As the online job board industry gets more competitive, job board owners are constantly looking for new ways to generate revenue. One of the ways that many board owners have been able to generate more income is by focusing on a niche industry that does not get a lot of comprehensive coverage from the general job boards. But what about charging for memberships? Is it a good idea to charge for memberships to your job board as a way to generate income? There are pros and cons to this discussion and there are also specific considerations job board owners must think about before making this decision.

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Does Your Audience Expect A Membership Fee?

According to Job-Hunt.org, there are certain types of job boards and job hunting resources that are expected to charge memberships. For example, if your job board focuses on offering opportunities to executives, then the types of resources that have to be offered and the kinds of companies these job boards attract almost demand a membership fee from job hunters. In some cases, job hunters may not feel that your executive search job board is comprehensive enough if you do not charge a fee.

Another type of job hunting resource that is expected to charge membership fees is the professional association website. You could look at these types of websites as the competition, or you could start finding ways to work with these sites and generate more revenue for your job board. If you see a professional association website that does not offer job hunting services, then offer to do the service for the association for either a portion of the monthly membership fees, or you can offer your job board as a separate paid service.

Premium Services

Most Internet users do not mind paying a monthly membership fee for premium services that offer significant value. According to WPJobBoard.net, services such as comprehensive online job training and access to a forum where job hunters can talk directly to potential employers can be part of a membership package for your job board.

Other premium services such as video resume hosting and the chance to have a resume sent to a qualified list of potential employers each month also add value to a job board and can be offered in a monthly membership. Remember that job hunters are willing to pay for services that will get results and enhance their careers, but they will not pay for services they can get for free elsewhere.

Should your job board start offering a membership package? As long as you have value to offer, then job hunters will be willing to pay for it. There is no reason why a job board owner should not expand their offering and generate new sources of income from services that bring value to the job hunter. In an industry that is as competitive as the online job board industry, any chance a job board owner gets to generate monthly income should be investigated and utilized.