The search interface on job boards
Jaap van de Putte, 2 use itDate: October 6 2008
Full article: 
searching-a-job-online-part2-200810.pdf
Previous article: Introduction to the study
Together with 30 students of the Faculty of Communication & Journalism 
of the Hogeschool Utrecht (Netherlands) we studied the search function on 9 job boards. In a series of 5 articles we present our findings.
This article is the 2nd article and it describes the Search Interface of the job boards. A Search Interface is the place where you start your search. It is made up of at least a text input field and a search button. How well do the job boards comply with our checklist and what improvements can be made?
The Ideal Search Interface
- It has a wide search text box (minimum width of 250 pixels, that is at least 40 characters)
- There is a clear visible and clickable action button with the name "Search".
- If filters are offered, they are adequate, easy to use and not too extensive. If the job board does not offer a filter at all, the score is OK.
- Boolean search is supported.
Our findings:
| Wide text box | Clear visible Search button | Limited filter | Support for Boolean Search | Overall Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indeed.com |  |
|
|
|
100 % |
| Stepstone | |
|
n.a. | |
75 % |
| Jobs.ac.uk | |
|
|
 |
75 % |
| Monsterboard | |
|
|
|
75 % |
| Intermediair | |
|
|
|
50 % |
| Nationale Vacaturebank | |
|
|
|
50 % |
| Werken bij de Overheid | |
|
|
|
0 % |
| AcademicTransfer | n.a. | |
|
|
0 % |
| Jobtrack | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | - |
Our recommendations (and they are easy to implement ...)
- Widen the text box to at least 40 characters.
- Provide a clear visible Search button.
- Keep the filter limited.
- Support Boolean Search.
Download the full article
searching-a-job-online-part2-200810.pdf (PDF-bestand: 137 kB)
Next article
The Search Engine Results Page on job boards
For our English readers: We have just recently decided to publish some of our articles in English. Unfortunately we did not complete the site translation into English. We apologise for the inconvenience.
Overzicht alle artikelen
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- Structureer je webtekst in 10 stappen - 8 februari 2010
- De Webredactierichtlijnen: schrijven volgens de Webrichtlijnen - 22 juni 2009
- Schrijven voor mensen en voor zoekmachines - 9 april 2009
- Search function on job boards reviewed. Part 5 (last part): Which job board has got the best search function? - 18 december 2008
- Search function on job boards reviewed. Part 4: The Vacancy Detail Page - 8 december 2008
- Search function on job boards reviewed. Part 3: Search Engine Results Page - 20 oktober 2008
- Search function on job boards reviewed. Part 2: Search Interface - 6 oktober 2008
- Search function on job boards reviewed. Part 1: Introduction - 5 september 2008
- Hyperlinks gebruiken - 17 april 2008
- Leesbare teksten op het web - 15 oktober 2007
- 10 tips voor betere webformulieren - 5 juli 2007
- De interne zoekfunctie op gemeentesites - 30 mei 2007
- Open Source Learning Management Systemen - 7 mei 2007
- Usability is het feest van de herkenning - 10 maart 2007
- Usability websites boekhandels getest - 29 juni 2006
- Test zelf de vindbaarheid van uw site - 21 juni 2006
- Ja, ik sta in Google! - 1 juni 2006
