Simply Hired? Indeed!

Christy, I’m using Monster.com and Careerbuilder.com to find job postings. I know there are a lot more job boards out there. Are there other sites you recommend I use? Thanks! — Steve

Great question, Steve! Thanks for reading and for asking. 

Every job seeker should be using job aggregators to identify job openings on the Internet. A job aggregator is a search engine (like Google) which crawls all over the Internet in search of information, but a job aggregator’s sole focus is to find job openings. They give you free access to millions of jobs from thousands of company, government, and non-profit websites, newspapers and job boards. 

Examples of popular job aggregators include:

1. www.simplyhired.com
2. www.indeed.com
3. www.justjobs.com
4. www.linkup.com (this site identifies jobs from company websites only)
5. www.greenjobspider.com (this site identifies jobs from the green industry) 

There are many benefits to using job aggregators. 

Accelerate Your Search. You know I recommend spending most of your job search time networking, not on job boards. By using one or two of these job aggregators, you can reduce the amount of time you spend on the Internet by at least 20 percent. Once you set up the parameters for your job searches, the job aggregator will seek and find openings for you and deliver email with informational links if you ask it to.  

Indeed.com has a good video tutorial and write-up to get you started: www.indeed.com/intl/en/faq.html.  

Find More Job Opportunities. As mentioned, there are thousands of job posting sites. How could anyone feel confident they were reviewing all of the right ones? Job aggregators find openings on the job boards you are currently using plus many obscure sites. In addition, they deliver job postings from company websites. 

Find Better Job Matches. Once you get the hang of using job aggregators, you will be able to improve your searches and obtain excellent matches for what you seek. You can refine your searches based on geographic location, estimated salary level, education, experience, level and more. 

Linkage to Your Network of People. SimplyHired.com gives you the option to integrate your LinkedIn and Facebook contacts into your searches for jobs. By doing this, you will actually be able to identify people in your network who can introduce you to hiring managers for particular job openings. This is a great way to use the power of networking to get a job. 

Other Great Features.  Depending on the Job Aggregator, additional features include:

• Mobile Job Search

• Salary Information

• Job Trend Information

• Discussion Forums

• Resume Upload (review, edit and share your resume anywhere) 

Are there any downsides to using Job Aggregators? Well, they’re not perfect. You will see duplication of postings and advertising. You may also encounter postings that direct you to another site that serves as an intermediary between you and the hiring manager.  

All in all, however, I think the benefits are huge, Steve. Spend some time on Indeed.com or SimplyHired.com and see for yourself. 

Let me know what you think. 

Your Neighbor and Career Coach,

Christy Suerth