In my thesis research I revisited some old stats I had on job listings and was shocked at how little those numbers changed. The US state department predicts another 1million jobs lost in the united states in 2009 if things don’t turn around soon. With that in mind, wouldn’t it be wise for newspapers to bring their job board costs in line with Craigslist?
In 2007 Craigslist was charging either zero or $25 to post jobs depending on the city. A quick look at newspapers sites reveals that 1. They partnered with monster, Careerbuilder, or Hotjobs for their Jobs section. 2. They charge on average $400 to post a job! How the heck is this justified when looking at the reach of craigslist vs. everyone else?
As for Website reach, here is 2007
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And here is 2008
If an employer is looking to fill a position that pays $20k a year how many ads can they take out in craigslist vs. the newspapers? It is not cost effective for a small business owner to advertise in the local newspaper / website. Now imagine you are on the other end, looking for employment and time and time again you notice that your newspaper listings are sparse. This experience will reinforce the notion that newspapers do not offer what you need and the disconnect between newspaper and community grows.
A quick search for jobs in Washington DC with the keyword “plumber” (i couldn’t resist)
Monster.com 0 results Craigslist.org 4 results
Careerbuilder.com 1 result HotJobs 4 results
A quick search for jobs in Washington DC with the keyword “hair”
Monster.com 5 results Craigslist.org 118 results
Careerbuilder.com 5 results HotJobs 5 results
A quick search for jobs in Washington DC with the keyword “mechanic”
Monster.com 4 results Craigslist.org 21 results
Careerbuilder.com 18 results HotJobs 12 results
Ok, but those are “blue collar” jobs some might say, what about “white collar” jobs and executive level jobs, sure those are best found in the higher costing newspapers and job board ads, no? Kind of… Here are my results. Many of the Monster responses were absolutely not within the location (Washington DC) I defined, but they came up anyway. Careerbuilder has a problem where it kicks back different results for DC, Washington DC and District of Columbia so I just went with the higher number every time.
A quick search for jobs in Washington DC with the keywords “software engineer”
Monster.com 216 results Craigslist.org 127 results
Careerbuilder.com 331 results HotJobs 181 results
A quick search for jobs in Washington DC with the keyword “physician”
Monster.com 62 results Craigslist.org 58 results
Careerbuilder.com 101 results HotJobs 34 results
A quick search for jobs in Washington DC with the keyword “lawyer”
Monster.com 19 results Craigslist.org 24 results
Careerbuilder.com 3 results HotJobs 15 results
What is the cost to advertise jobs in the Washington DC area right now?
Craigslist.org $25
Monster.com $355 for 30 day job ad
Careerbuilder.com $419 for 30 day job ad
Yahoo HotJobs $369 for 30 day job ad
Washingtonpost.com $395
Washingtontimes.com $219 though this can vary greatly either way
What’s the point of all this? 1. serve your community 2. serve your community 3. serve your community. At this point in time, Craigslist located in San Francisco California, is better serving the Washington DC community than its local newspapers. Newspapers need to become resources for their community if they are interested in doing business with their community. Newspapers cannot rely on national advertisers to keep their business model afloat. Newspapers must work with local business owners and residents to regain their status as THE community resource.
In order for newspapers to get the classified traffic that they once had, and Craigslist now dominates, they will need to win over the hearts and minds of their community by dramatically lowering and simplifying their price structure. I used “Jobs” for this article but one could just as easily substitute the entire classified ad listing experience. Newspapers make it too difficult and expensive.
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craigslist doesn’t organize the job search campaign effectively. It is painful to browse (too many duplicated ads). Craigslist has no resume database. craigslist is dangerous for reputations–do you want your ad next to one for erotic services? What if Hannabal Lecter was hiring? He’d probably post on craigslist. There is little hope of attracting passive job seekers on craigslist. craigslist charges a minimum of $675 to get started posting jobs. Hotjobs postings can be bought for far less than $369.
Just to clarify,
“Craigslist Paid Posting Account Sign Up Form
Use this form to sign up for a paid posting account and establish a line of credit. In order to qualify for a paid posting account, you must agree to purchase a minimum block of $675 worth of postings, or show that you have previously bought at least $675 worth of postings.”
The posts are still only $25 each for Washington DC so I can post 27 jobs where the same run on HotJobs costs $9,963 As far as i can tell HotJobs is $369 http://tiny.cc/0Tcjd But this is besides the fact that many other areas, like NJ, charge nothing to post jobs.
As for your assumption that a job posting for a software engineer or plumber will be displayed next to one for “erotic services” or even a dummy job posted by Hannibal Lecter where a census taker tries to test him but he instead gets his liver eaten with some fava beans and a nice chianti… well I’d like to see that article or screen shot.
-Robert