I was recently asked to promote another “christian” job board and I hesitated, only because I wasn’t sure how well it would be received and I wasn’t sure how it was necessarily different from the many of them that are out there.
I also thought the pricing was a bit high for posting as well.
But here’s why I bring this up: The 8BIT Network has a job board and it sucks. ChurchLoop is by far our worst in terms of traffic and resourcefulness.
Sure, it’s helped a few people but otherwise it’s been a lame duck.
Now, I already have plans on re-working this entire property into something much more functional and appropriate, but until then it’s a whole lot of “meh.”
So here’s my question to you: What makes a good job board, especially as it relates to our niche and culture? What can be done to make them better?
I still think there’s a market and a way that we can tie all of it together and make it work but I want to make sure the next time I do something like this I actually get my money’s worth on the time it takes to design and develop (custom job here…).
Let me here it in the comments on one of our failed (right now) properties!
Danny Bixby says
Maybe something that would make it better would be combining efforts with existing services. Perhaps part of the problem of why it sucks is bc of so many xian job boards in existence? Idk, just thinking.
But one thing’s for sure, mad props for being so blunt about a failing property. There’s a lot to be impressed about in this post that’s easily overlooked.
John Saddington says
thanks danny. appreciate it!
mike says
i’ll be honest. I’m hitting all the job boards out there and here are a few of the frustrating things:
1. having to create an account & login to get complete info
2. not knowing what kind of vibe the church (or company) is
3. seems like there is no central network where people post. I get the idea a lot of people don’t know where the best place to go is when they have a job to post.
I think clean & easy is a must, but also the ability to do a powerful specific search. I really like what http://www.behance.net/joblist does in there look & feel.
John Saddington says
love that board.
Shawn says
I think job boards for non-profits (including churches) fail to work like most job boards for a couple of reasons:
1. Supply/Demand dynamics are very different for non-profits. There’s usually little demand for the jobs and a huge supply for the candidates.
1.1 Supply – Huge supply of qualified folks. Most, if given the opportunity, would rather work for a ’cause’ they believe in rather than Widget Co. Christians professionals in particular yearn for opportunities to do something ‘eternal’ with their skills; getting more than a paycheck in return for their work. Most professionals I know would jump at the chance to work in their field for a Christian church or non-profit.
1.2 Demand – The few positions are filled quickly. If a church or non-profit can scrounge up some dough to create a full-time position, it’s usually salaried at 20% below market. They’ll have no trouble finding someone to take that poorly paid position in exchange for the Christian brownie points the employee gets for working at the church.
2. Posting – Most church jobs get ‘posted’ by telling the woman’s group that they will be hiring and the word quickly spreads to the eager nephews and cousins who are willing to take a pay cut to get the brownie points of working for a non-profit. If the position goes unfilled it’s usually because it is so underpaid that there is no budget for spending money to post on any of the big job boards out there.
3. Turn-over is either non-existent or an epidemic. Most Christian non-profits, chuches included, treat their employees very poorly, expecting huge amounts of overtime (in the name of ‘doing it for the Lord’) with few or no benefits. The employee either responds by leaving for the ‘secular’ market or toughing it out, despite the working conditions.
3.1 Lather, rinse, repeat. A church employee threatens to leave because he hasn’t seen a raise in two years – no problem. Don’t let the door hit you where the good Lord split you. Like I said, there are plenty of other folks willing to do this job. They aren’t hard to come by and are easily replaced.
3.2 Part of the furniture – Joan’s been the church accountant for 37 years. She’ll retire the day they put her in a coffin. She’s always done this 50/hour/week job for a $200/month stipend and a plate at the ‘volunteer appreciation banquet’ each December. New job opening once every 50 years for some of these organizations.
I think the demise of Church Loop may be the classic blunder of not knowing your market. Maybe the winning combination would be a site for womens groups that included a ‘Nephew Job Board’ 🙂
John Saddington says
dude. this is awesome. thanks so much.