Creating a job board site with WordPress is one of the easiest tasks you can perform with the application. While managing one is a completely different story, WordPress has a number of different plugins you can use to add a job board to your site in no time at all.
In this post, we’re going to cover how to create a job board with WordPress. This tutorial applies to those looking to create dedicated job board sites as well as those interested in adding them to existing sites.
First, let’s define what this sort of functionality is.
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What is a Job Board?
A job board is an online directory job recruiters and candidates can use to post and find available positions. Jobs are typically labelled by the company offering them, the date they’re posted, and the shift and number of hours they are.
With WordPress, a job board can be the entire purpose of a website or just a portion of one. For example, if you blog about engineering, you can add a page for a job board featuring engineering jobs.
Certain job board WordPress plugins have themes that integrate the job board functionality in them. While the solution we are sharing with you in this article doesn’t require you to use a dedicated theme, its style does stand out when you do.
How to Create a Job Board with WordPress
We’re going to use a WordPress plugin called WP Job Manager for the purpose of this tutorial. It was developed by lead WooCommerce developer Mike Jolley before it was acquired by Automattic, the developers of WordPress. It’s used on over 100,000 sites and has a 4.6 star-rating, as of 2019.
Automattic kept the freemium pricing model Mike integrated into the plugin. This means you get access to the majority of its functionality for free but can extend it through premium add-ons.
Start by installing and activating WP Job Manager from the backend of your WordPress site, then run the Setup Wizard when prompted.
The wizard is designed to help you create the following pages automatically:
- Jobs – The job board itself complete with the listings you or employers create.
- Post a Job – A frontend form that allows employers to create job listings without accessing the admin area.
- Job Dashboard – A frontend area employers can use to manage the job listings they create.
You can uncheck each of these options. For example, if you don’t want to give employers the power to create and manage job listings themselves, uncheck the Post a Job and Job Dashboard options so that only the Jobs page is created.
Once you’ve decided which pages you’d like to create, click Create Selected Pages to generate them. Alternatively, you can skip the Setup Wizard entirely and insert these functionalities anywhere using their included shortcodes.
How the Job Board Works
The Jobs page features a barebones design by default, especially when you don’t have any listings. Consider padding it with more content, such as a FAQ section teaching employers and job candidates how to use the board. I was able to add one to the page with Elementor.
The selections at the bottom of the board are called “Types.” By default, employers can assign Types to job posts based on the following labels:
- Full Time
- Part Time
- Temporary
- Internship
- Freelance
Job candidates can then use these as filter options on the frontend. You can add, edit or delete job types by going to Job Listings → Job Types.
You can also assign industry-specific labels to job posts with listing categories. Go to Job Listings → Settings → Job Listings, and enable listing categories to make the Job Categories menu item appear. You can then create a number of different categories and subcategories for your job board.
For example, if you want to create a job board for the nursing field, a few categories you could create include “Registered Nurse,” “Nurse Practitioner,” “Critical Care Nurse” and “Clinical Nurse.”
On the frontend, job seekers can choose to filter the board’s results by the categories you create.
They’re only allowed to filter the results by one category at a time. Enable the Multi-select Categories option under the Job Listings settings to allow them to filter by multiple categories.
Creating Listings
Job listings themselves appear under Job Listings → All Jobs on the backend of WordPress. This list features the job title, employer, location and type, among other things.
You can add jobs yourself or accept submissions in which listings will be created automatically based on how employers fill out the submission form. Let’s start with how to create a listing so you can see how much information WP Job Manager allows you to add to each job.
Start by going to Job Listings → Add New. Add the job title in the post title field, which is labelled “Position” for job listings. You can add a description after that. This should be as detailed as possible since there are a limited number of settings you can configure for each listing.
Here’s a simple outline you can use:
- Introduction Paragraph – Introduce the employer and specific location where the job needs to be filled. Provide a brief overview of the position as well.
- Requirements – Use the editor’s bullet list feature to briefly explain the qualifications job candidates must have.
- Duties – Create another list detailing the individual tasks the employee will be in charge of.
- Benefits – Since job candidates will likely negotiate on salary, list the benefits you offer instead.
You can subtract or add to this outline as you see fit. Keep in mind you can add images to this editor as well.
Once you’re done, fill out the remaining details, keeping in mind most of them can be left blank:
- Posted by – Individual job listings feature author names where the post’s meta information is listed. If you want the employer’s name featured, you’ll need to create a user account for them, though be sure to list your email address instead of theirs if you’ll be the one creating their submissions.
- Location – The city and state/province the job is located at. You can add the country if applicable. Leave this blank or write something along the lines of “Anywhere” if the job is remote.
- Application Email/URL – Job seekers cannot apply to jobs with the free version of WP Job Manager by default. You’ll need to purchase the Applications add-on or an add-on bundle for this functionality. Instead, list the URL or email address candidates can use to send their applications.
- Company Name & Website – Use these fields to list the employer’s name and website. Be as specific as possible. If the employer has multiple locations, enter the name and website of the specific location where the candidate will be working.
- Tagline – Use this to enter the company’s slogan.
- Twitter – Enter the company’s Twitter handle. Remember, be as specific as possible.
- Video – This can be used to upload or paste a URL to a promotional video the employer has created to showcase the company/location and the position.
Set an expiration date for the listing if the employer gave you one. There’s also a box you can check to mark the position as filled when needed.
Be sure to assign a category (or a few) and type to the listing. You can add the company’s logo where you’d normally add a featured image.
Edit the listing’s permalink, and publish it, after which it’ll appear on the job board and as an individual page on your site.
Accepting Job Post Submissions
There are two settings on the Job Submissions settings page that determine how your site accepts job post submissions:
- Account Required – Require an account to submit listings
- Account Creation – Enable account creation during submission
If you only have the Account Required setting enabled, you’ll need to provide a separate link leading to WordPress’ default registration form, which can be found at yourdomain.com/wp-login.php?action=register, and make sure the Membership: Anyone Can Register setting is enabled on WordPress’ General settings page. This will allow employers to create their own accounts. Set the New Default User Role setting to Employer if employers are the only individuals who will be creating accounts on your site.
Otherwise, you can enable both the Account Required and Account Creation settings to allow employers to create accounts while they fill out the job submission form.
The submission form itself more or less contains the same fields as the Add New Job page we went over in the previous section. If you want to keep bots at bay, get a reCAPTCHA Site Key and Secret Key from Google, and add them to the reCAPTCHA Settings page of WP Job Manager.
Final Thoughts
Once you have the basics set up, it’s just a matter of deciding how you want to manage your job board. Be sure to configure the notifications section of WP Job Manager so you know when a new job submission is posted. You can also configure the plugin’s settings to only publish job postings you manually approve. Make sure recruiters know they can manage their listings with the Job Dashboard as well.
If you want to monetize your board, meaning you charge recruiters per job post, you can use the WC Paid Listings or Simple Paid Listings add-ons. There’s also an add-on that allows job candidates to fill out applications directly on your site, as stated before.
All of these add-ons and eight more are available in a bundle for $125. A 30% discount is offered when you renew annually. It includes add-ons for a resume manager, job alerts, job tags, a ZipRecruiter integration and more.
