WP Job Openings Review

Use WordPress? Sick of paying through the nose for job boards? Need a way to accept job applications? Read on, this one's for you.
WP Job Openings

Job boards, the pros and cons.

Attracting talent to your business, whether you’re a startup or established, can cost you a pretty penny. With lots of different choices in terms of job boards, it can be a little overwhelming and, dare I say it, time-consuming. 

Having worked in recruitment in a past life, I can tell you, sifting through resumes can be a nightmare, with only a fleeting few worthy of a call back.

Unlike other companies, I always made a point of contacting individuals to say thanks but no thanks, it’s the right thing to do. 

Me, just now.

Big job boards are great for exposure, and if you have the budget, can yield results, one of the main issues with using a major provider, is what I call, getting lost in the ether. 

Yell louder, I can’t see you

You know what I mean, it’s a shouting match (a bit like Linkedin), every listing is competing to attract talent, and hey if you have the budget, and time, go for it. 

I’ve seen job listings promising the Earth in a bid to get applications, the end result?

Broken promises.

Couple this with an influx of applicants, and not having the time to cater to them all, can put your company in a bad light.

You don’t want that. Your company doesn’t need it, and I’m pretty sure those who are responsible for hiring, really, really don’t need that.

If you’re running WordPress as your CMS (Content Management System) what do you do?

You might be surprised, with what is possible.

That sounded like proper “click bait” granted. Having said that, you really, really might be surprised.

Sh*t, that sounded worse. Where was I? Oh yes…..

Run your own solution? Say whaaat?

(*slaps wrist)

What if there was a way you could perform the process on your own WordPress website?

What if you could post jobs, review applications, and keep track of everything through your existing website?

No middle person, no paid for service. A way to attract talent who are genuinely interested in your business, and save money at the same time?

Maybe money that could be used to offer a better salary? Or pay for a new coffee filter in the office machine, either or. Down to you, no judgement.

I’m just spitballing here, so bear with me. 

About the WP Job Openings review, and disclosure

For this review, I’m using InstaWP to spin up an instance of WordPress online for me to test out WP Job Openings. InstaWP is available on a range of pricing structures, starting from free. If you’re interested, go check them out.

This is a paid for review, now, if that’s gonna put some of you off, I can dig that. Rest assured, I will cover as much as I can, without glossing over pain points, there’s no point in that, it’s misleading, and I don’t roll like that.

Downhill is how I usually roll.

Affiliate links, yes there will be affiliate links in this review. I make no bones about it, it will not affect you in anyway, if you make a purchase through a link, I make a small commission, at no extra charge to you.

All good? Let’s get started.

WP Job Openings is looking to change things

There’s a wealth of Job board plugins/solutions for WordPress, some are overly complicated, others lack features. Striking a balance between the two is difficult to do, WP Job Openings aims to solve this.

WPJO (Yes I’m lazy!) comes in two different versions, there’s the free version available on WordPress.org which boasts a range of features and then there’s a pro version.

Let’s take a quick look at feature sets of them both.

WP Job Openings free version features

Listing on WordPress.org
Listing on WordPress.org
  • Flexible Layouts
  • Search and Filters
  • Job Listing Schema
  • Job Specification
  • Manage Job Expiry
  • Multilingual Support
  • GDPR Ready
  • HR User Role
  • Sidebar Widgets
  • Dashboard Widget
  • Email Digest

This version is available to download on WordPress.org here. Despite being free, features look good so far, and in truth this could be enough for some.

WP Job Openings pro version features

Available on WP Job Openings site
Available on WP Job Openings site
  • All features of free+
  • Multiple Forms
  • Custom Form Builder
  • Select, Shortlist or Reject Applications
  • Rate Applications
  • Private Notes on Applications
  • Replace Default Form with Third-party Forms
  • Notifications Manager
  • Export Applications
  • Activity Tracker
  • Custom Email Alerts
  • Attach Files with Emails
  • Advanced WPML Integration
  • Shortcode Form Builder
  • Mark Positions Filled
  • Advanced Admin Filters
  • Change Strings (In-plugin translation)
  • Print/PDF Download Applications

Leafing through the feature set of the Pro version, raises an eyebrow or two. I like the idea of a custom form builder, private notes, notifications, activity tracker and such.

This sounds more like a fully fledged HR system to a degree, so I’m quite eager to get started on this 🙂

WP Job Openings Pro pricing

The elephant in the room, pricing. Let’s get this out of the way, rather than me waffling on, you probably want to know how much it costs, take a look at the pricing for WP Job Openings Pro:

  • 1 Site License + 1 Year Updates & Support = $49.00
  • Up to 5 Sites License + 1 Year Updates & Support = $99.00
  • Unlimited Sites License + 1 Year Updates & Support = $299.00

It’s not set the world on fire so far, from a cost perspective, if it does what it says it can do $49.00 for one license, it isn’t going to break the bank so to speak. 

Lifetime pricing is available

I know some are not fond of Lifetime deal (LTD) pricing, especially when these can sometimes be cancelled and a proverbial s**t storm blows up on social media (not naming names), but if you like an LTD, here you go:

  • 1 Site License + Unlimited Updates & Support = $149.00
  • Up to 5 Sites License + Unlimited Updates & Support = $289.00
  • Unlimited Sites License + Unlimited Updates & Support = $599.00

Still, pricing wise, not too shabby for a Lifetime deal, quite reasonable. Whether it’s maintainable from the developers at a business level, I can’t comment, but it’s not unreasonable in terms of price. 

Full details on pricing are available over at WP Job Openings here.

Clearing up any confusion

For those of you looking for a job board plugin for WordPress, I’ll say this now to clear up any confusion. WP Job Openings is not a platform for you to sell listings for companies. 

A little louder for those at the back, this is not a solution for you to create something like Monster, or Indeed.

WPJO is more like an HR tool, integrating with your site to create jobs and receive applications, not a way to allow front end posting of roles, and charge companies for the privilege. You dig?

Keeping things on point and making it easier for you

In an effort to keep things so they don’t read like War & Peace, I’ve broken down the review for you. Nobody want’s an endless post, so take a look at the below and skip to the content that’s relevent to you.

Page 2 👉 – Installation of WP Job Openings.
Page 3 👉 – Control Panel and settings
Page 4 👉 – Job creation and more
Page 5 👉 – Going pro with WP Job Openings
Page 6 👉 – Applicants and how it works
Page 7 👉 – Verdict and final thoughts

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Table of Contents

4 Comments

    • Thanks Andy, took a while to get it done. But, I hope it helps people, whether they decide to go for the free version, or the Pro one.

      Good to know what to expect, lol!

  1. Best review ever!

    Thank you Ben for the amazing review. You should do this more often.
    You just do not miss anything. I would love to read more such reviews on your blog.

    • WOW!!!! Thank you Aravind, means a lot! I like to go in-depth as I think it helps people make a more informed choice. Plus the structure should help those who just want to skip to the things that matter! 🙂

      Appreciate your feedback dude! Literally made my day!

      All the best

      Ben

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