There’s no shortage of websites that claim to help job seekers in their search for employment. From local career pages to multinational job boards, you can spend a lot of time preparing resumes, messaging hiring managers, and taking skills assessment tests in the pursuit of a new work opportunity. But are all of these sites really worth the time? Keep reading to learn about our favorite online job boards, and how you can utilize them to their fullest potential in your job search.
1. LinkedIn
BEST FOR: Networking and working with recruiters
Launched in 2003, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform. This multifunctional site is host to an entire suite of tools that can be helpful at any stage of your career, and virtually every user will benefit from creating a profile, setting up notifications for relevant opportunities, and interacting with like-minded people in their networks. However, LinkedIn is truly second-to-none for established, specialized professionals actively looking to advance their career in their respective industries.
There are a huge variety of open roles on LinkedIn, but the ones you’ll see most often are mid-to-senior level positions in marketing, information technology, HR, engineering, and administration. You can certainly benefit from applying to jobs on LinkedIn through open opportunities, but another great way to learn everything this site has to offer is by flexing your networking skills. Making connections (similar to sending a friend request on Facebook), posting updates on your page, and interacting with local recruiters and hiring managers can be extremely beneficial for advancing your career and learning about new opportunities. Another huge benefit that LinkedIn provides is how popular it is for recruiters – simply having an active profile with your resume information is a great way to attract recruiters to your profile and receive info about active jobs directly to your inbox.
No matter how you use it, utilizing LinkedIn and its features to the fullest potential will reward you with consistent opportunities for growth, plenty of new career prospects, and an amazing network of industry professionals.
2. Indeed
BEST FOR: Active job seekers with specific job requirements
With LinkedIn coming in at the top as the world’ largest professional networking platform, Indeed is in close competition as the world’s largest job website. Featuring 250 million monthly users and 10 new jobs being added per second, it’s no question that this site is a job seeker’s paradise.
Indeed features opportunities in every sector and industry, and works best for active job seekers with a great resume and employable skills. From part-time service industry jobs to opportunities for high-level corporate executives and everything in between, Indeed truly offers the greatest overall experience for those looking to make their job search faster and easier than ever. It’s intuitive interface allows for a streamlined process that will get you hired, and using this platform, you’ll be able to compare salaries, learn about different benefits, and tailor your job search to fit the exact opportunity you’re looking for.
4. Monster
BEST FOR: Active job seekers looking for an easy application process
Monster is the job site that started it all in 1994, and functions similarly to Indeed in that its services are free, easy to navigate, and offer many of the same functionalities. If you’re already using Indeed, it’s worth it to give Monster a try, too – it’s a great overall service that features a huge range of jobs in a variety of industries.
4. Company Career Pages
BEST FOR: Passive job seekers, or anyone hoping to work for a specific company
Company career pages tend to be looked at as the underdog in many a job search – but this doesn’t have to be the case.
You can find career pages on nearly every company site, and while this process can take slightly longer than uploading your resume to sites like Monster and Indeed, the payoff can be huge. One helpful hint is to double check the posting date that many sites will feature – this way, you’ll be able to tell how active the posting is and if it’s worth your time to apply. However, even if a posting is getting dated, you can be assured that your profile will likely be added ton a database that can provide opportunities for months and years to come. Check out Stellar Recruitment’s job board here.
5. Craigslist
BEST FOR: Contract or gig work, opportunities with local companies
Craigslist is an incredible tool for job seekers, and functions the most like a traditional job advertisement. Featuring gig work, full time opportunities, freelance work for those in a creative field, contract work, and manual labour, Craigslist allows job seekers to send emails directly to the poster, and offers such a huge variety of opportunities that it’s worth it for anyone in the midst of a job search to check out.
