Target Top Talent, Find Niche-Specific Jobs

Site: SnapTalent
Slogan: Hire the Best
Pros: Fine-tuned ads; Hire away from specific organizations
Cons: Steep out-of-the-gate price; current jobs are primarily high-tech

Along with the paper resume, the online job boards of yesterday continue to teeter on the verge of extinction.  OK, not really.  But newcomer SnapTalent certainly hopes their progressive spin will lure job seekers and top-notch employers alike.

At its core, the Y Combinator startup operates similarly to Google AdSense, placing customized help wanted ads on participating Websites.  Rather than simple text displays, ads can be customized to include images and video.  This will allow employers to offer a more global view of the job and the organization.  

Publishers who decide to participate simply indicate their URL, identify descriptive keywords and include a JavaScript snippet on their Website.  Ads are highly customizable, giving site owners impressive flexibility when creating widgets.  These same easy-to-employ modifications are enjoyed by employers as well.

Publishers can make money (how much is unclear) and enhance their Websites with specific ads.  It’s the employer that foots the bill: $250 for every 500 people who click on their ads. However, this rate also gives the purchaser access to real-time metrics.  Considering the Website is in its infancy, I’m surprised they’ve come out of the gate with such a high price.  They might want to consider offering a free limited-time trial.

In an effort to target the "best" candidates, Snaptalent reads the IP addresses of Websites that are displaying the job widget.  So, if you’re hiring at CNN and you only want writers who work for the New York Times, you can target your ad to only show up from people coming from that IP address.  

While I don’t necessarily agree with this approach to hiring (unless you’re at the upper echelon of your field), it is definitely a new twist that is about as specific of  a recruitment tool that I’ve seen.

The design of the Website and point-and-click ad generation is easy and clean. 

America’s job forecast might be somewhat grim, but the future burns bright for technology that attempts to forge a happy marriage between job seekers and employers.