Recruiters and Job Boards: What’s the difference?

By Amy @BubbleJobs

When it comes to searching for jobs it can be easy to get confused. There are so many websites out there offering the ‘latest jobs from the UK’s top employers’, it’s no wonder that people get a bit mixed up and don’t have a clue which job they’re applying for and which company they’re actually applying for a job with – particularly if a recruiter is involved!

Yep, recruiters don’t always make applying for a job easy because more often than not, they don’t tell you what company they’re recruiting for so you’re not really sure what to put into your cover letter or how to tailor your CV. And then there’s job boards to consider too! From direct employers to recruiters, they advertise jobs for everyone but is that all they do? Don’t they help to sort through the CVs too?

To help you through the confusion that is job seeking in 2012, Bubble’s here to bring you the ultimate guide to recruiters and jobs boards – and yes, there is a difference!

First up, it’s time to talk about recruiters. Now, recruiters do pretty much what you’d expect. They recruit employees for other businesses. From discussing the specific role requirements with clients and drawing up a catchy job ad to working out where to post it and reviewing CVs, they do it all – and they can even help with the interview process if necessary! Now, recruiters usually work on a ‘no placement, no payment’ basis so, as you can imagine, they’re always super-keen to find the right candidates for each role – that is their job after all! The important thing to remember is that when you apply for a job (even with a recruiter), you’ll never be charged – the recruiter charges the employer for their services, not the candidate!

Now, when it comes to recruiters, there are niche recruiters and general recruiters. Without stating the obvious too much, niche recruiters specialise at recruiting for particular roles within a certain industry ie. the digital sector (these are the ones you’ll see most on Bubble), while general recruiters are good at recruiting for candidates in a range of industries.

Think you’re au fait with recruiters? OK, we’ll move on to job boards. Now, job boards are a bit like shop windows for jobs – they advertise job adverts on behalf of direct employers or recruiters for a set fee… and that’s pretty much it! Yep, contrary to popular belief, job boards don’t review candidate CVs or help with the interview process – that’s the recruiter’s job! They simply advertise the adverts and do their best to get as many eyeballs on the ads as they can for their employers. Some job boards (like Bubble) can help to rewrite the client’s or recruiter’s job adverts if they’re not particularly strong, however they don’t ever advise clients on which candidates to consider or dismiss or which candidates to take through to the interview stage.

Now, some job boards are much more than just… well, simple job boards. They feature useful job seeking advice in the form of a blog (like this very one!) or on the main site, all with the intention that their visitors will make better applications to the job ads featured on the site. Now, while job boards don’t tend to work on ‘no placement, no payment’ ethos (they get paid upfront when the ad is posted on their site), they obviously benefit from attracting the best candidates for their ads – after all the more successful a job ad is, the happier a client is and the more likely they are to return next time they have a vacancy.

So you know how I said that there are two kinds of recruiters; general and niche? It’s pretty much the same story with job boards. There are job boards out there that are a bit like Jessica Ennis at the Olympics – sites like Job Site are good ‘all-rounders’ when it comes to advertising jobs in a range of industries. Then on the other side of the coin, you’ve got the Ussain Bolts of the job boards. These niche job boards (Bubble included) don’t bother themselves with a jobs in a range of industries – they’re purely focused on advertising jobs in a particular niche (like the digital sector) and excelling in their respective field.

So, when it comes to searching for jobs, you should just look on job boards and forget individual recruiters’ sites? Well, yes and no – although the majority of recruiters tend to place their job ads on job boards, there are some that only advertise on their own site, so while it’s always good to keep an eye on job boards, it can be beneficial to familiarise yourself with the main recruiters in your niche and check their individual sites every now and again to make sure you don’t miss out!

So there you have it; recruiters and job boards have very different roles when it comes to the job seeking market but they both have one main objective; to help you find and bag your dream new job. The best course of action? Utilise both when it comes to finding and applying for new jobs – that is what they’re there for after all!

Tags: job application tips, job board advice, job seeker tips, recruiter advice

About the Author

Amy Edwards Amy Edwards is the SEO Manager for Bubble Jobs. With a strong background in online content and copywriting, Amy is responsible all the on-site and off-site SEO of Bubble Jobs and the Bubble Jobs blog. You can follow her on Twitter here or add her to your circles on Google+ here.