Job boards and job search engines like Indeed and Ziprecruiter now dominate job seekers' toolkits, long ago replacing newspapers, classifieds, and direct company websites as the go-to for finding jobs. Yet, it is not just a listing of open positions that such job search websites provide. Most now also offer various career guidance and job search supports that help job seekers present themselves better while leading to business and training trends for the fields in which a job seeker works. Before we dive into the details of the benefits of job boards and job search engines, some may ask what are they? How are they different? In short, job boards are websites that list jobs provided directly by employers, and job search engines automatically crawl the vast Internet and neatly aggregate job listings from thousands of job boards and employer websites into a single page based on keywords, industries, fields, or even when the job vacancies are posted.
Now, off to the benefits of job boards and job search engines! The biggest benefits of using them include:
A Job List. At its basic level, job boards and job search engines provide a list of jobs from around the world linked to a job seeker's education, training, experience, and career interests. The Monster Board, a giant amongst the original job boards, started in 1994, providing a listing of positions companies were looking to fill. From there, many other job boards and search engines such as CareerBuilder, HotJobs, LinkedIn, and Glassdoor popped up, looking to cash in on advertising dollars generated by employers seeking these websites to advertise. Today, job boards still provide easy-to-use search engines with which a job seeker can find open positions to review and apply. Most such search engines allow job seekers to search by "keywords" to help fine-tune their search, saving time and frustration, especially considering that millions of jobs are listed daily on these sites.
Résumé Assistance. Résumés remain the primary device job seekers use to apply for jobs (usually joined by a cover letter). These documents might not get someone a job, but a well-crafted résumé and cover letter often help get a job interview. That is what these documents are meant for. So, how do you get your résumé to stand out and grab a hiring manager's attention to get an interview? Certified résumé writers certainly know strategies to help in this regard. Today, recognizing the importance of résumés, many job boards and job search engines include online guidance for improving a résumé or cover letter. A résumé writer may charge several hundred dollars to assist a job seeker, the pretty substantial guidance provided by job boards is insightful and impactful. For job seekers without the funds to hire a résumé writer, these job boards are of critical importance in helping develop their personal brand and landing interviews via a standout résumé.
Free Career Assessments. Amazingly, even after completing a college degree, a trade school diploma, or some other form of training, job seekers are often not sure what job or field is a good fit. This is where career assessments can be helpful. After answering a bunch of questions, a career assessment can generate a list of fields that match well with a job seeker's interests, training, and strengths. Assessments are not tests identifying a job seeker's BEST field or job. Instead, these assessments help individuals identify possible fields that are worth investigating. These assessments and job boards usually also provide resources on researching fields/jobs highlighted by the results of an assessment. Why are the assessments on job boards so critical? They are often based on the same principles as international career assessments like the Strong Interest Inventory. However, the assessments provided on job boards are often free to take.
Unique tools and cool features. Many job boards and job search engines offer unique tools and cool features to attract both job seekers and employers to use their services or platforms. People can set up job alerts to be notified when new jobs that match their criteria are posted online. Employers can also get alerts for quick application reviews when job seekers apply their posted job vacancies. Many sites also allow job seekers and employers to compare salaries. Some job board and job search engine websites offer free and paid online or remote learning opportunities on various employment-related topics for personal and professional development. Some sites allow current or former employees to leave anonymous reviews on employers based on their work experience with them. Some employers also like to use some of the websites' specialized Human Resources tools or services to streamline their application, interview, and hiring process.
Artificial intelligence. Advanced technology is now a part of job search as Artificial Intelligence is used by some job-related websites. In predicting a job seeker's cultural fit with the company or organization, targeted recruitment ads show up on the computer screen to encourage this job seeker to apply for the job. In many situations, Artificial Intelligence evaluates a job seeker's skills, interests, career goals, location, background, previous searches, and job histories to predict which job vacancies this job seeker is most qualified for. Interviews by Artificial Intelligence also help companies to look at behavioral data to evaluate job candidates.
Niche sites. As listed above, many niche-oriented job boards do not offer attractive or innovative additional features. Still, they can be very effective in finding specialized jobs or jobs in very specific industries. DeafJobWizard.com is a prime example of a niche job board. If a deaf or hard of hearing person is looking to work for a deaf organization or employers that want to hire deaf people, this website is the place to go as it lists many deaf-related jobs.
In closing, both job boards and job search engines are very helpful in assisting job seekers in finding advertised job vacancies online. Job seekers also can use their add-on features or services to maximize their job search and other employment-related needs.