Serious about landing a new job this year? Or at least, landing a more fulfilling and higher paying job than the one you’re in now?
If you said, Yes, then let’s do it! My last article in Huffington Post, 2017 Highest Paying Jobs, Best Companies and Fastest Growing Industries, has been helping many of you identify the best job role, companies and industries where you to work.
In this article, I’m focusing on where to find your new job.
As you probably know, it can be daunting navigating through a bazillion career websites, job boards and niche communities touting the latest and greatest job openings. As a leading career coach, I even get overwhelmed! Never-the-less, every year I conduct loads of online research and capture the lessons learned and best practices from my clients to create a list of my favorite (and what, I believe, are some of the most effective and best) career apps and websites to help you find your dream job.
Where can you find your dream job?
1. Glassdoor – In my opinion, Glassdoor is the best place to start your job search. It has tons of new jobs added every day, and allows you to search by job title, key responsibilities, company or location. Plus, it provides employee reviews on company culture, senior leaders and salary information to give you a leg up on negotiating your salary. Simply sign up (it’s free!) and you have a bucket load of research and reference materials at your fingertips. Reviews.com said it best, “Glassdoor gives you both the info you need to find job opportunities and the context to see if it’s a good fit for you too.”
2. Indeed – The majority of my clients get hired off of Indeed. This is a Google-like search engine for jobs and one of the most efficient sites for surveying listings, since it aggregates information from job boards, news sites and company listings. An advanced search function provides a few more filters than Glassdoor, and allows you to drill down on a location, keyword and salary range. Indeed says it has 200 million unique visitors month and is available in 60 countries and 28 languages.
3. LinkedIn – Recruiters and hiring managers love this site. A 2015 Recruiter Nation report by Jobvite shows that 87% of recruiters are using LinkedIn (the most popular social media networking site for recruiters) to seek out job candidates. You can post a free profile so that recruiters can check you out. Another key advantage is that LinkedIn allows you to search for jobs and then shows those in your network who are currently working, or have worked, inside that organization. This makes it easier for you to find (and hopefully get) referrals which is the #1 way job candidates land a job!
Search job openings on LinkedIn by going to your home page and clicking the “jobs” tab towards the top of the page. You can search by job title, keyword, company, or use the advanced search to include additional criteria. Be sure to scroll down to view job openings and companies hiring, as well as those in your network who have worked inside those organizations. For more tips, I love this article by Pamela Vaughan, 35 LinkedIn Tips for Professional Networking, Business and Marketing.
Niche job sites…
SmartRecruiters.com reports that 62-percent of jobs are posted on niche job boards. Do yourself a favor and invest some time researching their Best 50 Niche Job Boards list. Be sure to bookmark those sites with jobs that most closely align to your skills, passions and career goals.
For example, The Ladders features executive and management jobs that pay $80,000 and above salaries. This site also has a nifty Resume Reviewer which can analyze your resume for key words, grammar and any missing information.
If you want to land a job in STEM (science, technology, engineering or math), then bookmark Dice. If you want to find jobs in journalism, P.R. or social media then try Media Bistro. If you’d like to work for a non-profit organization in the U.S. then bookmark Idealist. Or, if you’re a student or young professional, check out Internships for global organizations with paid internships.
Freelance gigs…
Want to earn some extra cash or have more freedom and flexibility in your career? You can become a freelancer or consultant by posting your skills and experience on these sites and then sit back and let the jobs come to you!
• Accenture has been on Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for the past 8 consecutive years as a Fortune Global 500 company that provides strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations services. Check out Accenture Consulting and Forbes review Accenture’s Management Consulting Division.
• Freelancer has posted almost 11 million freelancing jobs to date worth $3+ billion in 600 categories including website development, mobile apps, software architecture, internet marketing, and more.
• UpWork says it posts 3 million part-time, short-term and freelance gigs annually worth $1 billion. For designers, creatives, programmers, developers, and a variety of other business services skills.
• OnForce specializes in IT, OEM & POS support, as well as consume electronic installation and repairs.
Other sites that can put some cash in your pocket include: Uber, SnagaJob, TaskRabbit, and Postmates. These sites offer marketplaces for anyone wanting to get hired as a driver, mover, courier, cleaner and basic chore-doer.
Tip – the career apps and websites listed above are great resources to help you find your next job. I recommend creating a job search agent on those sites you like so that you’ll spend less time searching and more time receiving instant notifications of jobs that interest you.
In future articles, I’ll share my favorite resources and tips to help you land your dream job by getting more job leads, referrals and recommendations, as well as how to create a stellar resume and how to nail your job interviews. But for now, I hope this article helps you get one step closer to landing your dream job.
