It’s common knowledge by now that more people are looking for jobs than ever before – many people have been laid off, some want to supplement their income with a second job, stay-at-home moms and dads are being forced to re-join the workforce, kids are graduating with Masters degrees, and bored retirees are seeking jobs simply to give them something to do.
There are a plethora of websites where you can look for jobs – but I really believe you should be avoiding the big names like Monster, Careerbuilder, and even Craigslist.
niche job boards are more effective.
Instead, time is better spent applying to jobs that are posted on niche websites that only post jobs for specific career fields, business sectors, or regions. Below you will find advice and a listing of more effective niche job posting websites for various fields, including jobs in the nonprofit sector, bilingual careers, marketing job boards, environmental careers, etc.
why we avoid the job listing giants.
If you haven’t tried yet – sending your resume and applying to jobs on Monster and Careerbuilder can prove to be very unfruitful, in fact, depressing may be a better word. Unless you’re applying for a highly specialized job (i.e. heart surgeon, swahili translator w/ top secret clearance, astronaut) you’re up against an enormous pool of competitors – there are too many highly-qualified people seeking jobs. Since the demand for jobs is so high, employers are able to be pickier in their candidate selection…beyond that, they are offering lower salaries across the board.
When a job goes up on one of the big job boards like Monster and Careerbuilder it will be responded to by at least 25 people within the first hour – employers might receive several hundred resumes per day…for just one job listing. This also goes for Craigslist – which receives similar response-rates. Also remember that job posting in Craigslist is free in most job markets, and relatively cheap in the busiest cities — so the employer’s investment, and consequently, dedication to the job posting can be very low.
the easiest way to land a job. current relationships.
You can send your resume to hundreds of job postings and hope that your qualifications (and resume format) stands out and appeals to the hiring manager – but at least half of today’s job openings are placed through relationships. For example: The hiring manager mentions the job to a few friends and receives resumes from trusted people, within their trusted network of relationships.
That said, several people within your network of friends, family, past co-workers, and schoolmates may already know someone that is looking to fill a position – talk to them and tell them what you do, and what you’re looking for in a job…they’re not going to tell you anything if they don’t know you’re looking to begin with.
and networking for new relationships.
Your current relationships are the first, and most natural place to start – in fact, job referrals that come from your own relationships carry a very high value – they come from trusted friends, who can vouch for your abilities and potential. Nevertheless, you can take it one step further and do something called networking. This is when you add new people to your network of relationships…you make new contacts and friends – affording you access to their own networks – exponentially expanding the amount of people who know you are looking for a job, thus increasing your chances of landing a job.
** Job Listing Websites **
These are all job sources that I have found to be effective for very specific and specialized job searches – if there are any great resources that are not listed, please share them in the comments and I will add them.
Philanthropy / International Development:
- Idealist.org (US Nonprofits)
- Nonprofit Oyster (US Nonprofits)
- Exec Searches.com (US Nonprofits & Public Organizations)
- Philanthropy.com (US Nonprofits)
- UN Jobs (UN & Int’l Organizations)
- Foreign Policy Association (US & Int’l Organizations)
- OneWorld.net (Int’l Organizations)
- Euro Brussels (European Organizations)
- US Dept of State (US, UN, and Int’l Organizations)
- International Relief & Development (US and Abroad)
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (US and Abroad)
Marketing / PR & Communications
- DC AdClub (DC Metro Area)
- MediaBistro.com (General)
- MRWeb (Market Research, US & Int’l)
- Quirks (Market Research)
- Marketing Sherpa (General)
- Sapient (General)
- Aquent (Recruiting Agency)
Online, New Media & Design (Graphic, Fashion, Industrial, etc.)
Education / Higher-Ed / Training:
- Educause (Technology Jobs)
- Academic Keys (Teaching, Admin, etc.)
- Academic 360 (Teaching, Admin, etc.)
- The Chronicle of Higher Education (Teaching, Admin, etc.)
- ASTD Job Bank (Training)
Healthcare
- Health e Careers (Everything from Doctors to Nurses to Admin Staff)
- Nursing Informatics (Healthcare Informatics)
Government / Public Sector
- USAJobs (US)
General Job Boards
- LatPro (Spanish Bilingual)
- Dice.com (Technology)
- CareerJet.com
Local: DC Metro
- DC AdClub (Marketing / PR / Web)
- WashingtonPost Jobs
- JobMatchBox (Technology / Social Media)
- Profiles (Technology / Design)