Job Description Best Practices
Optimize your new and existing job descriptions to reach more candidates
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Quick Answer
Indeed helps you reach candidates by combining the broad reach of a job search engine with the direct posting capabilities of a job board, all in one integrated hiring platform.
TL;DR:
- Post hosted jobs directly on Indeed to use Indeed Apply, screening and sourcing tools, messaging and interview scheduling in one dashboard.
- Sync your ATS or career site with Indeed to index jobs automatically and power them with Indeed Apply where supported.
- Pair Employer Branding Hub with Smart Sourcing to strengthen your brand and invite matched candidates to apply.
Key Terms:
- Indexed Jobs: Job listings Indeed aggregates from your ATS or career site so they can appear in search results without being posted directly on Indeed.
- Hosted Jobs: Jobs posted directly on Indeed and managed within Indeed, rather than sourced from an external ATS or indexed feed.
- Smart Sourcing: An AI-powered Indeed sourcing tool that helps find and engage candidates whose resumes and preferences align with your role.
- Employer Branding Hub: Part of the Employer Branding Suite, it’s a tool that lets employers manage and showcase brand presence across Indeed and Glassdoor in one place.
- Sponsored Jobs: Paid Indeed job posts that receive more visibility in search results, job alerts and related placements than non-sponsored jobs.
What is a job board and how do they help employers reach specialized candidate pools?
Job boards are websites where employers and recruiters post open roles to connect directly with potential candidates. Job boards often focus on a specific industry, location or job type, such as freelance, contract or remote work. This specialization can make them useful when you need targeted exposure within a particular talent pool.
The main feature of a job board is that employers can post jobs directly to reach candidates. You set up and manage your listing, and job seekers on the platform can view and apply to it. You may choose to post the same position on multiple relevant job boards to expand visibility and increase the likelihood of attracting quality candidates.
Common examples of job boards include:
- Professional associations
- University or college career sites
- Local chambers of commerce
- Industry-or city-specific lists
Industry- and location-focused job boards can complement a broader recruiting strategy when hiring within a particular field or region. Here is a list of job boards for different industries and locations to help you hire:
What features can employers expect from job boards?
Job boards share several common characteristics that shape how employers post and manage roles.
- Direct posting and distribution: You publish jobs directly to each platform’s audience. If you advertise on multiple boards, your team manages postings and tracks performance separately across each site.
- Niche targeting: Many job boards focus on specific industries, professions or local markets. This specialization can help you reach candidates with particular skills, credentials or local knowledge.
- Variable pricing models: Some job boards charge per post while others offer subscription access. Costs can increase as you expand distribution across multiple platforms and manage results across channels.
What is a job search engine and how does it aggregate postings?
Job search engines collect (“aggregate”) and display job listings from across the web. This could include:
- Job boards
- Company career sites
- Staffing agencies
- Recruiter listings
By aggregating roles from multiple sources, they allow job seekers to explore a wide range of opportunities in one place.
For employers, this broader visibility can expand reach without requiring separate postings on multiple platforms. In many cases, roles are indexed directly from your applicant tracking system (ATS) or career site, which can reduce manual effort while helping expand your reach to active job seekers.
What features can employers expect from job search engines?
Job search engines are designed to aggregate and distribute job listings at scale.
- Broad aggregation: Job search engines index jobs from various sources, centralizing discovery for job seekers and expanding your reach across multiple channels simultaneously.
- Direct posting plus aggregation: Some platforms, such as Indeed, allow you to post roles directly while also indexing jobs from your ATS or career site. You can manage postings within a single environment while increasing exposure across multiple sites.
When do job search engines work best for employers?
Job search engines are often effective when you need to reach a wide, active audience with minimal manual posting. They can also help centralize applications and reporting through integrated tools connected to your ATS.
Job boards vs. job search engines: key differences in cost, reach and effort
Job boards typically focus on a specific industry, location or job types, such as contract or remote work. Job search engines collect listings from multiple sources—including job boards, employer career sites and direct postings. Because they gather roles from across the web, job search engines are sometimes referred to as job aggregators.
Here are some key differences in how these platforms operate.
- How jobs are published: With job boards, you post roles directly to each site and manage them separately. Job search engines index listings from multiple online sources while also offering direct posting. Job search sites like Indeed combine both approaches, allowing you to post jobs directly and index roles from your career site or ATS.
