Following on from our 16th annual TAtech North Amrica & the World Job Board Forum conference, we are delighted to see these reviews (and ongoing discussion) of the event, and topics raised.
Firstly this from Martin Lenz, CEO of Jobiqo
"Great start into the TAtech World Job Board Forum 2023 with an amazing panel discussion about the future of job boards that I was able to join with Mike Woodrow, Matt Plummer, Lukas Erlebach and William Tincup
📱 the user experience on many job sites is still bad and needs to be fixed with a candidate centric approach, especially if you want to reach a new generation of candidates
🏦 understand that the core value proposition as a job board is to serve employers with quality applicants and to help seekers to find jobs
📊If you go on a performanced-based-model, subscription or duration-based-posting business model depends on your market environment, still understand value proposition first, big difference US vs Europe in adoption
🌎 The ecosystem is broken, there is still a big gap between the advertisers and process-oriented software like ATS; integration is challenging due to fragmentation and missing incentives, but could boost success of the whole recruitment industry
🤖AI applications like ChatGPT or Bard will impact but not disrupt the business, take advantage by improving job descriptions, but rethink application process in a world where every candidate can optimize a cover letter or resume with AI in a minute."
Also posted by Lukas Erlebach, CEO of Joblift.
"These were a few intense and highly productive days catching up with many existing partners and meeting future ones.
My main takeaways:
🌍 The Macro
Despite major economies like Germany already in recession as of Q2-2023, and the US teetering on the edge, unemployment rates in these markets remain at record lows. Interestingly, while Europe's demand for talent remains high (at least in Germany), hiring in the US has slowed down significantly this year. Are we seeing a lag in market reaction between the US and Europe, or are we already witnessing the full impact of Europe's demographic challenges, particularly in Germany, where around 500,000 workers are exiting the workforce annually on a net basis? I suspect it's a combination of both, but it's clear that hiring trends in Europe, especially in Germany, appear to be diverging from other markets.
🔍 Focus on Quality in Hiring Strategies
With the markets slowing down after an excessive hiring spree in late 2021 and throughout 2022, this is the moment for companies to refocus on their core strengths and prepare for the next upswing in the business cycle. For the HR Tech ecosystem an opportunity to take a step back and improve propositions for its two primary customers: job seekers and employers, with a heightened emphasis on quality (but this time we all mean it 😉). While there's no one-size-fits-all solution to streamline the fragmented journey from application to hire, there is a strong willingness among market participants to foster collaboration through integrations, APIs, and data-sharing solutions to benefit all stakeholders. It doesn't sound like fun but now it is time to do the heavy lifting.
🤖 The Impact of Generative AI and LLM on HR Tech Companies
No discussion on LinkedIn would be complete without addressing the role of Generative AI and LLMs. While I anticipated these topics would dominate our conference discussions, they were surprisingly underrepresented — perhaps they're considered old news in the fast-paced US market. However, we at Joblift expect substantial changes in the value chain. As the barriers to implementing AI in the recruitment process continue to lower, we believe companies that are already leveraging AI and machine learning will prosper, especially those integrating open-source LLMs into their strategies.
A significant unknown — and a potential game-changer — is the effect generative AI will have on Search, specifically on Search Engine Advertising (SEA) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) rankings. This could disrupt incumbents more than specialized players who focus on alternative candidate attraction channels, such as social media. It's a critical area to watch closely in the future.
What are your thoughts on this? How do you think AI and LLMs will shape the future of recruitment and online search?"
And of course this terrific post from Prasanthi Naidoo, Founder and CEO of Joberfer
"This was not a big deal, it was a #huge deal for me personally! Being recognized as a TAtech Top 100 Most Influential Talent Acquisition Thought Leader by the leading global industry association for #jobboards & #talentacquisition solutions is phenomenal!
It was so incredibly meaningful and important to me to share this #success with my family. Hearing my kids say wow mum you “slay”! We’re so proud of you! - is precious. I’ll cherish these memories forever!
All thanks go to Peter Weddle & Stephen O'Donnell ⚡FREC for recognising the impact I’m making with Joberfer and awarding me this incredible recognition! #thankyou
I learnt at the conference that only 10% of #TATech companies are #women founded and led. Women get less than 3% of the venture capital funding available on the market AND if a woman led company gets her first cheque from #femaleinvestors , it is 85% likely that she will not get follow on funding. Thank you Renee La Londe for sharing these alarming insights!
What I learnt from this conference is that there are several large excellent players on the market seeking to work with each other to help solve the problems faced by the job board industry.
The problems / challenges highlighted at the conference are:
‼️ quality vs. quantity
‼️ poor jobseeker experience
‼️ lack of sufficient integrations
‼️ shrinking talent pools
But the most mind blowing star I learned was that:
‼️‼️only 4% of sponsored clicks translate into a completed job application. ~ Appcast, Inc.
⁉️How are employers compfortable to #waste 96% of their recruitment marketing / advertising budgets???
I absolutely love the JobBoard & talent acquisition industry and am grateful to initimately understand the challenges!
I’m on a mission to #makeanimpactthatmatters . Follow our journey at Joberfer !
I wish to take this opportunity to thank all the incredible people I got to meet over the past few days in Austin Tx! Thank you for your interest in connecting and learning about my work at Joberfer ."