Job Search Engines: Are they worth it?

Type “full-time jobs in Atlanta, GA” into Google and you’ll be bombarded with more than 17 million sites. We’ve all heard of Monster, Yahoo’s Hot Jobs, Simply Hired, Indeed and all of the other major job search engines. Finding a job takes time and effort, but how can you make sure you’re not wasting your time and effort on sites with jobs that don’t fit you?

Noted career counselor and author Robin Ryan addressed this question of which sights are most helpful. Ryan has appeared on Oprah, Dr. Phil and featured in countless publications including Money, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and more. Of all the sites available to users, she says that Monster.com is the worst for your job search. Her favorites? Indeed.com, SimplyHired.com and craiglist.org.

Why not Monster? In 2007, 1.3 million Monster users' names, e-mail addresses and street addresses were stolen from the site and discovered on a computer in the Ukraine. They used the information to make personalized email in an attempt to steal their money. A week after it happened, Monster said it couldn't determine how many users were at risk from previous infractions that hadn’t detected. This was the largest known instance of fraud involving the use of legitimate accounts as an entry point, according to executives at Monster and CareerBuilder.

Indeed and Simply Hired are “sweep” sites, meaning they collect listings from several job boards. Indeed boasts “a radically different approach to job search.” It includes all the job listings from major job boards, newspapers, associations and company career pages and is updated frequently. It offers a “familiar look and feel of general search engines” to make it more navigable for users. You can save searches as well as receive email alerts when jobs matching your criteria are posted.

Simply Hired, named one of the “50 Coolest Websites” by Time Magazine, partnered with CNNMoney.com and Fortune Magazine this year. This allows job seekers to filter “100 Best Companies” and “Fortune 500” jobs into their SimplyHired.com search. It is the world’s largest job search engine. Simply Hired also has a partnership with LinkedIn, allowing job seekers to search the company posting the job and see if they know any employees.

Craiglist.org allows users to search 570 cities in 50 countries for local classifieds and forums which are community moderated. More than 40 million Americans use the site each month. Users can search for more than jobs: They can browse apartment listings, personals, community events and participate in discussion forums. Craiglist.org maintains its “.org” domain because, “It symbolizes the relatively noncommercial nature of craigslist, as well as our service mission and non-corporate culture.”

ROBIN’S RECOMMENDATIONS ON JOB LISTING WEBSITES
Sweep Job Boards
http://www.indeed.com/
http://www.simplyhired.com/
http://www.careerbuilder.com/
http://www.craiglist.org/

Listings by Profession
Attorney
http://www.lawcrossing.com/
http://www.jobs.inhousecounsel.com/
http://www.constructionexecutive.com/
http://www.jobsinsports.com/
http://www.supplychainbrain.com/

Hospitality
http://www.hcareers.com/

Government
http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/

Education
http://www.universityjobs.com/
http://www.univjobs.com/
http://www.higheredjobs.com/
www.teacher-teachers.com/seekers_welcome.cfm

Media/Journalism/PR
http://www.entertainmentcareers.net/
www.mediabistro.com/joblistings
http://www.journalismjobs.com/
www.prsa.org/jobcenter/main/index.asp
http://www.prweekjobs.com/

Non-Profit
http://www.nonprofitjobs.org/
http://www.idealist.org/
http://www.philanthropycareers.com/

By Kelly Cargill