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- Whether you're kicking off a job hunt, preparing to ask for a raise, or just looking to refresh your personal brand, these sites offer a vast array of resources for any juncture in your career or job search.
- Whether you're kicking off a job hunt, preparing to ask for a raise, or just looking to refresh your personal brand, these sites offer a vast array of resources for any juncture in your career or job search.
In writing about careers for Forbes, I have the opportunity to research, utilize, and work in tandem with some of the best online resources available to employees and job seekers. Last week, I put out a call for submissions on Forbes.com and Twitter, asking readers to tell me what sites they're using to find jobs, network, and explore career resources.
The responses were a diverse collection of recommendations for sites that ranged from the biggest names in the online job search sphere to smaller sites focused on a particular industry or type of professional.
Many readers suggested mobile apps, and while I've limited this list to websites, those nominations were a good reminder of the different ways professionals are now accessing resources, and one I may explore in a future post. Responses also indicated that an increasing number of job seekers are turning away from traditional job sites and listings and towards social media and crowd sourcing to find their next opportunity. I've included a round-up of suggested social platforms in the "See also" section at the end of this post.
Even in 2014, in-person communication still trumps digital, offering professionals a much better chance at a bold, lasting impression. As my colleague Susan Adams reminded readers last year, it's far better to limit online endeavors to researching companies and focus the bulk of your efforts on face-to-face networking.
Many job seekers are taking their hunt to social media platforms like Instagram, where an increasing... [+]
This list is not a ranking, and it's far from a comprehensive run-down of all the web has to offer professionals. Rather, I hope to provide a jumping-off point for a wide spectrum of professionals at different stages of their career, who might have a few different objectives. Whether you're kicking off a job hunt, preparing to ask for a raise, or just looking to refresh your personal brand, these sites offer a vast array of resources for any juncture in your career or job search.
15 Websites To Jump Start Your Career
This is the site for job seekers looking to enter the startup world or transition to a new role. AngelList’s careers function is private, so job seekers are only visible to companies with which they apply. More than 5,000 startups currently use the site, salary and equity information is provided up front with each job posting, and no recruiters are allowed.
Fulfillment-focused site CareerBliss allows users to find jobs, salaries, and employee-generated company reviews, all with an emphasis on a positive workplace experience. Company reviews are broken down by metrics including company culture, growth opportunities, coworkers, manager, rewards, and work environment.
Each month more than 24 million unique visitors head to CareerBuilder, which currently serves more than 60 markets around the world, to post resumes and search for jobs. The site’s resources portal offers job seekers advice on topics like how to follow-up after an interview and ways to avoid awkward conference calls.
Don’t let a rotten economy spoil your goals. Use the career and money advice in The Millennial Game Plan to get and stay ahead for good.
The tech industry-focused site has been helping employers and recruiters find “hard-to-find, experienced and qualified technology and engineering candidates” for more than two decades, and currently lists upwards of 80,000 jobs. Dice also maintains a career news and advice-focused blog and digital communities for programmers and women in technology.
A company that wants to help job seekers “look great on paper,” Executive Drafts provides resume analysis and revisions and interview prep—for a fee. Packages tailored to different tiers of a career are available: $149 buys “The Graduate,” which includes a phone consultation and a final resume draft, while “The Executive” rings in at $449 and includes services like a customized cover letter, interview prep, help with salary negotiations, and multiple resume drafts and revisions.
Using information sourced entirely from employees, Glassdoor provides a raft of data by which job seekers and potential employees can evaluate companies, including “6 million company reviews, CEO approval ratings, salary reports, interview reviews and questions, benefits reviews, office photos and more.”
Founded with a mission “to close the gap between intention and action by connecting people, organizations, ideas, and resources,” Idealist provides users a forum to search for jobs, internships, volunteer opportunities, and events at and through organizations related to community and social justice issues.
Indeed crawls the internet, so you don’t have to—at least quite as much. Indeed aggregates job openings from a vast array of sources across the web including company websites, online job boards, newspapers, industry organizations, and staffing firms.
The massive global professional networking site offers job search capabilities and thought leadership, but the ability to seek and make professional connections is the service upon which it was founded. The world’s largest digital professional network, LinkedIn is now available in 23 languages and has more than 313 million registered users worldwide.
One of the original online career boards, Monster allows people in more than 40 countries to post resumes and search for jobs. Recently, the company has focused new attention on placing employees with small businesses, and introduced a tool that allows employers and job seekers to communicate directly within the platform. The acquisition of social profile search engine TalentBin has also allowed the company to recruit among “passive job seekers”—those who are not currently searching for employment but could be interested in the right opportunity—largely in the tech sector.
PayScale helps job seekers better evaluate offers and employees consider their current compensation by letting users search and compare salary data from “more than 35 million people, covering 12,000 unique job titles.”
SimplyHired tracks the search characteristics of over 30 million unique users each month to provide the most relevant job search results possible. Currently, the site lists 6 million open jobs in upwards of 974 occupations in the U.S., sourced from company sites, job boards, and listings across the web.
“The Federal Government’s Official Job Site,” USAJOBS is a free jobs board that provides those seeking work within the federal government with “access to thousands of job opportunities across hundreds of federal agencies and organizations.” Users can create an account and post or build a resume to submit, as well as search for positions based on agency, title, or salary. A resource center provides tutorials and tips for job seekers, as well information on topics including eligibility, compensation, and federal occupations by college major.
A project of Hire Heroes USA and Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families, VetNet provides career resources including videos, resume tutorials, and information about events all aimed towards helping veterans transition to civilian professional life.
ZipRecruiter allows job seekers to search across hundreds of job boards with one click, and uses sophisticated back-end technology to provide employers the most relevant options from a deep pool of job seekers who post their resume to the site’s database; view, save, and apply for jobs; and sign up to receive the site’s daily emails with targeted job postings.
See also: Craigslist, Facebook, Instagram, Meetup, Reddit - For Hire, Twitter/Tweetdeck, WordPress, YouTube.
Readers: What sites are you using to network, find and apply for jobs, and hunt for career resources? Share your favorites in the comments.
