2014-01-07

If you need to build a website with a job board that can list employment opportunities, then WordPress is a good choice to use for base platform. Whether you are creating a site with the sole purpose of listing vacancies, or you need to add job board functionality to an existing site, using WordPress and one of the available plugins built just for this task can help you get the job done quickly.

With free and affordably priced premium options, creating a site of this type can be surprisingly easy. To help you make the right choice for your needs, here are our plugin recommendations.



Job Board Plugins for WordPress

There aren’t as many job board plugins for WordPress as there are for some other categories of plugin. However, there are two strong contenders who are leading the pack. While some developers have concentrated their efforts on creating job board themes that include the required functionality, the plugin options cover every scenario for building a job listings website.

WPJobBoard

Whether you are a recruitment agency or just want to list available positions at your firm, this plugin can help you build the site you need. As WPJobBoard uses the standard functionality of WordPress, such as custom post types, to deliver its features, it will be easy for anyone familiar with WordPress to use.



The job postings can all be managed from one page and it’s possible to create different types of listings such as premium or featured. It is also possible to create unlimited listing types for really personalising your job board. Submissions from applicants are handled in a similar way. Anything that a potential hire has submitted, including any attachments can be quickly accessed from one page on your WordPress admin area.



If you are building a recruitment site and want to list available positions from other online job boards then WPJobBoard can make this happen. As well as creating your own listings you can import listings from job boards like CareerBuilder.com or Indeed.com. This can be a great way to get your new site started as you can auto-populate it with active vacancies, while you are waiting for new users to sign up and post their own jobs.

Other features include the ability to create employer profiles, accept payments for posting a listing, setting the visibility of individual postings, email alerts for job seekers, and RSS feeds. The plugin also includes a purpose built job board WordPress theme so you can get started straight away once choosing WPJobBoard.

This is a premium plugin however, so you will need to choose from one of the two available price plans. But with prices starting from $97 it’s not too much to ask for as for a feature packed plugin such as this that can totally overhaul how your WordPress site works.

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WP Job Manager

This is a free option for anyone wishing to add a job board to their WordPress site. It’s got a five star rating on the WordPress plugin repository making it definitely worthy of consideration.

Nearly all the features you might need are included when it comes to both listing and managing jobs via the admin interface or browsing the vacancies from the website frontend. For other features there are range of add-ons available to increase the functionality. Visitors to the site can easily submit their own listings if you enable this feature and both guests or registered members can make use of this features, depending on how you’ve configured the plugin.

The listings can be easily filtered and searched making it very convenient for job seekers to view only the jobs that are relevant to them. The search results also include an RSS feed link so users can subscribe to a particular search and then be able to keep track of any new listings that meet their criteria.

The plugin was built using custom post types so it should work with any themes. Shortcodes are used for displaying the listings and the output can be optionally styled with CSS to meet your needs.

The selection of WP Job Manager Add-ons allows you to expand the functionality of the plugin. Some are free while others are premium options. Add-ons include paid listings, email job alerts and application deadlines.

The plugin is free to use, so while you won’t get the same level of support as you do with WPJobBoard, you can post questions via the corresponding support forum.

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Easy Career Openings

This basic plugin is a good choice for anyone who wants to list their own openings, rather than listing vacancies on the behalf of others. If you have a website for your business and are looking for new staff, this plugin will allow you to quickly post an opening.

If you don’t need all the functionality of a fully-fledged job board plugin then this could be a good choice.

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WPCareers

This is another free recruitment plugin for WordPress. However, it hasn’t been updated in over a year now and is currently only rated 2.4 stars out of five. While the list of features sounds adequate, it’s recommended you go with one of the above options for a better experience.

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Conclusion

Creating an online job board with WordPress has never been easier. The two main options for adding all the necessary features to your site are WPJobBoard and WP Job Manager. While both have comparable features and are also both very easy to use.  WP Job Manager is free, although access to support should also be considered when making a choice and not just upfront costs.

If you are looking for a job listings WordPress theme to give your list the professional look then Jobify is an excellent choice and is well worth checking out, especially as it integrates with the free WP Job Manager plugin. Now there is nothing stopping you creating a job board website with WordPress.

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