Evolution or Extinction? What’s the future for Job Boards
Fri Feb 06 2026
Job boards have been connecting candidates with employers for over thirty years, but the relationship that made them work is fundamentally breaking down. Candidates are getting frustrated by applying for roles that may already be filled or have been taken off the market, while employers are receiving hundreds of identical, AI-generated applications they can't meaningfully evaluate. The Job Boards sitting between them are trapped in business models that reward volume over quality, which only makes the problem worse.
The result is a trust crisis that threatens the entire ecosystem. When neither side believes the process is fair, the whole system starts to unravel. So what would it actually take for job boards to rebuild that trust and stay relevant?
My guest this week is Lou Goodman, a job board strategy expert who recently partnered with Jobiqo to produce a major new report on the future of job boards. In our conversation, she explains why the industry is stuck repeating the same patterns, what job boards can learn from other platform businesses, and whether evolution or extinction is the more likely outcome.
In the interview, we discuss:
Why job boards still matter in today's market
The trust crisis threatening the ecosystem.
How AI is amplifying weaknesses rather than fixing them
Procedural justice and why fairness matters more than outcomes
The shift from quantity to quality
Where job boards can add value in the process
Why short-term fixes become long-term patterns
Lessons from other two-sided platform businesses
What is the future for job boards?
Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts.
Follow this podcast on Spotify.
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Job boards have been connecting candidates with employers for over thirty years, but the relationship that made them work is fundamentally breaking down. Candidates are getting frustrated by applying for roles that may already be filled or have been taken off the market, while employers are receiving hundreds of identical, AI-generated applications they can't meaningfully evaluate. The Job Boards sitting between them are trapped in business models that reward volume over quality, which only makes the problem worse. The result is a trust crisis that threatens the entire ecosystem. When neither side believes the process is fair, the whole system starts to unravel. So what would it actually take for job boards to rebuild that trust and stay relevant? My guest this week is Lou Goodman, a job board strategy expert who recently partnered with Jobiqo to produce a major new report on the future of job boards. In our conversation, she explains why the industry is stuck repeating the same patterns, what job boards can learn from other platform businesses, and whether evolution or extinction is the more likely outcome. In the interview, we discuss: Why job boards still matter in today's market The trust crisis threatening the ecosystem. How AI is amplifying weaknesses rather than fixing them Procedural justice and why fairness matters more than outcomes The shift from quantity to quality Where job boards can add value in the process Why short-term fixes become long-term patterns Lessons from other two-sided platform businesses What is the future for job boards? Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.