a recruitment exercise add up throughout the entire process, totaling huge amounts. Thus, if you intend to hire staff yourself, you’ll end up spending more money than you think.

Are Recruiting Firms Better than Online Job Boards?

Recruiting firms do offer a series of advantages, from which the most important ones are:

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• Significant Time and Costs Savings: Thanks to the recruitment techniques expert recruiters use, they turn the complicated recruitment process into a very simple endeavour for both themselves and their clients. These professionals source candidates from different places, screen resumes and conduct interviews to provide you with a list of the best persons for the job. Therefore, the professionals working at recruiting agencies save you a lot of time and money.
• Access to Extensive Recruiting Databases: Reputable recruiting agencies have been in the business of recruiting for years. During this period, they have developed strong working relationships with numerous organizations that operate within the same sector, which means they have access to a vast recruiting network you might be completely unaware of.
• In-Depth Insight into the Job Market: The professional recruiters working at recruiting agencies not only have a good understanding of the job market, but also know the salary and benefit expectations of the people aspiring to certain positions. Thus, these experts can help you attract and retain qualified employees by ensuring that you set realistic salary and benefit targets.
• Reliable Resume Screening: Professional recruiters are able to filter hundreds of resumes a day, rejecting the candidates who are not appropriate for particular roles in your company. Additionally, recruiting agencies use special systems that allow their staff to identify red- and yellow-flagged candidates so you won’t waste your precious time on them.

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Online job boards can provide the following:

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• Low Initial Cost: Job boards require users to pay a fee ranging from $150 to $500 for posting a job. While this amount is much lower than the fee required by most recruiting agencies, bear in mind that you’ll be responsible for the entire selection and hiring process, which means that you’ll have to read countless resumes, interview potential candidates and select the most appropriate ones.
• Total Control over the Candidate Selection Process: Unlike recruiting agencies, online job boards give you total control over the screening and selection process, allowing you to choose only the candidates who meet certain criteria. However, a significant drawback is that you’ll have to screen tons of resumes and interview numerous recruits without even knowing whether the right person is among them or not.
• Access to More Recruitment Opportunities: A job on an online job board typically attracts numerous candidates, including those who aren’t appropriate for the job you posted. Some of these applicants might be good for another hiring need – a “bonus” that recruiting agencies are unable to provide.

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By running a succinct comparison between the advantages recruiting agencies bring and those offered by online job boards, you can determine which process best suits your company’s needs.