The latest labor statistics are out and they present some interesting opportunities for associations as we move into 2016.
According to the latest report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015 closed with 5.6 million job openings. The report states that job openings rose in several industries over the year with the largest changes in health care, social assistance, finance and insurance. These are industries that generally have powerful associations for specific fields and job areas.
Associations have the ability to make large economic impacts on closing the skills gap through learning and certifications and being the resource for the most qualified talent in the industry. This presents a lot of opportunities for associations to grow revenue and member value through an online job board.
Our experience in growing the job boards of our customers through YM Careers tells us that employers are more than willing to pay to list and advertise their targeted opportunities to members and prospective members. Your membership consists mostly of passive job seekers that are employed and not actively looking for a new job opportunity. These members are often the most valued by recruiters and employers. Passive job seekers are playing a critical role in most career center growth. As the economy continues to improve, people previously content to stay in their current positions are more open to new job opportunities when exposed. Associations are in a unique position to help fill open positions and simultaneously drive greater member engagement, loyalty, and strengthen their bottom line through increased non-dues revenue.
The key to engaging members while producing the most value to employers and driving your non-dues revenue is reaching more passive job seekers. Here are the top ways we recommend doing just that:
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- Mobile Responsive Design – A career center designed to be functional no matter what size screen you are viewing makes job searching from mobile and tablets much easier on the go.
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- Social Media Postings – Share your job board’s posted positions on social media. Bring the jobs to where the potential job seekers are rather than asking them to visit your site on a regular basis.
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- Email Job Alerts – Let your members know when there are hot new jobs available by sending regular job alerts and allowing job seekers to create their own job search alerts.
Employers are searching for the most qualified candidates available for their open positions, and they are finding them on association career centers. Associations, by their very nature, provide those highly sought-after candidates via their member base. Make sure you are getting these jobs in front of your members to drive more value to employers.
There is significant revenue potential in 2016 by ensuring job postings receive maximum exposure. Employers are eager to fill their open positions with skilled talent and will pay for the quality of your members and the additional exposure of their jobs that you can offer.
