A few job boards came along to be absorbed in battles of business organizations.
In an extensive and critical investigative report, Nick Corcodilos of Ask the Headhunter exposed a phenomenon he dubs "Job-Board News Media." Corcodilos's assertions in his easily-documented, annotated report include

* Employers appear to be getting a few hires from job boards, which do not habitually divulge hiring success rates.

* Extremely esteemed publishing firm, such as Gannett, Inc. (which owns USA Today and dozens of other papers), Knight Ridder (a different huge newspaper chain), and Tribune Company (still another successful chain) own the CareerBuilder web site and use it to issue editorial article, career advice, and advertorials obtained by CareerBuilder using these newspapers to persuade job-seekers to use the CareerBuilder service. Likewise, The Wall Street Journal's CareerJournal.com service utilizes a resumes-and-jobs clearinghouse known as CareerCast and CareerJournal acquires its own career-advice clauses.

* The editorial content of these internet sites and their counterparts in the print editions of participating newspapers tend to encourage users to expend a good deal of time on these job-board web sites placing and updating resumes, as well as employing for jobs -- in spite of the boards' low success rate in providing interview bids. Corcodilos especially cites a CareerJournal article that encourages reviewers to update their résumé every day while posting resumes on job boards.

Corcodilos writes: "whilst they have articles urging readers to use their internet site on a day-to-day basis, they do not divulge the service's success rate. Clearly they have no qualms about urging you to spend precious hours applying for jobs that employers are unlikely to hire you when you fill up. The trouble lies in the success of these services at getting you hired, but in directing you to give unreasonable amount of precious time and resources to a job search technique that isn't in the least expected to land you a job. The trouble lies on the simple fact: The job boards are a lousy means to employ or to get employed."

Implication: Read, with a highly critical eye, whatever article that encourages you to spend a huge amount of time posting your résumé on job boards. Do not get us wrong, we believe the CareerJournal and CareerBuilder internet sites have a few very good articles that can be highly helpful to you in your job hunt. Only maintain a good enough skepticism about wasting time posting your résumé on those job boards and answering to their job postings -- particularly at the expense of more profitable actions such as networking. And do be mindful of the comparatively low success rate of using these job boards to ascertain a job and the boards' unwillingness to divulge figures about their effectiveness.

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