We here at Warren & Morris don’t post positions online, never have. We find good old-fashioned, human-to-human networking to still be the best way to search (researching, identifying, contacting and sourcing). But it doesn’t mean posting isn’t a viable option, depending on your circumstances. If you have the time and leisure to give it 30 to 90 days prior to engaging with a search firm, it’s an option to go this route. If your opening is a replacement for an incumbent (someone currently in the role) and the search requires a high level of confidentiality, posting a position on a job board isn’t an option. But if it’s an open role with no confidentiality restraints and you have the time, give it a shot. Job posting is a cost-effective first step for any company to locate talent. I find myself recommending this option to clients often. Bar none, posting to a job board can be one of the most effective ways to advertise your open role. You simply can’t beat the coverage it provides, it’s inexpensive and it’s easy to do; After paying the price of the service and uploading your job, all you do is filter through applicants.
If your company has a hiring need, post it, see what you can get, you very well may find a perfect candidate. If you don’t have the time or resources to do so and it’s time to outsource the process, choose a search firm wisely. There are many search firms and agencies out there that include job posting as part of their recruiting strategy. But know there are agencies out there that use online postings as their only recruiting strategy. The “advertising model” of search. This is when a third-party recruitment agency posts jobs to job boards as their only means of recruiting; This is a model I highly suggest you avoid. Once these firms sign an agreement with you, they do exactly what you’d do if you were posting a job yourself but at a much greater cost.
When you post a role on your own, you pay the fee for the posting, upload the job then filter candidates. When you give the search to an agency that strictly utilizes online postings as their only means of recruitment, they do the same thing you would do. Well, almost the same thing. To be fair, advertising model agencies will most likely be a great deal more successful at this process than the average Joe. After all, this is their business. They are constantly training and learning how to do it even better, week after week of data filled analytics reports telling them exactly what does and what does not work. They’ll pay top-dollar and receive VIP programs resulting in better coverage, priority positioning, daily refresh, etc. So yes, chances are they’ll execute an online search a lot better than most, otherwise, the mechanics are the same regardless of who does it.
The biggest difference? The cost.
Let’s discuss costs using an example of a two-month long search and a placed candidate that now earns $100,000 in annual salary.
If you post the role yourself:
- A thirty-day posting costs anywhere from $50 to $500 for a 30-day listing, regardless of the salary of the role being posted. There are also some free posting options if one is resourceful…
- Final cost, post placement after two-months, is anywhere from $100 to $1,000, plus overhead.
If you choose to use a search firm that only uses the advertising model:
- The advertising model search agency charges on average anywhere from 15% to 30% of the hired persons first years’ salary.
- Using the example of a $100k annual salary, post-placement, your final cost will be anywhere from $15,000 to $30,000.
Post on your own and pay $1,000.00. Have an advertising model agency post it for you and pay $15,000 to $30,000.
That’s a big difference.
If you are hiring, my suggestion is to take it in steps. First, try to make the hire happen organically. Source your organization, your contacts, work your network. If that doesn’t work, post the role to a job board yourself. Give it 30- or 60-days. And if you are still not getting what you need, call an executive search firm to help, one that doesn’t simply turn-around and re-post your job.
About the Author:
Chip Cossitt is a Senior Partner with Warren & Morris, Ltd., executive search and has been providing executive search services for more than 25 years.