Job Board Alternatives

When I sit down or speak to job seekers who are struggling to get interviews or find a job, there always seems to be one commonality among them – they are spending over 90% of their time searching the big job boards, and some are literally applying to every single position advertised regardless of qualifications or chances of actually landing the job. The time spent is completely wasted, and the strategy in terms of numbers is almost opposite of what they should be doing. Statistically speaking, the breakdown in the time you spend on your job search should be more closely matching the following:

80% networking
10% with agencies/recruiting firms
10% applying to positions posted online, in a newspaper, or other publicly advertised method

(Full article here)

The hidden job market is where they should be spending the bulk of their time, and activities such as networking should be emphasized. There does need though to be time devoted to keeping up with jobs posted online, but there are some alternatives that can help maximize the time spent, and provide options in addition to the big job boards.

- Industry newsletters are great in that many contain job postings not otherwise found online or in the newspaper.

- Sign up for alumni listerves at your University or College, current student or not. These can be very helpful as they are exclusively for alumni and in addition to job postings are a great way to connect with other alumni.

- Search for and follow blogs pertinent to your industry, particularly those that have job postings. It may take some work up front, but stumbling upon postings that are not found elsewhere will be a huge advantage down the line.

- Join a professional association and actively attend meetings. These avenues not only give you an opportunity to become known in the industry and/or community, but it can also help build your brand, expand your business contacts, and most beneficially can enhance your job prospects.

- Use Twitter as part of your job search to connect with others in your industry, search job postings and follow companies. It’s important to also be aware of the most commonly used hashtags relevant to job seekers.

- Follow companies on LinkedIn and join industry groups in order to keep apprised of the latest jobs, many of which are posted before the job boards or not at all.

The problem with job boards is that you are going to be one out of a thousand applicants, and some of the jobs posted are actually scams and don’t exist. Don’t rely heavily on this method, because the results do not follow the successful recipe for a job search strategy. Think outside the box, and be creative. The more personal interaction you can garner or the more exclusive the job postings you can locate, the higher your chances for securing a position.