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Most companies rely on general job boards for at least part of their recruiting. But how reliable are they?

Not very, say some of the people using them. When asked if most online job boards provide a “quality service” to candidates and companies, more than three quarters of HR pros answered “no” in a recent survey conducted by recruiting expert Matt Peterson of Workforce Solutions, Inc.

What are the biggest problems? The boards’ pricing strategy was a big  one, as well as the difficulty of searching through resume databases:

• More than 65% said paying for each post failed to get good results at a decent value. Most would prefer to pay only after they found a hire.
• About 55% “strongly disagreed” that resume searching uncovers quality candidates (another 20% “moderately disagreed”).

Get the most out of job boards

If satisfaction is so low, what are companies doing instead? Many companies have started posting to free job or classified sites (like Craigslist and KSL.com) or using niche sites that cover only specific industries, job types or geographic areas.

That said, the general boards are still popular. When the survey respondents were asked what they do when they have to advertise an opening, the top choice was — you guessed it — “post on general job boards.”

So what can companies do to get more value out of those tools? Avoiding these common mistakes should help:

• Writing a laundry list of “requirements” — Hiring managers sometimes fail to distinguish between skills employees can learn on the job and the qualities and experience they must already have in order to succeed. If the list isn’t whittled down to the necessities, a crop of great talent could be turned away before they even finish reading your ad.
• Being too general — The reverse is also true: Writing a job description with too few qualifications will only result in a flood of undesirable candidates. Help the manager find a balance between keeping too many people out and letting too many in.
• Putting zero thought into titles – To help job seekers find your listing, it’s important to choose an appropriate title. It should include variations on the key words that candidates are likely to search with. For example, using both “registered nurse” and “RN” in the heading of an ad will help increase your search engine exposure.

What has your company done to improve its online recruiting? Let Workforce Solutions know by leaving us a comment below.