How To Start a Job Search Online

How To Choose the Right Job Board | Identifying Great Online Job Sites | Online Search Methods | False Sources To Stay Away From | Best Places To Find Jobs Online

How To Start a Job Search Online
Start your search for a new job the right way.

If you’re looking for a job, then you may be familiar with the process of searching for one. Through the help of articles like this one, however, you’ll quickly become aware that there are numerous ways to search for jobs online. The problem is that it can get overwhelming very quickly, and the problem with an excess of choice comes with another problem of being unsure of which way is the best way to go.

We’re going to look at ways to search for jobs online, and help you to narrow down the choices so that you can utilize what works for you without becoming too frustrated with methods not suited for your personality.


How To Choose the Right Job Board For You

The first thing you need to do is to know what kind of jobs you are looking for. Are you looking for temporary positions, full-time positions, or both?

If your preference is toward temp jobs, then Monster.com will be the best option for you.

While Career Builder is good for finding full-time positions since it includes all kinds of job types. The difference between these companies is that Monster searches only top grossing jobs while Career Builder searches top searched jobs.

Identifying Great Online Job Sites

If, however, you want to know more about each job board, then take a look at online reviews of the companies. The last thing you want to do is use a job search engine that’s not compatible with what you really need.

The next thing to consider is whether or not the board is free or paid. If it’s paid, then please choose a paid job search engine. Paid jobs tend to be better than free jobs and they offer more privacy and control over how your data is used.

The third factor is the quality of the jobs posted on the site. Look for jobs that align with your skills and experience. If the jobs don’t match you, then you’ll need to narrow down your search more.

Now that you know what kind of jobs you're looking for, let's look at some ways to search for them.


Online Search Methods

There are countless job boards on the internet, and many of them aren’t designed for non-professionals like you and me. These sites can be tricky to use because it can be difficult to find out what’s the best site for your needs. There are several ways in which we can search for jobs online.

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Before we jump into the search methods, let’s evaluate whether each method does or doesn’t work.

Searching via Google

This search engine is one of the most popular, and that means we can find a lot of jobs with it.

However, we can find job listings on other sites as well – and if we followed up on those sites, we could find even more jobs like this one!

If you don’t want to spend time following up on other sources (which is unnecessary), then use Google as your starting point. Otherwise, there are better options for those looking for jobs without having to spend time searching elsewhere.

The Help Wanted Section at a Local Library

Although this was a favorite of mine as a kid, it’s not that great for finding real jobs. The best resources were the newspaper classifieds, but things have changed quite a bit since then.

Word-of-Mouth Recommendations

The help of your family and friends is great to get you started with some leads, but unless they are in the business of knowing about jobs, they are unlikely to know much about where they are posted online.


False Sources To Stay Away From

Sketchy Internet Ads

Although we can find a lot of job postings and opportunities online, some ads have few details like working hours, contractual rate, days of work and more.

Some ads even give you a vague description of what the job entails, and then during the interview, the company recites a different story.

Finally, when you land the job and appear for work on the first day, you realize the job scope is completely different from the (now sketchy) internet ad and whatever one "Tom" described to you at the interview! Stay far away from such dubious job listings and classifieds!

Group Job Hunting

It’s natural to want to join a group when we need help, and we can certainly join groups that help us find jobs. However, there are better ways to go about this since most listings have one single vacancy, so having 3 friends applying and competing for 1 job seems counterintuitive.

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The Best Places To Find Jobs Online

So where do you go if you want to use the internet for finding jobs? There are lots of options out there, but I’m going to summarize my favorites below.

LinkedIn.com

LinkedIn is a network primarily used by professionals in different industries, but it can be an excellent way to find jobs online for people who are keen on connecting with employers in their own industry. The site is used to connect with people you admire, but it can even be used for employment opportunities provided that you build your professional profile on the site properly.

We’re going to look at how to use LinkedIn effectively in a future article, but if you want to learn more about it right now, then check out our list of tips for using LinkedIn effectively.

Pinality.com

This job site has become increasingly popular over the last couple of years because of the number of jobs posted online. The site has thousands of jobs posted on it, and it’s one of the best places to find remote jobs.

Resume Database

If you’re looking for a part-time job, then you should consider taking a look at the Resume Database. This site has thousands of resumes for free for anyone to look at, which might make it easier to find job listings if you’re looking for relevant work experience.

SimplyHired

The SimplyHired site is an excellent place to look for job listings. It does cost around $50 a month, so you’ll need to factor that into your budget, but if you want one of the best job search engines out there then this site can be a good choice. You can use this resource while also using another job board on the same day since it searches all job sites simultaneously.

Blindsider

Another popular way of finding jobs online is through Blindsider, which is one of the fastest-growing job boards in America right now (according to Forbes). Blindsider has some great search tools for connecting with companies and career opportunities.

Indeed

Most people know about Indeed, but they don't know how powerful it is. Most job seekers aren’t aware of this job board, but it can be one of the best options for finding jobs. Indeed is different from the other online job portals because it’s purely a search engine. You can search for jobs via several different ways like keywords, location and job title. This means you can use Indeed to search for your dream job.

Snagajob

This site is one of the best options for finding jobs online because it has thousands of jobs posted online by companies that are looking to hire right now. You should bookmark this site and search for new jobs every day once you’re out of work and looking for something new.

I hope this article has helped you find some great job opportunities online. If you have other ways to search for jobs online, then feel free to drop us an email so we can include it in this article to help job seekers like yourself.

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