Indeed Is Updating Its Job Feed Policy

Feeding The 800lb Gorilla Is About to Change    

I’m told Indeed will be notifying customers shortly that all new single source job feeds will have to originate from what they consider the source of truth, the customer’s Applicant Tracking System. Existing clients utilizing third-party job feeds are safe for the time being. However, this is going to be a big PITA for major job distributors, programmatic media vendors, and solutions like Buyer Talent Engine, which currently feed jobs to Indeed on behalf of their clients.

Why you ask? We function as middleware between the ATS and job boards for many reasons, including programmatic media management, comprehensive source tracking, updating job titles, pay and locations, one-click-apply integrations, and customizing and correcting brand problems that Applicant Tracking Systems are unable to resolve. With this policy update, it is our understanding we will have to wait for post-delivery to manage the job content and hope we can still make the necessary changes.

Indeed has stated that this isn’t going to be an issue because they will allow all advertising partners unrestricted access to clients’ job data via an API, but we have questions and so far have not been told much beyond “look at the supplied API documentation, and perhaps exceptions will be made.”

So why is Indeed doing this? One guess is they are cleaning up problems resulting from a massive amount of redundant and/or messy job feeds. Another guess is they are creating a closed loop system that consists of direct interaction with their customers and Applicant Tracking Systems, limiting exposure to third-party influencers, competition, and analytics not in their favor and eliminating the programmatic advantages from Indeed. Let’s hope I’m wrong about the second guess, as Indeed, being the number one job board on the planet has been good for us and is a valuable solution for our clients.

At Buyer Advertising, we are preparing for this new requirement while we continue to feed the 800lb Gorilla. Let’s just hope we don’t get bit.

Joel Glick
President
Buyer Advertising

Buyer provides custom talent solutions that deliver the right candidates to you. We cultivate unique Employer Brands, and our industry-leading search engine optimized hiring platform, Buyer Talent Engine, empowers recruiters with a smarter way to attractengageanalyze, and track candidates through the entire hiring process – backed by a team of industry leaders with a passion for customer service.

Indeed To Enforce Its $25 Posting Minimum

Panic In The Streets, But We’re Good.

Recently there was a minor uproar in the recruitment world after Indeed announced it will enforce its $25 posting minimum effective July 1. Some “industry experts” proclaimed it was the end of Programmatic Media because it will require additional money spent every time an agency updated a job posting in a campaign.

The truth is, you will only be required to add money to a campaign if your current budget doesn’t support the minimum spend to cover the newly added jobs ($25 per unique job). Otherwise, if you have enough allocated money, you will be able to move jobs in and out of that campaign as needed.

After recently reviewing our client history with Indeed, we determined that this may require a bit more diligence when it comes to monitoring our clients spend, but it will not be a budgeting and process nightmare that some would have you believe.

While I’m told that some agencies do sponsor jobs for less than $25 a pop, we at Buyer have never stooped that low 😊 due to questionable applicant ROI, and not to mention, Indeed has had a $25 posting minimum in place for some time now. They have just decided to enforce it by tracking unique jobs.

So, to steal a quote from 2013’s totally unrelated giant robot fighting film, Pacific Rim, “Today we are canceling the apocalypse.”

For close to sixty years, Buyer Advertising has been helping clients spend their recruitment budgets to achieve optimal results. We have the insight to cut through the panic and to provide sound advice, whatever the industry throws at us next. Talk to us today to learn more.

Joel Glick
Managing Partner
Buyer Advertising

Buyer provides custom talent solutions that deliver the right candidates to you. We cultivate unique Employer Brands, and our industry-leading search engine optimized hiring platform, Buyer Talent Engine, empowers recruiters with a smarter way to attractengageanalyze, and track candidates through the entire hiring process – backed by a team of industry leaders with a passion for customer service.

Employee Referral Programs – An Oldie but Goodie.

Why Do So Many Recruiters Ignore Friends and Family?

My very first job post-graduation came about from an employee referral. My friend called me up a week or two out of school and asked me what I was up to. Since I had a freshly minted English degree from a state school, I promptly replied, “Nothing” and the rest is history. I got a job through a referral.

Seems like a no brainer, but I can tell you very few companies invest in Employee Referral Programs like they should. I hear the same excuses; employees should already be referring, or it’s too complicated to track across various locations, or getting the program synchronized with HRIS is a nightmare, and the list goes on. Regardless of the perceived obstacle, there is no greater recruitment tactic with a better ROI than a well-executed Employee Referral Program.

Studies show that organizations that use Employee Referral Programs have average retention rates close to 50% and can save companies thousands of dollars per hire. Employee Referrals tap into an exclusive talent source – your people who, when properly motivated, become sales sharks, separating your jobs from the competition. In fact, a Harvard Business Review conducted a study that found 70% of “Better Candidates” were acquired from referrals.

As a bonus, Employee Referral Programs test the strength of your Employer Brand. The candidates your employees refer are typically those they see as a good fit for the organization. And an employee’s view of your culture provides valuable feedback and allows you to adjust or re-evaluate your branding efforts accordingly.

Simply asking employees to hit the streets and recruit is not enough. There are proven methodologies, incentives, technologies, promotions, and tricks of the trade that will ensure your success. And you guessed it, we’re here to help. Contact Buyer Advertising today to learn more about our unique approach to executing a successful Employee Referral Program. I may not be your friend, or your family, but you can trust the guy who started his career with the help of a referral.

Joel Glick
Managing Partner
Buyer Advertising

Buyer provides custom talent solutions that deliver the right candidates to you. We cultivate unique Employer Brands, and our industry-leading search engine optimized hiring platform, Buyer Talent Engine, empowers recruiters with a smarter way to attractengageanalyze, and track candidates through the entire hiring process – backed by a team of industry leaders with a passion for customer service.

Your Agency Should Be Protecting You

“You want us on that wall. You need us on that wall.” 

I may be dating myself, but do you remember that movie, A Few Good Men, when Col. Jessup, portrayed by Jack Nicholson, blurted that line out in a fit of rage? He was right. We all need resolute people to protect us from harm. Of course, he then went on to admit to ordering an inadvertent murder, but I digress.

Now, in no way would I compare what we do in recruitment communications with the important work of our US military and law enforcement, but in our little world of recruiting, I think one of the most important jobs of Buyer Advertising is to protect our clients from unscrupulous salespeople.

We see it all the time. A direct sales rep hammers an unsuspecting recruiter under the cloak of “providing consultative best practices” and then long story short, the final recommendation is to simply spend more money. Or my other favorite is when the salesperson pitches locking up a customer for years on end with the promise of saving money, which seldom works.

Ask any job board how to achieve better results, and the answer will always be the same: “SPEND MORE MONEY.”  So don’t do that. Arm yourself with a proven recruitment marketing agency, and let us protect you from getting oversold. We do this for a living. We know best how to spend your budget to achieve optimal results. We have the skills to negotiate the best deal on your behalf, and we are gluttons for punishment. It comes with the job like a doorman behind the velvet rope. No one gets in unless we think it’s in your best interest or they are good looking – just kidding.

Talk to us today to learn more. We’ve got protective agency people ready to block those time-killing salespeople so you can focus more on what matters most: hiring.

Joel Glick
Managing Partner
Buyer Advertising

Buyer provides custom talent solutions that deliver the right candidates to you. We cultivate unique Employer Brands, and our industry-leading search engine optimized hiring platform, Buyer Talent Engine, empowers recruiters with a smarter way to attractengageanalyze, and track candidates through the entire hiring process – backed by a team of industry leaders with a passion for customer service.