My Job Board Experience

In an attempt to familiarize myself with job boards as a future manager that will likely deal with attracting, hiring, and retaining employees, I went through the motions of applying to two different job listings, each on a different job board website. Each process gave a unique experience and some insight on potential best practices for job board utilization.

First, I went to CareerBuilder. Having worked as a automotive sales professional for five years, I decided to search automotive sales manager positions in my area (Sacramento, CA). At first, the search function seemed very user friendly; however, once the search had been conducted, the results were far less than desirable. The search results were not easy to read and there were very few jobs that were actually related to the automotive industry. Since, I was unable to find a desirable job in that industry, I chose a job listing from Panera Bread looking for an assistant manager. This listing appealed to me because it was listed as an easy application listing, as well as providing a solid company branding which included the awards it has won, comprehensive benefits, free meals, and an overall inviting environment. The application process was simply, only requiring first and last name, email, and an uploaded resume. There was also an option to input personal information, work history, and education manually. Overall, the CareerBuilder was not the greatest experience as a job board site, however the job listing and application process for Panera Bread was quite enjoyable.

The other job board site I used was Indeed. Similar to CareerBuilder, the search function was initially very easy to use. This time the results were much more relative to my search query, yielding in numerous listings within the automotive industry. The listings were also a bit more aesthetically pleasing. I was quickly drawn to a sales manager listing by Norcal Automotive Group. The top of the listing included a pay range of $6,000-$10,000 per month, and was listed as urgently hiring and an easy application. All of these were quite appealing so I clicked on it to view the whole listing. The listing did not do as good of a job as Panera Bread's listing at creating a company brand and selling themselves to potential applicants. The application process was also similar to the previous listing in that it only required basic contact information and an uploaded resume. Overall, this job board site was much more user friendly and provided much more relevant results. The listing was initially appealing, but further reading the listing revealed a lack of excitement for the position.

By going through the motions of searching and applying for jobs on job board sites has shown me that it is important for employers to take care in choosing the right job board. The results of the search can make a big impact on whether or not a listing even comes up to a potential applicant. I also learned how much of an impact that the listing itself can have on attracting people to apply for the position. This is a great opportunity for companies to show off their brand while providing a realistic overview of the position.