Why recruiters are going back to newspapers

There is a common misconception in the recruitment community that advertising with newspapers for open positions is “Old World” and ineffective. Nothing can be further from the truth.

Back in the day (up until about 2002), the local newspaper ruled the employment landscape. As the Internet developed, some of the newspapers embraced the new paradigm and switched their business model from print first to leading with digital. Generally speaking, these papers did well . 

Yet major Internet players knew the power of newspapers and partnered to get access to the local markets. Monster, Yahoo/Hotjobs and Careerbuilder forged newspaper deals (the latter is actually owned by three newspaper groups) and for about five years or so they flourished though the paradigm had shifted.

Still, even the megaboards couldn’t hold off the attack of the aggregators such as Indeed, Simply Hired and Craigslist, home of the $25 employment ad that took a big chunk of everyone’s business. (The real cost of a Craigslist ad seemed to be lost on employers.) Monster bought Yahoo/Hotjobs to add some bulk and additional newspapers and everyone retrenched again. Then, another shift. Today, Monster itself is rumored to be up for sale prompting some newspapers to reconsider existing strategies and go back to a more locally based model. Throughout all of this, niche job boards held steady and many even grew.

The real value with newspapers is what it has always been: Local. Employers are generally looking for local candidates, at least at the beginning of a search and the newspaper provides that solution in spades. But another strategy has earned publishers real credibility with local employers and that is through partnerships with providers of niche recruitment networks like Cross-Post.  Since 2004 small- to medium-sized niche job boards such as Latpro.com, Diversityworking.com and IHireveterans.com have been offering their posting packages through Cross-Post, to local newspapers giving employers several unique advantages.

■ They can appeal directly to diverse candidates on job boards that are often owned by minorities and focused specifically on those markets.

■ They can target women and veterans in the same fashion.

■ The employer can post to premium niche job boards in health care, nursing, green jobs, part-time/temporary, energy and others, through the newspaper for a fraction of the retail cost.

■ Through the local paper and in partnership with Cross-Post social networks, the employer can post to Twitter, Facebook and other notable social sites effortlessly and in high volume.

■ The employer saves money, time and gets a multifaceted approach to recruiting … all through their local newspaper.  

The newspapers get another much-needed revenue source. The niche boards get volume, postings and revenue and the employer gets great results along with EEOC and OFCCP credibility on the diversity side. Everyone wins, even the job candidates . Anyone who has searched for a job or employers that search for top talent knows that focus saves time and money.