Will the need to authenticate candidates and employers lead us to CPA+ / CPQA?

Bill Boorman is a global analyst, writer, strategic advisor, and keynote speaker in the talent acquisition technology industry.

Bill joins the Job Board Leaders’ Roundtable, hosted by Steven Rothberg of College Recruiter job search site, to discuss the move by many job boards and other TA tech platforms to authenticate the candidates and employers using their platforms. Are they real or bots? If they are real, are they who they say they are or are they misrepresenting themselves? And as we authenticate more and do so better, are we inevitably moving toward charging employers not to run ads, but instead per qualified applicant or candidate that we deliver to them, almost like staffing agencies?

AI-generated notes:

• Roundtable Introduction and Bill Boorman’s Background Steven Rothberg introduced the monthly roundtable event, which evolved from an earlier connection, and takes place on the second Thursday of every month (00:00:00). They welcomed Bill Boorman as the guest, who shared their background as a corporate professional until age 40, having run recruitment companies and served as an HR and training director. Bill Boorman later transitioned into social media recruitment and technology startups, now working as an analyst and writer for the AIM group (00:01:12). Bill Boorman currently lives in Corfu, serves on three boards, and dedicates most of their time to writing articles and extended reports about job boards, believing it is an “exciting time” for the industry (00:02:40).
• The Current Job Board Landscape Steven Rothberg noted that the current job market environment is reminiscent of the earliest days, with something new happening every day. Bill Boorman considered the current environment different because “the crazy things have been connected,” emphasizing the need to connect “disparate stories” and what is happening in different places (00:03:47).
• Discussion Topic: Authentication in the Recruitment Marketplace The main topic for the roundtable was authentication, focusing on both the candidate and employer sides, and its potential impact on industry metrics like “cost per application” and “cost per quality application” (CPQA). Bill Boorman agreed to start by discussing the ground rules and definitions of authentication in the context of a candidate (00:04:44).
• Defining Candidate Authentication and Fraud Bill Boorman stated that authentication now has different degrees, starting with whether an applicant is a “fake person,” potentially an AI bot, noting an increase in fraud. Bill Boorman recounted a conversation with Daniel Chai, who found that 40% of tech job applicants were fake or did not exist, which was a “wow” moment at the time (00:05:48). Steven Rothberg sought clarification on whether “fake” included literally non-existent people or real people using identity theft, noting that College Recruiter sees both (00:07:08).
• Motive and Types of “Fake” Candidate Activity Bill Boorman explained that they investigated the motive for creating fake candidates, referencing the goal of infiltrating restricted sites in the US. They noted that remote work post-COVID exacerbated the problem, where individuals attending interviews were not the people doing the work, and some people were holding multiple full-time jobs simultaneously (00:07:55). The types of fake candidates include individuals applying through AI applications designed to bypass basic security checks like CAPTCHAs (00:09:11).
• Revisiting the Definition of Cheating and Candidate Information Authenticity Bill Boorman discussed that “cheating” includes candidates using AI aids during the process, like teleprompters during interviews, which represents a different level of fake. They emphasized that a base level of authentication—confirming a person’s real identity and background—can only be solved through engagement and background checks (00:10:14). Bill Boorman and Steven Rothberg reflected that lying on CVs or slightly exaggerating experience in interviews is not new; the job of a human recruiter has always been to find the truth in the conversation (00:11:20).
• AI Use and Redefining Cheating Bill Boorman mentioned a large student site that prohibits AI use in job applications, even as they hire people for jobs requiring AI usage. Bill Boorman suggested that the focus should shift to hiring people who use available tools effectively while maintaining honesty and authenticity (00:13:19). They asserted that what is wanted in terms of candidate supply is a real person, and that the information they provide is reasonably accurate with some background verification (00:14:23).
• Cost Per Qualified Application (CPQA) Bar Bill Boorman expressed surprise at how low the bar for qualification was for employers regarding CPQA (00:14:23). While recruiters often consider a qualified application to be a matched candidate with specific years of experience, employers were primarily asking if the person was legal to work and met the basic legal requirements for the role, such as a driver’s license or a specific certificate (00:15:26). Employers want to remove the problem of “tsunami of applications,” many of which are fake or AI-driven, and instead receive real people who are engaged and will respond to contact (00:16:24).
• Beyond CPQA: Cost Per Qualified Candidate and Workflow Changes Bill Boorman suggested the industry has moved past CPQA, and is now focusing on a different, unnamed area, which involves platforms that perform more screening up to the first interview stage using “agentic agents” for appointment setting (00:18:37). Bill Boorman clarified the difference between a qualified applicant and a qualified candidate; a qualified applicant meets basic eligibility criteria, while a qualified candidate is a matched candidate (00:19:44).
• Employer Authentication and Trust in the Marketplace Steven Rothberg shifted the focus to employer authentication, highlighting the significant risk to candidates applying to jobs with non-legitimate employers, which can lead to financial fraud (00:20:49). Bill Boorman suggested that major platforms have started giving employers badges to signal responsiveness and legitimacy, similar to how candidates receive badges. They noted that candidates are willing to pay sites like Flex Jobs because they verify that every job listed is real, especially in the remote work sector where fraud is prevalent (00:21:52).
