The reality of job portals: high costs, limited success

The cost of a single Stepstone job ad is at least €1,399 for the "Pro" package with a 30-day term. For more visibility, prices quickly rise to over €2,300. Despite this investment, you will only reach around 20-30% of the job market who are actively looking for a new job. The majority of qualified professionals, around 70%, are passive or latent job seekers who remain invisible on job portals. The average time to hire in Germany is over 50 days, which makes the process even more expensive. An analysis of job portal prices shows that this route is often inefficient. So if the best candidates are not on Stepstone, where can you find them?

The hidden talent market: How to attract passive candidates

Passive talents are not looking for a job, but are open to the right offer. You don't reach them via job boards, but where they are online every day: on social media. This is exactly what the EDEKA Group, which has been working with inga since 2020, proves. A recruitment rate of 72% was achieved for over 20 different profiles, from store managers to logistics specialists. The approach delivered an average of 21 pre-qualified applications per position. The key is to target talent before they even visit a job board. Social recruiting campaigns, combined with a job bot, activate these hard-to-reach target groups efficiently and without additional effort for the HR team. This makes it possible to find the right specialists that the competition is looking for online. However, mere visibility is not enough, as precise pre-qualification is particularly important in niche areas.

Automation in the skilled trades: 76% success rate in technology niches

The shortage of skilled workers is hitting the skilled trades particularly hard. The KMLS Group, a building technology service provider, shows how to recruit successfully even in niches such as HVAC/ MEP/MSR. For over 5 years, inga has been the recruiting partner and has achieved a placement rate of 76% in more than 50 projects. On average, each vacancy led to 21 verified applications. A quote from a manager sums it up: "The job bot is fast, uncomplicated ... Talent flows directly into our BMS - the icing on the cake." Automated bots reduce administrative effort and reliably fill challenging positions. This technology takes care of the screening and delivers precisely tailored profiles directly to the company's recruiting portal. This precision is crucial not only in the skilled trades, but also in the search for highly specialized experts.

Quality over quantity: Tailor-made bots for rare experts

What do you do when traditional channels for highly specialized roles fail? Recruiting service provider SCHRAMM has been using individually programmed bots from inga since 2022 to attract precisely these hard-to-reach specialists and experts in the DACH region. Instead of a "one-size-fits-all" ad, the focus here is on precise targeting and a customized approach. This approach proves that a combination of "manual labor" and technology convinces passive candidates where a standard job ad is ignored. It's about convincing with precision rather than application spam. This method makes all the difference when you're looking for a job board for professionals that really delivers results. What counts in the end, however, is how quickly and smoothly these qualified contacts end up in your own system.

From click to interview: Efficiency through direct system integration

The greatest time saving in recruiting is achieved when qualified applicant profiles end up in the company's own applicant management system (AMS) without any detours. This was a decisive factor for both KMLS and EDEKA. The job bot conducts an initial mini-interview and only hands over suitable, verified candidates. This saves the HR team hours of manual screening. This process can be optimized even further:

• Direct scheduling: If a customer provides a scheduling link, interviews can be booked directly by the bot.
• Reduced coordination effort: The endless back and forth of finding a date is completely eliminated.
• Faster processes: It often takes less than 48 hours from the first contact to the final interview appointment.
• Focus on the essentials: HR teams can concentrate on qualitative discussions instead of spending their time on administration.

This efficiency makes it easier than ever to find the right employees and stay one step ahead of the competition. But how does this approach compare to a Stepstone ad in terms of direct costs?

A smart alternative: a direct comparison of costs and benefits

Let's contrast the traditional method with the automated approach. Placing a single Stepstone job ad is a high upfront investment with an uncertain outcome. The inga approach, on the other hand, is performance-oriented and aims for a measurable return on investment. Here are the key differences:

1. Cost model: Instead of a flat-rate ad placement starting at €1,399, inga offers campaigns aimed at filling the position, including a 50% money-back guarantee.
2. Target group: Stepstone only reaches active seekers (approx. 30 % of the market). inga reaches the entire talent pool via social media, especially the 70 % passive candidates.
3. Qualification: At Stepstone, the manual check only begins after the application. The inga job bot pre-qualifies candidates and only delivers suitable profiles.
4. Effort: A traditional advertisement generates high administrative effort. Automated processes reduce this by over 70 %.

In the end, the decision is clear: instead of spending money on a single Stepstone job ad, with inga you invest in a process that finds you the right applicants in a predictable and efficient way.