The Best Job Sites Making the job of looking for a job a little easier - CareerEnlightenment.com

Other Job Sites to ConsiderJobisJob. We didn’t want to say goodbye to JobisJob, but couldn’t justify placing it among our top three. It has international reach (great for someone with wanderlust), held its own â€" and even outperformed in a few categories â€" against the more well-known sites, and even snagged the top spot in our email alerts tests, even though it ultimately stumbled. JobisJob also has a geographic hot spot tool that shows where the most thriving job markets are. Ultimately though, the site relied too much on other aggregators, which affected the quality of its results. It was also too sporadic in how frequently it was updated. While we can’t wholeheartedly recommend it, it’s worth considering, especially if you’re looking to find work abroad.We left niche job sites out of our initial list of contenders, but they can be helpful if you have a narrower field of focus. Rogan’s job-posting philosophy definitely targets niche sites. “I’ll post on three or four very general sites, like Indeed,” he told us, “and two or three sites that are specific to the industry.”Dice is top dog for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) jobs, with a focus on technology, security clearance, financial services, energy, and health care jobs. Corporate giants like HP, Deloitte, and Dell all post here, and its site boasts a career center and insights tab with hundreds of blog posts, studies, and forums centered on getting hired in these fast-growing fields.MediaBistro is ideal for individuals working in advertising, marketing, public relations, and journalism. It’s a favorite among major news outlets and media powerhouses, and also includes resources for freelancers in its Freelance Marketplace, as well as training courses and career services like resume and LinkedIn profile building.Snagajob is geared toward part-time gigs and specializes in hourly jobs â€" perfect for a side-hustle or short-term contracts. It also offers specific adv ice related to hourly workers, with interview tips, blog posts, and a video series.Job-Hunting Tips from Our ExpertsIt’s less about your resume and more about your pedigree.Think twice before going to the trouble of uploading your resume to job sites. In 2012, The Ladders did a study where it hooked recruiters’ eyes up to eye-scanning software (not painful) and asked them to look at hundreds of resumes (definitely painful) so it could record how long recruiters spent reviewing each resume. Six seconds was the average.“That’s not surprising; I’ve heard similar stats,” Dalton said. What he did find surprising was the information their eyes were drawn to.“Eighty percent of what they looked at were things job seekers can’t change: where they worked before, what their job titles were, where they went to school. Essentially, their pedigree,” he said. “It’s looking at very black-and-white information for a very safe hire. If you’re looking to do the same job, but at a different company, maybe that will work for you, but for most people, it’s an exercise in futility and frustration.”So be proactive, not reactive in your search.“You can make yourself very busy with a reactive job search because there’s always a posting to apply to,” Dalton said. “But you won’t have much to show for it.” He offers an alternative.“I liken it to the TV show, The Bachelor. When you chase postings, you’re one of 25 bachelorettes, or, in this case, more like 250 bachelorettes. A better approach is to be the bachelor in your own job search: Juggle many employers simultaneously, but approach them in a relationship-based manner, rather than a posting-based manner.”Steve DaltonAuthor of The 2-Hour Job Search and Program Director for Daytime Career Services at Duke University’s Fuqua School of BusinessHe explained, “When you apply for an online job posting, you’re a number. When you apply through a referral it which takes a little longer, but yo u’ll be treated better and your results will be much different.”Essentially, one-on-one dates will get you further than any group date. Consider job postings those awkward “just got out of the limo” introductions.And turn strangers into advocates.According to Dalton, there are three kinds of people every job hunter can expect to encounter when looking for an advocate within a company: Curmudgeons, Obligates, and Boosters. Curmudgeons may never respond, but Obligates are worse.“Obligates are motivated by guilt. They want to do just enough to appear helpful, but not actually be helpful,” he said. “They respond very slowly, for example, or set up a meeting and then cancel. Obligates are dangerous because they take up your time and effort and give you nothing in return. Curmudgeons, at least, don’t offer false hope.”Boosters are the best advocates, but also hard to find.“When you encounter a Booster, they say things like ‘if you tell me you need help, you automatic ally get 15 minutes of my time,’” Dalton says. “I’d estimate that they’re about 20 percent of the population. You’ll have to kiss a lot of frogs, but the princes are disproportionately worth it.”How do you take that first step to landing a Booster? Send an email asking for an informational interview and ask them to talk about themselves and their work.Lastly, don’t get discouraged.If it were easy to find a job, there would be no job sites. Stay focused â€" remember job sites are a tool, not a crutch, and make networking offline a priority.“Get out and meet people,” Rogan said. “You’ll likely have to push yourself outside of your comfort zone, but that’s how opportunities present themselves. That’s how you find a job.