Cheaper is not necessarily better. Free surely is not.

Posted on October 10, 2006
Filed Under Advertising Mistakes, Employment Websites |

Many industries are driven by the low cost leader. Walmart is a great example. Recruitment advertising can not be considered in the same fashion. There are lots of alternatives, but as recruitment advertising mediums we battle for the most qualified candidates. And good talent is hard to find. Good talent costs money.

Seth Godin, a nationally recognized and respected thought leader, addressed it best in a recent blog post, coincidently titled ‘cheaper.’ Customers are not afraid of paying more for a better experience and service. For us, that experience means a better qualified candidate.

At Recruiting Nevada we continuously strive to be the best. What we ask is that our clients measure us by our results, not our prices. What they find is that we deliver more qualified candidates at a lower acquisition cost than other mediums.

Cheap and free job boards are a dime a dozen. The amount of time it takes to manage not only the posting process, but their inefficiencies, is what ends up costing the most money. After calculating a true cost-per-applicant, most realize utilizing these boards is a losing proposition.

Strangely enough, another blogger in our world, Joel Cheesman, blogged the same day on the fact that Craigslist is beginning to charge in many of the cities that it serves. Reason being is that Craig wants to maintain a certain level of quality in his job postings. That is the only way to keep jobseekers coming back to his job board. Without jobseekers, employers do not get response.

The end conclusion - managing quality, in order to deliver a better experience, costs money. So cheaper is not necessarily better. Not in our world. And free just does not work. You get what you pay for.