Do Online Job Sites Really Work?
We live in a digital age with the majority of job sites and boards offering thousands of jobs from all around the world. All you’ve got to do is type a few keywords into a job website’s search box and you’re presented with pages of jobs related to your specific interests. With increased access comes increased competition so standing out in the applicant pool is getting harder online.
There are techniques and tips to help optimize your resume. Once you learn the process of online applications, including Application Tracking Systems, online job sites can be a lot easier and more robust than a traditional job search.
So while online job sites are getting more intense with applicant competition they do still work in helping job seekers land jobs in any industry and any country. So let’s explore how job sites are still relevant and are a valuable part of your search.
Why Go Online?
For quite a few reasons, online gives you advantages you can’t get in an in-person job search only. When searching for jobs online, you’ll have access to job postings in loads of diverse sectors of work, at all levels and pay grades, all over the world. You can search for jobs at any hour of the day or night, on any day of the week, whenever you have time.
Going through a job search is stressful. Online interactions are lower-pressure than face-to-face ones, so it’ll be easier to keep your composure. Powerful search tools will help you discover and browse career areas and preferences you might never have considered, from working remotely and in hybrid positions.
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Ways To Make Online Job Sites Work For You
Selecting the Right Sites: The Internet abounds with various job websites, sites that your friends, family, and the staff at the career center use and love may not be the best ones for you. So how do you decide which resources will fit your needs? By making a thorough internet research for jobs that fits your skills.
What does the site offer? Some sites offer only job listings, while others also offer networking opportunities, discussion groups, internships opportunities which might turn out to be a full-time offer at the end, and even lists of trade associations you can contact for more info on certain professions. There’s no point in registering for a site that only lists a few new jobs per week.
How frequently are the listings updated? Most of the largest job websites are drowning in hundreds or thousands of new posts every day – but there’s probably no point in registering for a site that only gets a few new job listings per week. If you see a lot of listings that are at least 30 days old or only a few from the current week, that site probably isn’t worth your time.
Who runs the site? You can easily find this out by clicking the “About Us” link that’s at the very top or bottom of almost every major job website. If you don’t recognize the company that runs the site, plug their name into Google and find out a little more about them. While many companies are legitimate, others may not be as trustworthy or helpful.
Do the admins respond to messages? If you’re going to be spending a lot of time on a given site, you’ll want to make sure the customer support staff are eager to help in case of a problem. Try firing off a quick email or message to them, asking any of the questions above, or just saying you want to check on their responsiveness. If they don’t get back to you, you can save yourself a lot of trouble by moving on to other sites.
What’s the privacy policy say? Some job-search websites make money on the side by selling members’ information to advertisers and other shady companies, so be sure to take a look at each site’s privacy policy to make sure your information won’t be shared with any third parties. If the policy doesn’t guarantee this, there are plenty more sites you can use.
If there’s a fee, is it worth it? Quite a few job-search sites are free for basic use, but some charge a fee for advanced features like networking and high-volume messaging. Depending on your situation, some of the paid features may be worth your money – but never trust a site that charges you, or makes you register, just to take a peek. Any site that’s trustworthy will at least give you a look for free.
Take advantage of aggregators or employment search engines to search multiple sites at once: Each day, start with a different site, or with a different search on your favorite site. Yes, things change quickly, but not so quickly that you’ll miss something important if you skip one day – not even on the most fast-paced job sites. Focus on sites and services that lead you to the data you really want, whether that’s networking groups, lists of potential employers, or job listings specific to your industry, job function, and/or location. And take advantage of aggregators or employment search engines like Indeed.com or Careerjet.com to cover lots of job sites with a single search. Switch up your search techniques, and take notes on what works. And when you start to feel like you’re just spinning your wheels, glance back over those notes and remember how much you’ve learned since you started.
Lastly…
The Internet is a very powerful tool for job-searching one need’s to relax and practice self-care, but many people’s frustrations with online job searches result from over-reliance on career search engines. So unless you know your industry well or the particular website you are using to search for the job, you are often wasting your time with online job search. They’re helpful, but they’re not the end-all.
Remember, only you can decide whether a site and its resources meet your needs. Asking friends, family members, colleagues, and even others in your job transition group (if you’re a member of one) will help you create a list of starting points for your search – and it might also cross some sites off your list as others relate problems they’ve had.
So go ahead and exchange ideas with others as you begin your search – but keep in mind that these are just suggestions. If they don’t work out, you can always jump on Google, track down some other promising sites, and branch out on your own.
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Meet The Writer!
Hi! I’m Christian James. I am a freelance writer, copywriter, and editor, with a data-driven and analytical mindset. I have experience writing on a wide range of topics in diverse fields. I have a B.Tech. in Computer science from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University and Currently pursuing an Online Certificate in Data Science: Inference Modeling from Harvard University School of Professional and Lifelong learning. As a freelancer, I offer services such as blog writing, copywriting, web content writing, speechwriting, article writing SEO writing, creative writing, and editing. Feel free to explore my medium blog or connect with me on LinkedIn.
