irst, let me say I'm not a fan of job boards. However, like most things, it's not that they're inherently bad. It's just that most people put more emphasis and faith in them than they deserve.I don't recommend broadcasting your resume. In some fields (and tech is one), you can quickly become a commodity that loses its value as shelf life extends. For example, in some managers' minds the scenario goes, "Hmmm. I've seen that resume up here for two months now. Wonder what the problem is there."
If you're going to broadcast your resume, do it as narrowly as possible. Have a reason for everywhere you send it. And use the .pdf version so it will not be searched as easily.
Now, search engines are another story. They are our friends. Use them for looking at job descriptions, narrowing down searches to a geographic or career category, or just plain looking around to see what's out there. Here is a list of those I like -- and some I don't -- for job seekers. If you have a favorite that isn't listed here, by all means, add it to the comments so we can have a more comprehensive list.
Recommended Job Search Engines
Dice.com.......................Niche search engine for techs. Browse by location or job title. Search returned relevant positions but not as many as Indeed.com and Recruit.net.
Indeed.com..................My favorite job aggregator. Enter your search terms, and Indeed will send you daily alerts on new positions gathered from job boards. Free.
Juju.com....................... Surprisingly simple and effective job search engine. Many relevant and timely positions.
Recruit.net..................Millions of jobs from all around the world. Search by keywords and location. Use advanced search for more relevant search returns.
Try it on
CareerBuilder.com.........This used to be my least favorite search engine. No matter what I searched on, I'd get work at home schemes and insurance sales, hundreds of them. It took more time to find an adequate job description than it did to get the job. Well, maybe not, but you get the idea. I tried it again for this article, and behold, a clean search! I can't say I spent a day experimenting, so use it with caution. But do give it a try and let me know how it works for you.
Not recommended
LinkUp.com.................Job aggregator that monitors thousands of employers websites.Tells when job was posted and verified. Loose interpretation of search terms. For example, "IT Operations" category search returned positions of IT Operations Tech at Qwest that matched term. However, it also returned positions of Surgical Technician (veterinary technician and animal husbandry duties) and Mine Operations Technician (end-dump trucks, front-end loaders, dozers, and graders).
HotJobs.Yahoo.com...........Returned only one result with same parameters as above engines. Does have email alerts.
Monster.com.........................Returned only five results with same parameters as above engines.
If you want to pay
WorkTree.com............Claims to be the largest job search engine. Sign up and pay $57 to $77 monthly for access to browsable categories including government jobs and Fortune 1000 companies. Offers free email newsletter.
Posts
I've changed my mind about LinkUp.com.
ReplyDeleteI need to qualify this by saying they're still fairly new, and they're tweaking their search algorithms all the time. So, you may still find a goofy result in your search, but on my last try, I saw only one on the first page. Not bad.
I also found that I got better results using quotes around my terms phrase.
What impressed me most since I posted my recommendation is that Eric Caron from Team Linkup emailed me to ask what it would take to change my mind.
Now, I realize that as a relatively new company, they want all the buzz out there to be positive, and if someone says otherwise, they're going to respond. Still, this kind of interest in satisfying customers doesn't happen every day. Note that they have a public venue for jobseekers to talk about their issues and preferences about the site at http://linkup.uservoice.com/.
Eric also pointed out a difference between LinkUp and some of the other engines that can be a strength, depending on your need. LinkUp includes only jobs from company Web sites, so they will usually have fewer listings than, say, Indeed. However, LinkUp also will not have duplicate listings. So, let's say a company lists 10 jobs on its Web site. LinkUp will list 10 jobs, whereas Indeed will list, as an example, 50 jobs because those 10 jobs were listed by 5 sources and Indeed scooped them all up.
He also caught an issue I'd like you to know about regarding resume distribution. Now, you know I'm not a fan. I still say mass distribution should be 3% of your job search time. However, I had recommending sharing resumes in .PDF format. Though I'd still recommend it if you're worried about someone (like your boss) finding your posted resume, you do need to know that it will not show up on an employer's desk if they're using an applicant tracking system that analyzes for keywords.
"The Sovren system, which CareerBuilder and many other use, performs orders of magnitude better analyzing .DOC than .PDF resumes. So while it's very important for jobseekers to narrowly broadcast their resume, being too focused (as with always using a .PDF) can prevent them from being heard at all," Eric said in his email.
As long you're not concerned about anyone knowing you're job hunting, I agree.
Thanks again for your email and invitation to talk, Eric. I remain impressed. Folks, give LinkUp.com a try and let Eric and me know what YOU think.
Hello! Thank you for this article. By the way, have you come across josty.org? It's a great job search engine.
ReplyDelete