• The Value of Niche Job Boards and Reciprocity Steven Rothberg pointed out that employer authentication presents a significant opportunity for smaller, niche job sites that know their customers and can essentially vet the employer’s legitimacy (00:25:17). Bill Boorman agreed, stating the basic tenant for a job board must be a belief that if a candidate entrusts them with their data, any resulting introduction will be genuine and lead to a real employer (00:26:15). Bill Boorman supported giving badges for “good behavior” to both employers and applicants, emphasizing that authentication of the job’s reality is crucial for candidates to choose where to apply (00:27:38).
• Defining CPA Plus and the Shift to Delivering Candidates Steven Rothberg asked Bill Boorman to define “CPA plus,” to which Bill Boorman responded it means “extra qualification” (00:28:38). Bill Boorman differentiated between delivering “applicants” (which employers screen) and delivering “candidates” (which the job board has screened), stating that the industry is moving towards delivering candidates, providing a small number of high-quality individuals (00:29:41). Bill Boorman highlighted that the biggest request from Talent Acquisition leaders is efficiency, especially the removal of the need to screen, background check, and verify applications (00:31:03).
• The Changing Definition of a Job Board Bill Boorman is struggling to define “what is a job board” today, as the traditional definition was a platform that delivered applicants, but now many are delivering candidates after performing screening and matching (00:31:03). Bill Boorman asserted that providing candidates involves matching and ensuring candidates are legitimate, engaged, and would seriously consider a job offer, which represents a “cost per qualified candidate”. Bill Boorman concluded that with these changes, recruitment agencies are under threat, not job boards (00:33:26).
• Industry Shift and the Value of Difficulty Bill Boorman agreed with Chris Foreman’s assertion that job boards pose a bigger threat to staffing companies (00:34:35). Bill Boorman cited industry benchmarks indicating a split market: 70% of hiring is frictionless, but the remaining 30% involves roles that are “really difficult to find people” (00:35:37). This difficult segment is where a premium is paid for CPQA. Bill Boorman suggested pricing should be based on labor market insights and the complexity to fill a role, reflecting the increased unit cost of job ads in the last 12 months despite economic conditions (00:43:36).
• The Role of Job Boards: Advertising vs. Staffing Mike Corso commented that job boards must decide if they are advertisers or if they are moving into the staffing domain, questioning how far into the funnel the job board industry wants to go (00:46:06). Bill Boorman agreed this is the fundamental question, wondering if the market will support job boards that only supply applicants or if it now demands and is willing to pay for more (00:46:59). Bill Boorman outlined that niche job boards’ value lies in having specialist collections and being able to charge a premium for access to those candidates (00:48:01).
• Standardization of Qualification and Commoditization Jim Durbin asked if a universal or industry-accepted standard for “qualified” is achievable, or if the term should be replaced with “eligible” (00:37:45). Bill Boorman responded that a universal definition is not needed; instead, the technology must allow each user to set their own parameters for what they want to buy (00:38:37). Ben Groves supported Bill Boorman’s minimum standard for qualification, but predicted that providing qualified applicants will soon become the industry standard without a premium, as new products are entering the market that can offer this without the same cost burden (00:41:42).
• Dynamic Pricing and the Role of Small Language Models Lou Goodman agreed that minimum verification for a real person will become standard, but added that the other kind of verification—employer authentication—will also become standard (00:49:53). Lou Goodman emphasized that applications are commoditized, and adding value requires taking work off recruiters, such as enhanced matching and screening (00:50:48). Bill Boorman suggested that niche job boards should focus on building the best “small language model” in their niche, powered by their historical data on CVs and jobs, to serve as a differentiator in matching and discovery (00:52:41).
• Leveraging Candidate Engagement in Real-Time Benson Dooley suggested that job boards should focus on the initial, immediate interaction stage where candidates are most engaged, an experience that ATSs and recruiters further down the funnel do not have (00:54:44). Bill Boorman agreed, but stressed that the most vulnerable area for job boards is “job discovery,” as larger platforms are currently dominating this space through contextual job discovery apps (00:55:28). Bill Boorman expressed concern that giants could dominate the supply side of candidates (discovery), similar to how they dominate the demand side, but noted that the 20% of the market left is still substantial for others (00:57:43).
• Challenge to Talent Acquisition Bill Boorman warned that Indeed and LinkedIn are trying to dominate the talent acquisition process by capturing individuals at the ‘discovery’ stage, before they become applicants. They aim to become the central point for job seekers, controlling both supply and demand by offering services like CV writing and career advice to ensure job seekers never leave their platform. Boorman emphasized that companies must fight against this strategy (00:58:50).
• Closing Remarks and Call to Action Steven Rothberg thanked attendees for joining and described Bill Boorman’s closing statement as both a warning and an aspirational outlook. Rothberg encouraged attendees to connect with Bill Boorman on LinkedIn and share their definitions of job boards. Bill Boorman thanked everyone for having them (00:58:50).