Jan 23, 2020
18 min readJob search websites have revolutionized the employer-employee relationships. No printed classifieds on the walls and no extra movements. Everything you need to do is to visit such a platform, enter the position details and choose the most relevant option to hire or apply for. Indeed is the most visited platform among other job-related online marketplaces.
In this article, you will find out what makes Indeed so famous and special. Besides, we will discuss the challenges you may face before and during the development process, the things to consider before starting, and the functionality your platform should have. On the whole, you will know how to create a job search website like Indeed using 3 effective solutions.
What is a job search website
Long story short, it is a platform where employers list their job offers and search for relevant candidates. On the flip side, applicants post their resumes and look for the desired vacancies. Also, the website stands for a worldwide search engine which aggregates postings from many other employment services and places it on the platform.
In order to get a better understanding, let’s briefly cover the advantages of such a website:
- Online CV
It is extremely convenient for employers as they do not need to sort out tons of resumes by hand. Also, there is an ability to set different filters for every job opportunity published so that it becomes more convenient to manage the CVs sent.
For example, most well-known employment websites provide employers with ATS (Applicant Tracking System) as the main filter. It automatically removes all unsuitable resumes taking into account keywords and overall format of an applicant’s CV. It allows companies to avoid sorting out tons of irrelevant resumes thus saving time and making the acquiring process more efficient.
- Job boards
Companies take advantage of free and paid boards to advertise their vacancies and target applicants with certain skills and experiences in a particular sphere.
- Employer research
It allows job seekers to see the company profile, read reviews and view ratings from other applicants.
Now let’s take a look at some challenges that should be taken into account as well:
- Information authenticity
In terms of virtual communication, it is very hard to prove the accuracy of the data provided. Both job seekers and employers cannot fully trust the information until the personal interview.
By the way, this fact leads to a large number of swindlers emerging daily to collect personal data or deceive users.
- Database update frequency
Some employment websites do not regularly update the employer/employee base that leads to the outdated job offers or already hired candidates.
Job search niche overview
Considering the market volume, it is really huge. Apart from Indeed, there are also such employment-related giants as Glassdoor, Monster, JobisJob, Simply Hired, ZipRecruiter, CareerBuilder, hh.ru.
However, according to SimilarWeb Top Jobs and Employment Ranking 2019, Indeed still takes the first place with the highest web traffic and pretty low bounce rate.
Specifically, the platform has more than 300 million visitors per month.
Source: SimilarWeb
Indeed delivers more hires than any other employment website: 65% of the worldwide hires are made on the platform.
Source: Indeed
What makes Indeed so prosperous and unique? As it was stated by Davide Novelli, Director of International Online Operations, there are three main keys to the platform success:
1. Building up local market expertise
It means that a company hires only those professionals who know the specific features of every regional market.
2. Delivering relevant results with contextual translation
The platform provides three-stage contextual translation to cover all the cultural and local needs of the users.
3. Designing the job search experience for every location
Applicants have the ability to search for any position and location from all over the world. For example, if you are now in the US, you can easily look for the desired position in Germany. The search system is not location-based that greatly boosts the job seekers’ user experience.
Main challenges in creating a job search website
Once you decide to build such a platform, you need to understand the main challenges that may appear before/after you start an online marketplace. It will help you escape them.
Candidate mismatch
It means that an applicant may look like a good match for a company, but then appears overqualified or not having the required set of professional skills. On the other hand, a job vacancy may also appear irrelevant for a candidate even after passing an interview.
Primarily, the problem is caused by outdated algorithms that match results based on SEO. If a candidate does not use proper or enough number of the “right keywords”, then a mismatch issue may appear.
One of the good solutions is to use Artificial Intelligence technologies. For example, such a giant as IBM implements AI-based software that picks candidates’ resumes. The operational principle is pretty simple and powerful: the algorithm monitors both applicants’ CVs and their social network profiles to collect more data about a candidate. Afterward, the program matches the skills of an applicant to provide the most relevant job vacancy.
Reliability of job postings
Many applicants that use employment platforms complain about outdated postings.
Irrelevant posts appear when website moderation does not work on a sufficient level. To solve this problem, we recommend that you think about the way you can track whether the postings’ are high-quality and up-to-date. A nice idea is to automate the monitoring process so that the program controls the post date, its status, and the user/company that published the vacancy.
Another good solution is to implement posting fees on the platform. No more employers will be interested in keeping the post outdated or irrelevant.
User data vulnerability
Job website visitors often suffer from spammers who capture their emails or send tons of messages to their mobile phones. For sure, there are such American laws as HIPAA (in the medical sphere), or CCPA (in California) and others that partly protect personal information.
