Recruitment Strategy Shift: Time To Consider Association Job Boards And Career Centers

Dive into an untapped resource for your application pool

Like real estate, deciding where to spend your recruitment dollars is all about location, and not all locations are created equal. 

As an HR professional, chances are you have identified your company’s mix for where you post jobs, including LinkedIn, Indeed, or ZipRecruiter, and your goal is to get your posting in front of as many potential recruits as possible. 

However, in today's extremely competitive job market, companies must diversify their strategy for recruiting top talent and need to step away from the “post and pray” approach. Instead, taking a step back to consider a more intentional approach to recruitment is essential, and companies would do well to place their industry’s professional or trade association career centers at the core of your updated strategy. 

Why Should You Include Association Job Boards in Your Strategy?

Often, association job boards and career centers are an untapped resource for organizations seeking qualified candidates to meet their growing needs. In an unprecedented employment market, there is no doubt that your current job postings are getting viewed and you are receiving applicants. 

However, are they the right applicants? If not, consider using associations to aid in your search. Association job boards offer some of the most qualified talent in a specific industry and offer unique benefits that other platforms and partners cannot deliver. 

As the leaders in their industry, who often take advantage of an association’s continuing education, credentialing and networking benefits, candidates seeking employment through their association’s career center naturally elevate themselves over job seekers in the broader market. Additionally, associations offer more to employers than traditional online recruitment platforms since it benefits them when their members find gainful employment through an association-offered resource.

What Additional Benefits Do Associations Offer? 

1. Virtual career fairs

Many associations offer virtual career fairs as a benefit to employers and job seekers to attend. Virtual career fairs are doorways for employers to connect with qualified candidates, allowing for saved time and resources for both the employer and job seeker. Association virtual career fairs not only increase your opportunity to meet a targeted set of candidates quickly, but they also provide opportunities to build brand loyalty with job seekers. Aligning your brand with an association lends credibility to your company and allows you access to the association’s trusted relationship with its members. 

According to Brazen’s recruiter survey, 96% of talent acquisition professionals surveyed said they would continue using virtual recruitment as part of their overall strategy. Given their industry credibility, associations have a leg up in hosting virtual career fairs that will only increase with time as traditional recruitment continues to grow online. 

Rather than seeking a virtual career fair hosted by a larger corporation, and finding a niche market by aligning your company with your industry’s top associations, you are opening the doors to a targeted pool of talent and exposure. 

2. Ad retargeting

Unlike traditional advertising, ad retargeting is a form of targeted digital advertising that is served to people, who have previously visited a specific page on your website or are a known contact of a specific company or association. For example, this is why you see ads for items you were reviewing on Target’s website when you visit Instagram a few hours later. 

For associations, ad retargeting arms employers with the opportunity to get their jobs in front of an elite market of industry professionals, who are the ideal fit for their job postings. For example, employers can work with associations to serve targeted ads to visitors of a specific webpage or job posting that includes a reminder to return to the site and apply. An association’s career center and job board is often the second most-visited page after their homepage, therefore these campaigns are often highly successful for employers. 

Similarly, associations can help employers run ad retargeting campaigns that target specific member groups by using data that lives within their association management software. For example, an employer can work with an association to identify the attributes of their “perfect” candidate, including education and work experience, and build a retargeting campaign that targets individuals, who meet those specific requirements. 

3. Geo-fencing 

Geo-fencing is location-based programming that sets virtual boundaries to a live venue using an attendee’s geographical location by tracking a mobile device or RFID tag. The targeted industry audience an association offers allows for tremendous value to employers when geo-fencing is leveraged at a live event. 

With live events on the rise, geo-fencing an event allows an association to promote core offerings and benefits, such as their career center or credential program, to attendees while they are on-site. For employers, geo-fencing an event serves as an opportunity to get specific job postings in front of a highly engaged, industry-specific audience. With association events ranging from a hundred to several hundreds of thousands of attendees, partnering with an association to recruit via geo-fencing offers an incredible amount of concentrated, short-term exposure for any company. 

4. RSS feeds

At every association’s core is the need to effectively communicate value to its members. One avenue to engage members is via digital communications, including a members-only newsletter. Ranging from daily to monthly depending on an association’s needs and its members’ preferences, association newsletters can include an RSS feed that will easily highlight the most recent, relevant jobs for readers. Employers can work with associations to secure a listing in their association’s RSS newsletter feed or request sponsored postings within the newsletter for additional exposure. 

Similarly, associations often include an RSS feed on their career center homepage, helping job seekers to identify roles that might be the best fit for them once they visit the site. Sponsored options are often available for employers to promote their most important roles to this targeted audience.

5. Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives (DEI)

Associations can also assist companies in connecting with diverse audiences. Many associations directly serve the interest of underserved or underrepresented populations in specific fields, such as the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA) or the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN). Through their job boards and other association career resources, recruiters can directly connect with top talent and ensure that initiatives related to DEI are being successfully achieved.

In Conclusion

As industry leaders, associations bring a unique value proposition to employers, who are actively hiring and job seekers who are looking for their next opportunity. Associations tirelessly work to ensure that they have the best resources for their members as they advance in their careers. Engaging with HR departments to ensure their members are getting the exposure they need to be successful in the job market benefits both the employer seeking highly qualified candidates and the associations supporting their members’ career success. 

Furthermore, in a world where remote work offerings are a must and job applicants seek benefits like competitive paid time off, sick and parental leave, 401k match, supportive leadership, and streamlined onboarding and training practices, finding the right candidate by using all your available industry resources is vital. Partnering with your leading industry association will put your company on the path that delivers a continuous stream of top-notch talent in an extremely competitive job marketplace.

Scott Conley is Vice President, Recruitment & Staffing Solutions, at Naylor Association Solutions. Visit www.naylor.com  Connect Scott Conlet