Where to Apply for Jobs Online
TO FIND A JOB, ALL YOU need to do is apply online and wait to be contacted. Right?
If only it were that easy.
One obstacle is discerning great job search sites from ones that are merely mediocre. Where should you go to find job postings online? The job-finding website options seem endless.
HR professionals and recruiters are becoming more strategic about where they post job opportunities to attract the best candidates, which is especially challenging with low unemployment rates. For job seekers, this means that your favorite job board may not be the preferred job search site for every company.
What really matters is which options recruiters use and believe are the most effective in attracting the best new employees.
The best job search sites include:
- Indeed.
- LinkedIn.
- Glassdoor.
- CareerBuilder.
- Monster.
- Google for Jobs.
- Company career pages.
- SimplyHired.
Check out these best job search websites:
Indeed.com
You’ll find almost every type and level of job on Indeed. It also provides an app to access jobs easily from your mobile device.
LinkedIn.com
LinkedIn is a social networking site, but it also has a job board. Under the jobs tab, type the keyword or job title and select a city. Once you’ve received your results, you can filter them by when the job was posted or by experience level. One noteworthy feature allows you to filter your results based on jobs posted by companies where you have contacts or people in your network..
Glassdoor.com
Primarily known for providing anonymous company reviews, Glassdoor also lists jobs. Having easy access to company reviews helps you evaluate the company before you apply.
CareerBuilder.com
CareerBuilder is one of the top recognized job boards. You’ll find jobs of all levels posted here.
Monster.com
Google for Jobs
Google for Jobs is a product by Google. It isn’t a job board but a job search engine that compiles listings from many different sources, including other job search engines, in your Google search results. This can be a huge time-saver and may even find jobs from sources you didn’t know about. Users can narrow their search by type of job, location, company type, date posted and more.
Company Career Pages
You can be sure that a company will post jobs on its own career page, so don’t forget to set alerts on the career pages of companies that interest you. If alerts aren’t possible, be sure to check those pages regularly for new jobs. Also follow company social media accounts and monitor updates for news and new jobs.
Other Job Search Websites
LinkUp only pulls jobs posted on company career pages while SimplyHired aggregates jobs found on company career sites as well as other job boards and social media. You may be redirected to the original source of the job posting.
ZipRecruiter is an online job marketing service that shares job openings to more than 100 sites and uses algorithms to help match applicants to jobs.
Craigslist is another option. Employers may choose to post jobs here for anonymity or due to the low cost.
Specialty or Niche Job Boards
- Dice, for technical jobs.
- eFinancialCareers, for finance jobs.
- Higheredjobs.com, for jobs from colleges and universities.
- Idealist, for nonprofit work openings.
- USAJobs.gov, for government jobs.
Don’t rely only on job search sites.
The Step-by-Step Guide to Career Success
SilkRoad, a talent management software company, surveyed 1,000 companies to find out which job search sites produced the best results. According to the data, it took 129 applications from external job search sites to hire one new employee. But it only took eight applicants to hire one person using internal sources such as referrals, recruiter outreach and internal job boards.
The key takeaway is that you shouldn’t rely solely on job boards, because referred candidates are far more likely to make it to the final interview stage than those who simply apply online. For better results, invest your time contacting people you know inside companies before you apply. Dedicate most of your job search efforts to talking with people in your industry, meeting new people and keeping in touch with past colleagues. These relationships are likely to yield information about openings before they are posted, and people you know might be able to fast-track you to the interview.