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Looking for a new job can be challenging, There are so many jobs listed, and many times they are either already filled or no one gets back to you. It’s easy to become discouraged and lose focus. A successful job search is a series of tasks and approaches applied over a period of time. While you could get lucky and quickly find a job, this is unlikely in any market. The best approach is to split your time across a number of job search engines.
Are Job Search Sites Worth Your Time?
There are hundreds of job search sites that are available on the Internet. You would never have the time to check them all out (nor should you check them all out). Are they worth your time? Without a doubt, yes. Should you register with as many as you can? No, but you should focus on a few that will best meet your needs.
Sometimes we tend to view job search sites as active assets in a job search: we go on, we search, and we apply to jobs. But there are passive aspects of job sites as well that can streamline your search. By uploading your resume and optimizing it for search keywords related to your field, recruiters and potential employers that are searching for candidates can find your name.
A successful job search is a series of tasks and approaches applied over a period of time. While you could get lucky and quickly find a job, this is unlikely in any market. The best approach is to split your time across a number of job search engines.Click To TweetDeciding Which Job Search Sites are Best for You
When you think of job search sites, you might think of the major aggregators like ZipRecruiter or Monster.com. These are great sites to have in your job search arsenal. Often, employers who are looking for candidates in specific geographies or fields will use more personalized sites. If you live in Boston, for example, it’s worth visiting Boston.com as part of your job site explorations. If you work in non-profits, check out topnonprofits.com. You get the idea: invest the time to figure out what you want, where you want to work and the type of company you want to work for.
Top 5 Job Search Sites
To create this list (this is a list that changes over time), we looked at twenty different job search sites and compared ease of use, the flexibility of their search criteria (locations, job functions, industries, etc.), number of opportunities, and functionality. It’s worth taking a look at each of these sites to see how they fit your needs, but we would suggest using no more than two sites otherwise you will spend more time creating lists than applying for opportunities.
- ZipRecruiter – ZipRecruiter has the top-ranked mobile app for job search and one of the largest databases of job opportunities. The site is free for job seekers and has a number of tools, including salary info (“real salaries from real employers” is ZipRecruiter’s tag line for this). You can search for jobs based on job title, keyword, or location. Once you’ve created your profile, the site keeps track of applied jobs and allows you to save jobs that you might want to look review at a later time. The profile section is very robust and uploading
your resume is very easy and you can email alerts for new opportunities. - Indeed.com – Indeed.com has been around for a long time (although not as long as Monster.com) and helped create the popularity of “job aggregator” sites (sites that pull in job search leads from recruiters, company career sites, and many other sources). The great news about digital job search sites like Indeed.com is that it makes it incredibly easy to search and apply to many job opportunities very quickly. Create an account, upload
your resume , complete your profile and start looking for jobs. You can set up email updates on opportunities as well. - Monster.com – When you think of job search sites, you might think of the major aggregators like Monster.com which is one of the oldest online job search sites. Once your profile has been created, you will see suggested skills (pulled from
your resume ). You have options to makeyour resume visible to employers or not visible. Be careful with this option (not just on Monster, but on all job search sites), because ifyour resume is visible there is always the chance that your current employer will see that you are looking for a new job. - LinkedIn – You might be wondering why you would consider a professional networking site when all you want to do is to find a job. According to a global survey conducted by LinkedIn, 61% of professionals from around the world agree that professional network interactions can open up career opportunities. Some suggest that 85% of open key positions are filled through networking (although not necessarily LinkedIn). Upload a professional-looking headshot, list your skills– use up all the 50 skills slots that LinkedIn allows, list your work experiences and upload your
resume. You should probably request recommendations from your network. And now you are ready to start applying for jobs. Jobs are typically on the target company’s website which can be time-consuming. - Glassdoor.com – Glassdoor is a great site for employer reviews (over 70 million company reviews). If you want to find out if a company is a good fit for you, the platform is a great place to start. Glassdoor has company reviews, ratings and salary content. You can add your resume, update your profile and start your job search. Glassdoor also allows you to filter your results by salary range. You can signup for email alerts for jobs that match your criteria. Glassdoor has integrated company reviews and salaries. Rumor is that Glassdoor’s job search is powered by Indeed.com (Indeed and Glassdoor are sister companies, both owned by Recruit Holdings).
Bottom Line
All of the sites listed above are great job search resources and provide excellent functionality. As mentioned earlier, you should review the sites and then pick the ones that best fit your needs. Job search sites are the natural first step in finding available jobs. All of these sites will work better if
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