Job adverts
Where is the best place to find staff in the UK?
There is no single best place, because the right place depends on whether the people you want are looking. For roles with an active applicant market, the large UK job boards reach the most people for the least money, and posting to several at once through one flat-fee advert costs £399 to £599 +VAT rather than several hundred pounds per board. For roles where the capable people are employed and not searching, no board reaches them and the answer is a direct approach. Referrals sit underneath both and cost nothing.
Match the place to whether they are looking
| Where | Reaches | Cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your own people | Their contacts | Free | Common roles, local |
| Main UK job boards | People actively searching | £399 – £599 +VAT for a multi-board advert | Most volume and mid-skill roles |
| Your own careers page | People who already know you | Build cost | Brands people search for |
| Direct approach | People not looking at all | £1,500 – £4,000 +VAT | Scarce skills, senior roles |
Buying boards individually is the expensive way to do this. A single flat-fee advert distributed across several boards costs less than most single-board rates, which is why the multi-board route is the default for a small employer rather than a premium option.
The question that decides it
Did your last advert produce anyone worth interviewing?
If yes, the market is looking and boards are the right answer. Spend the money on reach and on writing the advert properly.
If no, more reach will not help. The people who can do that job are employed, busy, and not on a job board. That is when a direct approach earns its fee, and it is a different service with a different price.
What actually changes the result on a board
The board matters less than three things you control:
- The salary being in the advert. Leaving it out reliably reduces applications and does not save the conversation. Should I put the salary in a job advert?
- The first two lines. Most people read those and nothing else.
- How fast you reply. Strong applicants are usually in more than one process. A week of silence is a lost candidate.
If the advert is live and nothing usable is arriving, the diagnosis is usually one of those three rather than the board. Why is my job advert getting no applications?
What to expect once it is live
Across the 46 roles we filled, spanning 18 sectors, the median time from opening the role to filling it was 42 days, and the middle half of them landed between 29 and 68 days. The fastest took 14 days. Plan around six weeks and treat anything quicker as a bonus.
Where we fit
A flat-fee advert is £399 +VAT, distributed across the main UK boards and live for 28 days, with the applications coming to you. If the role needs someone approached rather than reached, a managed search is £1,500 to £4,000 +VAT depending on the salary band, and the fee is refunded in full if the role is not filled.
FAQs
Is it worth paying for a job board when free options exist? Free listings do work for some roles. The paid boards buy reach and speed, which matters when the vacancy is costing you money every week it stays open.
Should I advertise on several boards or one? Several, if you can do it for one price. Different boards have genuinely different audiences by sector and region.
Where do I find staff for hard-to-fill trades and engineering roles? Usually not on a board at all. Those markets are close to fully employed, so the route is a direct approach. How to hire engineers in the UK.
Can I just use my own careers page? Only if people already search for your company by name. For most small employers a careers page converts interest that something else created. Do I need a careers page?
Sources
Want the fixed price for your role?
Advertise it yourself from £399 +VAT, or hand the whole search to a dedicated recruiter — a flat fee by salary band with a 100% refund if the role is not filled.
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