- Audience reach: Individual job boards may attract a defined community, but overall traffic is often smaller than that of large job search engines. Aggregated platforms can provide access to a broader active audience in one place.
- Cost structure: Posting across multiple job boards may require separate fees or subscriptions for each site. Having your jobs indexed on Indeed through your career site or ATS is free.* Costs apply if you choose to sponsor your listings, which can increase your visibility on Indeed and provide access to additional hiring features.
- Administrative effort: Job boards can be effective for highly specialized roles, but managing postings across several platforms may require additional coordination and tracking. A job search engine such as Indeed can streamline distribution and help you reach more quality candidates with less manual effort.
*Terms, conditions, quality standards and usage limits apply
Is Indeed a job board, a job search engine or a sourcing platform?
Indeed includes features of both a job board and a job search engine, but it goes beyond either by functioning as a global sourcing and hiring platform. In addition to aggregating listings from across the web, Indeed enables direct posting and supports hiring activity within a single system.
Search results on Indeed reflect this hybrid model. Listings may be indexed from employer career sites, job boards or staffing agencies alongside roles posted directly by employers. This combination expands visibility while giving you control over how jobs appear and how candidates apply.
Indeed aggregates listings from thousands of sources and also allows you to post roles directly. The platform also provides integrated tools designed to streamline the path from search to hire, including:
How large is Indeed’s reach for employers?
Indeed’s scale is reflected in its hiring activity. On average, 27 hires are made on Indeed every minute worldwide. Combined, Indeed and Glassdoor reach the vast majority of US online job seekers, providing broad exposure across industries and roles.
How do Sponsored Jobs and Smart Sourcing improve hiring outcomes on Indeed?
Beyond job visibility, Indeed offers products designed to support sourcing and hiring performance.
- Sponsored Jobs: Worldwide, Sponsored Jobs posted directly on Indeed receive 45% more applications than non-sponsored jobs and are 95% more likely to result in a reported hire.
- Smart Sourcing: Facilitates approximately 75,000 successful connections between employers and job seekers each day worldwide[4].
- Talent Scout: Provides additional support for engaging candidates using insights from job posts and labor market data.
How does Indeed support integrated hiring workflows?
Indeed integrates with 350+ ATS partners to simplify posting, sync candidate signals and improve matching quality. This occurs through tools such as Indeed Apply and ATS Sync, which help align job postings and candidate activity between Indeed and your existing systems.
Indeed’s strategy extends beyond traditional job search into a full matching and hiring marketplace. By centralizing tools that support attracting candidates, connecting with them and moving them toward hire, the platform is designed to help reduce time-to-hire and improve hiring outcomes.
How do my job postings appear to candidates on Indeed?
Indeed combines the aggregation model of a job search engine with the direct posting model of a job board. Your jobs can appear automatically through indexing or be posted and managed directly within Indeed.
Jobs on Indeed fall into two primary categories: indexed jobs and hosted jobs.
What are indexed jobs on Indeed and how do they connect to an ATS?
Indexed jobs are roles aggregated from external sources such as your ATS or career site feed and are included in Indeed search results without requiring you to publish directly on Indeed.
Candidates applying to indexed jobs typically begin the process offsite unless you enable Indeed Apply. Through supported integrations or feeds, Indeed discovers and synchronizes your jobs automatically. This reduces manual posting and centralizes discovery for job seekers.
If you already maintain a robust career site or ATS, indexing provides a streamlined way to keep roles accessible on Indeed. Enabling Indeed Apply and ATS Sync improves candidate experience, completion rates and performance tracking compared to relying solely on external applications.
From your employer dashboard, you can claim indexed jobs to edit titles and descriptions, add screener questions or turn on Indeed Apply. You can also sponsor them without breaking the link to your ATS or career site.
What are hosted jobs on Indeed and when should you post directly?
Hosted jobs are roles you post directly on Indeed. Candidates apply on Indeed using Indeed Apply by default.
Because applications are submitted within Indeed, you have access to integrated tools for screening, scheduling, messaging and analytics all in one place. These integrated workflows can help you move candidates from application to interview faster.
When creating a hosted job, you can choose between non-sponsored or sponsored listings. Sponsored Jobs increase visibility and can further improve the likelihood of a hire compared to non-sponsored listings. When you choose to sponsor a job, you can set your own budget for that post.