However, there is no legal rule in the United States that fully defends private data (controls collection, processing, storage), as it does GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) in the European Union. For this reason, take into account the following methods to enhance your job search platform security:
Don’t display users’ contact information. You can implement an intraplatform chat to give users an opportunity to communicate.
Prevent information copying. Integrate anti-scrappers that will not allow other job search engines to copy data from your website.
Notify users about all rules and policies. Ask platform users to carefully read the documents and confirm they have reviewed the material.
Aspects to consider before starting a job search website
Now let’s take a look at the primary pre-development stage aspects that you need to contemplate.
Step 1: Pick your niche
Such job board juggernauts as Indeed, Glassdoor, Monster, and Simply Hired have captured the market with “everything for everyone” approach. They aggregate tons of information every second from all over the world, and it will become really difficult to compete with them at the very beginning.
Under these conditions, it is a nice idea to start with a certain market niche, ideally unique which is not captured yet. Concentrate your website on a particular professional sphere. For example, you can initially create an online marketplace platform for creative experts (designers, editors, writers, painters), vehicle drivers, or personal finance specialists.
Once you get first users onboard and see the product you offer is useful and valuable for the community, you can expand the platform by adding new professional spheres.
Step 2: Choose the monetization model
Most of the well-known job board websites are profit platforms. They make money on implementing different fees. Let’s take a look at the 4 most common revenue sources that will help you earn money.
Posting fee
You charge employers for listing their offers for a particular period of time. For example, Dice takes $395 per single job post for 30 days.
CV access fee
You provide employers with an ability to view candidates’ resumes or get access to a database of applicants for a fee. It is an extremely profitable model when you have a large number of job seekers on the platform.
Subscription fee
When employers pay a monthly subscription fee, you give them an opportunity to post an unlimited number of vacancies during the month.
Premium
This strategy means you provide platform users with a certain set of free and paid functionality. No-cost features fully cover the basic needs of both website sides. If the users want to get more, they can purchase premium and receive some advanced functionality.
For example, Monster gives a premium option for $999/month which allows you to view 150 CVs and post 5 job vacancies simultaneously with an unlimited number of applicants.
The functionality required for Indeed-like website
You have chosen the desired niche and picked the most relevant revenue models. Now it is time to define the most important platform features that will allow both employers and job seekers to reach their goals. We will divide the functionality into two parts for your convenience.
For employers:
- Personal profile
This feature empowers companies to tell about their business, specify main activity spheres, publish statistics and employees’ reviews, show their advantages and goals in the short- and long-run, and insert links to the websites and social media.
For instance, here is the Amazon profile on Indeed which gives users full understanding of the company within multiple aspects.
- Job listings
Employers post their vacancies to hire specialists. This feature allows specifying all the details about the position: requirements, responsibilities, working conditions, and extra offerings from a company.
- Employee search
Companies can use a filtering system which greatly specifies the result employers want to achieve. Job title, state, city, distance (from a candidate to the place of work), education level, professional skills, years of experience, additional faculties (project management, problem-solving, critical thinking, leadership skills, etc).
For job seekers:
- Personal profile
In order to create an account on the platform, candidates need to enter an email address, password, location, and build/upload their resume. This way, applicants will be available to send their CVs or attach them to the cover letter.
- Vacancy search
This feature allows using different search filters to specify the job request more accurately. For example, you can choose the salary level, company size, remote/in-office cooperation, etc.
- Salary comparison
Candidates can check the level of the rates for the entered position within a country, state, city, or different companies.
For example, here you can see the salary distribution for a Software Engineer position within the biggest corporations.
- Employer’s profile
Here candidates have an opportunity to view the company’s information, get a list of all job opportunities, check photos, and most importantly read the reviews of an employer from current employees and applicants.
- Apply for a job
It is the final decision stage when an applicant sends a cover letter and attaches a built/uploaded resume to it.
Additional features
In case you want to make your job search marketplace like Indeed even more powerful, outstanding, and valuable to the users, you can implement the following additional functionality.
- Salary calculator
This feature allows candidates to calculate their approximate salary value considering the professional skills, years of experience, and current wages. The algorithm takes into account all the values entered and estimates the compensation within the current market situation.
- CV builder
It is a perfect option for both beginners who fill in their resume for the first time and skilled specialists who want to save time. It offers you a questionnaire where you enter the required information to form a professional CV.
- Add to wishlist/hide a job posting
In case a candidate likes a position but is not ready to apply for it, they can add it to the wishlist (bookmark) for the future. At the same time, if an employee does not want to see a vacancy, they can hide such posts.
- Different levels of CV privacy (public, limited, private)
Some applicants do not want employers to view their CVs. For this reason, you can implement different levels of resume privacy like public, limited, and private.
