Career Site Vendors: How to Shortlist and Compare Them

Comparing career site vendors goes wrong when each vendor is judged on its own best slide. A fair comparison uses the same questions, the same data and the same scorecard for everyone, and ends with a customer call.

This guide is part of our career site providers guide. Start there if you are not yet sure which type of supplier you need.

Step 1: build a shortlist of three career site vendors

Three is enough. More than that and demos blur together. Choose from at least two types of supplier, so you test your assumptions, not only the vendors.

• One specialist careers website platform
• One supplier of a different type, such as a talent suite or your ATS's own career page
• One wild card, such as a supplier a peer recommended

Free toolSee your careers website the way candidates doRun the free scan. It takes about two minutes, and you will see what is already working and what could work harder.Find out now

Step 2: agree the scorecard before any demo

Weights stop the loudest demo winning. Score every vendor from 0 to 5 on each line and multiply by the weight.

The RFP template includes a scored version you can send to every vendor.

Step 3: ask for the same demo from everyone

1. 1. WelcomeThe vendor repeats back your top three goals.
2. 2. Your jobsThey connect to your ATS or a copy of it.
3. 3. Edit liveYour editor changes a page and publishes it.
4. 4. A second languageThey add one live.
5. 5. Phone testThey show the result on a phone.

Red flags when comparing vendors

• Prices appear only after the demo, and only as a total
• Integration work is "scoped later"
• Support is described but response targets are not given
• References are all from different sectors or sizes
• Contract terms are silent on data ownership

Check the cost, not only the quote

Quotes are rarely comparable at first glance. Use the cost guide and its editable model to put every vendor on the same three-year basis.

Where Happydance fits in your shortlist

Happydance is a specialist careers website platform, so it belongs in the specialist slot. Ask us the same questions, and hold us to them. You will find our answers in the careers website CMS guide and on the plans page. If you are comparing us with a specific supplier, our alternatives guides set out the facts fairly, with sources.

Before you contact anyone: write a one page brief

Vendors answer the question they are asked. A one page brief means every vendor answers the same one, and it forces your own team to agree what matters before a salesperson shapes the discussion.

• Three outcomes you want, such as more qualified applications from your own site, faster changes by your team, or one site across several brands
• Your ATS and the number of live jobs, in a typical month
• The brands, markets and languages in scope, now and in two years
• Who edits the site today, and who should in future
• Your budget range and the length of contract you can sign
• The date you need to be live, and the reason for that date

What a good answer sounds like, and what a vague one sounds like

Most vendor answers sound fine on first hearing. Use this decoder to hear the difference.

A worked example: scoring three vendors

Here is the scorecard from step 2, filled in for three imaginary vendors. The scores are made up to show the method and say nothing about any real supplier. Notice that Vendor A has the best editing and Vendor C is cheapest and fastest, but Vendor B wins on the weighted total because it is strong on the lines you weighted highest.

Ten questions for the customer reference call

1. How long have you been live, and what did the first three months look like?
2. Who edits the site on your side, and what do they need from the vendor?
3. Tell me about the last change that went wrong. How was it handled?
4. How quickly does the vendor respond when something is urgent?
5. Has the price changed since you signed, and by how much?
6. How well does it work with your ATS day to day?
7. What do you wish you had asked before you signed?
8. What would you change about the contract?
9. Have you added a language or a brand since launch, and how did that go?
10. Would you choose them again?

Contract points to check before you sign

• Who owns the content, design and data, and what format can you take it in
• Response and resolution targets, and what happens when they are missed
• The price of renewal in years two and three, and any price cap
• The cost of each extra language, brand or integration
• The notice period and the exit support offered
• Accessibility and security commitments, in writing

A vendor list is a list of promises

Every vendor will promise a better candidate experience. The useful question is which promises you can test in a demo with your own jobs, and which only appear in a brochure. Test the first kind. Be wary of the second.

The highest performers are not simply clearer. They are more honest.

Bryan Adams, Sell The Truth

A quick truth test for this page:

• Can you test each promise with your own content?
• Does the vendor say what they do not do?
• Would you be comfortable repeating their claims to a candidate?

Keep exploring: four pages to read next

Pick the page that matches where you are in your search. Each one links back to the others, so you can move between guides, your ATS, comparisons and plans.

Free preview: six of the 80 RFP questions

The decision memo: one page that ends the debate

Write the decision down on one page before you sign. It protects the choice when people ask about it later, and it forces you to state the trade-offs you accepted.