ZipRecruiter vs LinkedIn

LinkedIn and ZipRecruiter are the top two job search sites that come to mind when employers are looking to hire and job search candidates are looking for new opportunities. Both offer a variety of online and mobile tools for both posting and applying for jobs. But which site is best for you?  Much of that depends on whether you are looking to hire or looking for a new job.  In this article, we explore the two platforms, providing some background on their functionality in order to help you make a decision.

Job Seekers

Looking for new career opportunities is time-consuming and can be very challenging. There are quite a few job search sites and it is easy to get caught up in applying for every opportunity rather than focusing on opportunities that best fit your experience and career plans. A successful job search is a planned series of specific tasks and approaches applied over a period of time. Leveraging a job search site that works best for your needs will help you land your dream job more quickly.

Employers

Gone are the days where employers could place advertisements in local newspapers to attract job seekers. While employers could use recruiters, this is a very expensive option that does not always have the best results and often does not have the best candidates.  Posting job opportunities online is the most efficient and cost effective way for employers to attract top talent.

ZipRecruiter for Employers

ZipRecruiter is an online employment marketplace that matches job seekers with companies that are looking to hire.  Companies place their jobs on ZipRecruiter and then ZipRecruiter sends these job opportunities to over one hundred of the most popular job search sites and social networks.  This is a big advantage for companies because the platform broadcasts job opportunities to a very large audience of potential job seekers. Job seekers who have posted their resumes on ZipRecruiter are typically activly looking for new opportunities. There are a number of pricing options for employers, depending on their needs.

ZipRecruiter for Job Seekers

Job seekers benefit from having access to one of the most powerful mobile job search tools with a job inventory from over 100,000 companies and millions of job opportunities.  ZipRecruiter is free for job seekers and the onboarding process is very easy. You can leverage their smartphone apps or use ZipRecruiter from their site using your computer.

ZipRecruiter Job Seeker Process

• Upload your resume (ZipRecruiter creates an online version of your resume).
• Keywords and skills from your resume are posted as part of your profile.
• You can either let employers find you (based on your profile) or just apply for jobs that meet your experience and requirements.
• ZipRecruiter creates a list of suggested opportunities based on your resume and profile.
• You can create and automate job alerts based on search activity, location matching, and salary matching.
• Minimize or maximize notifications from the notifications page with a wide range of options.
• See salaries from employers.  Enter the job title or keyword along with the location and select search.  You will see results displayed based on nationwide, and your location with commentary on average pay and pay ranges for that position.  ZipRecruiter also displays job opportunities that match the title selection (on the same page).
• Save jobs that you may want to view at a later date.
• Keep track of the jobs that you’ve applied for by using their “Applied Jobs” link.

LinkedIn for Employers

LinkedIn started as a social networking platform that allowed professionals to create profiles and to connect to provide support for their careers and job search. LinkedIn has approximately 600 million users globally and, as a result, provides a very good platform for employers to find qualified candidates.

LinkedIn allows employers to post job listings and to search for candidates whose skills and experience meet their needs. As with ZipRecruiter, LinkedIn has a number of options for employers depending on their needs and their budget. While ZipRecruiter’s job seeker population is primarily active in looking for new opportunities, LinkedIn members are both active and passive in terms of their job search.

LinkedIn for Job Seekers

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).

As with ZipRecruiter, creating a basic account on LinkedIn is free. Setting up a complete profile on LinkedIn is more time-consuming than ZipRecruiter and you will need to spend a bit more time to build out your profile.

Process

• Upload a professional-looking headshot. While this is not mandatory, it is recommended.
• Draft your headline – Make this part clear and concise because this is one of the first things that people will see when they look at your profile.

• List your skills– Use up all the 50 skills slots that LinkedIn allows. This helps you get easily found by recruiters.
• List your work experiences– Make sure you include both the role and greatest achievement within that role.
• Upload your resume – Learn how to add a resume on LinkedIn so that it can be easily downloaded or viewed by interested recruiters and hiring managers viewing your profile. The easier they find what they need, the better.
• Request recommendations from people in your network. Recommendations are important in the sense that they serve as visible proof that these people vouch for your abilities
• Start Applying for Jobs – Proactively search for jobs on the site and make sure to set job alerts so you do not miss new openings.

Conclusion

Both ZipRecruiter and LinkedIn have free options for job seekers. One major difference is that, jobs that are applied for on  ZipRecruiter the ZipRecruiter platform. This makes the application process consistent.

Jobs applied for on LinkedIn are often on the target company’s site. This can be time-consuming as each employer’s site may have different formats and requirements.

Both ZipRecruiter and LinkedIn are excellent options for both job seekers and employers.