Where to search for job postings on the Web

April 17, 2012 - Winchester

Where and how to look for work online

The next subject I have decided to dissect is where and how to look for work online. If you are simply using the newspaper to scope out job opportunities, you are missing more than 80% of job opportunities. Let’s break the job search methodology into three basic ways to find job ads on the web:

1. Check employer web sites:

The easiest way to find out if your favorite company has any current opening is to visit their website. Most large corporations have an “Employment” or “Careers” or “Opportunities” tab somewhere on their site where you can find out what jobs are currently available. If you were interested in working for Lockheed Martin, for example, you would go to Lockheed Martins website and search by location and/or job title. Some companies will allow you to post your resume, which will go into a database for future matches, and some companies will only allow you to apply for a specific job that is currently posted.

2. Individually search job boards:

Mega, National Job Boards-These are the Monster.com, the HotJobs.com, the FlipDog.com, etc. These sites have a massive number of job listings and resume postings.

Regional, Geographic-Specific Job Boards- Just about every region, every state, and every major metropolitan area has one or more "local" job boards. If you are looking for a job in a specific location, then using one or more of these job boards makes sense. In our area we have www.shenandoahvalleyhelpwated.com

Industry- or Profession-Specific Job Boards- Growing in popularity. Just about every industry and profession, from white to blue collar, has at least one industry specific job board. For example: Sales jobs www.top-sales-jobs.com / Tech Jobs: www.justtechjobs.com / Hospitality Jobs: www.hcareers.com / Federal Jobs: www.usajobs.gov / Commonwealth of Virginia t Jobs: http://jobs.virginia.gov/

3. Set up e-mail job search agents

Job seekers can set up job search agents on just about any job board. You will likely have to create an account/user profile and then set up a search to match your desired job criteria. Email alerts will be sent to you on a daily basis as job matches are posted. Remember, email job search agents should be used as a tool to supplement your methods which should include networking, classifieds, and jobs databases.

My personal favorite: Indeed.com

Indeed.com includes millions of job listings from thousands of web sites, including company career pages, job boards, newspaper classifieds, associations, and blogs. The great thing about Indeed.com is that it only posts real jobs, not advertisements of online schools, spam and old recycled job postings. You have the ability to search jobs by occupation and or location. I find Indeed.com the most productive of job boards.

If you have any comments or suggestions about job search methods you are using please let me know!

Free one on one resume consultations scheduled by appointment. 540-722-3415 or samantha.greenfield@vec.virginia.gov

Sincerely-

Sam