How to create an online marketplace like Indeed: 3 solutions
Now let’s take a look at the 3 main ways that will allow you to build an employment platform.
Solution #1. Ready-made software
Such software vendors like SmartJobBoard, Madgex, Russmedia Job Board, Recooty, Monster TMS offer cloud job board solutions at one click. You do not need to stew about hosting and upgrades, they are included. It is worth noting several advantages and disadvantages to this option.
Benefits
No specific knowledge and skills required. You can think away coding, quality assurance, hosting, upgrade and other technical side aspects of the development.
Relatively affordable price. For sure, this solution is not cheap, but the final quote is lower than for custom software development.
Maintenance and support. You don’t need to think about bugs, crashes, and performance falls. These aspects are taken under control by the software provider.
Drawbacks
Zero customization. You have no ability to build a custom template or implement your own features. Everything you can do is to use corporate colors and logos.
Limited control. The service provider only gives you the platform to use it. It means you have no control rights and you do not own it.
In a few words, this option is a nice idea when you want to start a platform with a matter of minutes. You don’t need a unique and complex solution? Then it is a good choice for you.
Solution #2. Content management systems
Another way for job board platform development is to use CMS like Joomla, Drupal, WordPress. Specifically, they provide themes and plugins that give you an ability to create a website like Indeed.
Benefits
Freedom of actions. Within the chosen template, you are able to customize most of the platform elements.
A lot of options. You can find a large number of themes and plugins, both free and paid.
Drawbacks
Technical knowledge. Initially, there will be no problem to start a platform without any programming skills. Going forward, if some crashes or bugs emerge, you will need to use your technical skills to solve the problems.
Low compatibility. If you build a website on Joomla, then there is no opportunity to add some themes or plugins from other systems.
This option is perfect in case you need to launch fast and verify your idea through minimal investments. If you have already built a platform using CMS, you will just need to build in some themes or plugins.
Solution #3. Custom software development
You can hire a software consultancy or a team of custom software developers to build an employment platform. Let’s take a look at the main advantages of this solution.
Benefits
High scalability. In case you need to start fast, build an MVP product first. It allows you to verify your business idea through minimal investments and then improve your product based on users’ feedback. It means that custom software development gives you an opportunity to build a scalable architecture for further development.
Customized UX/UI. It is a perfect option to stand out from your market rivals. You can create a unique user experience that greatly simplifies the way job seekers will apply for a vacancy.
Drawbacks
- Time and pricing. This solution option requires more time and is more expensive than the previous two ways.
Custom software development service is a perfect option in the long run. High scalability and unique design allow you to continually grow your platform adding new features and provide users with the best user experience. If you want to integrate or build-in some plugins and systems, you will not face any problems with compatibility.
How Codica can help you build a job search website like Indeed
At Codica, we have been delivering complex custom service marketplace websites for many years. We focus on building optimized and engaging platforms that bring a lot of traffic, improve conversion rates and boost sales. Also, our expert teams take into account the end-users’ needs to create a web solution that your customers will enjoy using.
With the deep analysis of your potential clients and their demands, we build an engaging and intuitive UX/UI design that positively affects the overall impressions of users and makes them stay on your platform.
To better understand how we build marketplaces at Codica, let’s take a look at our project development lifecycle.
1. Research & discovery (R&D)
At this stage, we define your business goals and potential customers to create the best ways of targeting them.
2. Product Design (UX/UI)
We built prototypes and User Interface for your e-commerce platform considering the product goals and end-users’ demands. It allows us to create an intuitive user journey and build a custom web solution that your customers will enjoy.
3. Product (MVP) development
Our expert development teams build your e-commerce platform using the latest industry standards. This way, you will get a reliable, scalable, and easy-to-maintain marketplace and an opportunity to add new functionality when needed.
4. Optimization and QA
We test each web solution we create and optimize the code to ensure high quality and stable performance of all the custom apps we deliver.
5. Deploy, monitoring and support
Once your marketplace is created and launched, we monitor the platform and immediately solve any issues that may emerge. In case you don’t have an in-house development team, Codica will help you to build a successful job search website like Indeed and support it further.
Conclusion
Job search websites become an innovative and effective way to hire professionals and apply for a job. Many people from all over the world visit such platforms thus generating huge traffic. It makes them a perspective business idea to invest in and generate profit.
But it is a pretty difficult task to build a job board website like Indeed as it takes much effort. You need to choose your niche, solve main challenges, define the basic functionality, and implement it technically. So how to start an online business like Indeed successfully?
If you have an experienced custom software development company you can cooperate with, it becomes much easier.
Codica has a solid background in building custom marketplace platforms in such domains as finance, accommodation rentals, automotive, insurance, travel, and e-commerce. Let’s get in touch and we will bring your business idea to reality.