Hosted jobs also provide flexibility depending on your hiring setup. If you want maximum simplicity and speed, particularly without a complex ATS, hosted jobs provide full access to Indeed’s sourcing and hiring tools from day one. If you use an ATS, connecting it allows candidate information and hiring signals to sync automatically between systems.
Indeed products that help you hire faster
Indeed aggregates listings from thousands of sources and also allows you to post roles directly. Beyond job visibility, Indeed offers a suite of products designed to help you find and hire quality candidates more efficiently.
Employer Branding Hub
The Employer Branding Hub allows you to showcase why your company is a strong place to work while leveraging branding and review insights to shape your employer presence. You can invite employees to post reviews and choose which reviews appear first on your profile.
It also lets you manage Indeed Company Pages and Glassdoor Enhanced Profiles in one place. You can share branded content, company updates and featured reviews to strengthen how your organization is presented to potential candidates.
Smart Sourcing
Smart Sourcing helps you find quality candidates for your open roles. You can search resumes or use a job post to identify active candidates whose qualifications, requirements and preferences align with your job criteria based on information collected from job seekers✝.
When a candidate expresses interest in an attached job or applies to the role, you can export their information to your ATS where supported✝. Smart Sourcing candidate sync is only compatible with Workday, iCIMS, isolved and Workable.
Employers that use Employer Branding Hub alongside Smart Sourcing experience 2.5X more started applications per job[5].
✝Some features may require a Professional Smart Sourcing subscription. Terms and conditions apply.
Sponsored Jobs and Premium Sponsored Jobs
Sponsored Jobs increase the visibility of your postings so they stand out from similar roles and receive more applications. Your sponsored listings appear more prominently in relevant search results and job alerts on Indeed.
With Standard Sponsored Jobs, you gain increased visibility compared to non-sponsored listings and can opt in to automated messages that engage candidates at key points in the hiring process.
Premium Sponsored Jobs build on this visibility with targeted distribution technology. Compared to non-sponsored jobs, Premium Sponsored Jobs posted directly on Indeed move forward in the hiring process with 3.2X more applicants compared to non-sponsored jobs.
Talent Scout
Talent Scout is an AI recruiting assistant that combines insights from your job post with data from millions of job seekers. It also offers labor market information to support job optimization, candidate matching and candidate engagement while keeping you in control of hiring decisions.
Talent Scout operates through a conversational interface and integrates with select ATS platforms.
FAQs about job boards, job search engines and Indeed
If I already post to multiple job boards, do I still need Indeed?
Many employers blend both. Indeed’s broad reach and integrated tools can reduce the manual effort of posting across multiple platforms and centralize job posting measurement. You may also choose to use select niche boards for outreach for specialized roles.
Can my existing ATS or career site jobs show up on Indeed?
Yes, with supported integrations and quality standards in place, your ATS or career site roles can be indexed on Indeed. Enabling Indeed Apply and ATS Sync for your job postings on Indeed can improve candidate experience and sourcing.
How do I know if I’m reaching “enough” candidates?
You can assess how many candidates you’re reaching by reviewing performance metrics such as impressions, clicks, application starts and hires. Indeed’s reporting and ATS integrations centralize these insights so you can evaluate reach, monitor application volume and adjust your budget or channel mix as needed.
Should I use niche job boards and Indeed together?
Indeed can support hiring across a wide range of roles, including specialized and hard-to-fill positions. While some employers may also choose to advertise on niche job boards, success often depends more on job targeting, skills criteria and candidate outreach strategies than on using a single type of platform.
What’s the best option if I need to hire quickly?
If speed is a priority, posting directly on Indeed can give you access to integrated tools like Indeed Apply, Smart Screening, messaging and interview scheduling. Sponsoring a job may also help increase visibility for hard-to-fill or urgent roles.
When should I post directly on Indeed instead of relying on ATS indexing?
You might post directly on Indeed when you want a simpler workflow and access to built-in tools like Indeed Apply, Smart Screening, messaging and interview scheduling. ATS indexing may work well if you already rely on your career site or ATS as your primary system for posting and managing jobs.
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*Indeed provides this information as a courtesy to users of this site. Please note that we are not your recruiting or legal advisor, we are not responsible for the content of your job descriptions, and none of the information provided herein guarantees performance.
This article is based on product information available at the time of writing, which may change at any time. Indeed does not guarantee that this information is always up-to-date. Please seek out your CS/Sales rep for the latest on this topic.
