So, I'm searching for a (new) job and was just wondering if you all think that online job sites are a waste of time. I'm talking about Monster (which I stopped using a long time ago), CareerBuilder, etc. How in the world does anyone get a job in this economy these days?

17

Someone just told me about indeed.com. We'll see how it works. I just started looking and some of them connect you to the official site of the business, which is good. A direct route rather than craigslist. I officially hate craigslist for everything from looking for a job to looking for hotels reservations (it's a good thing someone told me about booking.com).

I haven't used Monster or Careerbuilder since I graduated from college. These days I hear that indeed.com is pretty good. You should also post your resume on LinkedIn. A lot of employers go resume hunting on that site. You should also go directly to the company's website to search for jobs that way. Do you have any networking events coming up in your area for the field you are trying to get a job in? Networking can be a powerful tool as well. Always remember, your job search is what YOU make of it. Good luck.

[Edited 10/24/14 4:52am]

you can find great leads out there online. monster, career builder, indeed.com. check out your local unemployment office for leads too, their website has some useful links and postings.

be careful though. i've heard of some scammer websites posing as real recruitment centers that really do nothing more than collect and market personal data, which they obtain by forcing people through their 'online application process'

the online application process is also used by legitimate companies, and it's hard to avoid. still, it's good to research the company you're applying to before you download your personal stats online.

best results? widen your opportunities by also applying at local labor placement centers. have an agent at the local temp agencies and keep in touch with them about finding jobs for you. good luck.

wildgoldenhoney said:

Someone just told me about indeed.com. We'll see how it works. I just started looking and some of them connect you to the official site of the business, which is good. A direct route rather than craigslist. I officially hate craigslist for everything from looking for a job to looking for hotels reservations (it's a good thing someone told me about booking.com).

Yeah I use Indeed also and it seems like it has a lot of leads but you have to be really savvy on how to do keyword searches otherwise you will be sorting through thousands of postings at a time

missfee said:

I haven't used Monster or Careerbuilder since I graduated from college. These days I hear that indeed.com is pretty good. You should also post your resume on LinkedIn. A lot of employers go resume hunting on that site. You should also go directly to the company's website to search for jobs that way. Do you have any networking events coming up in your area for the field you are trying to get a job in? Networking can be a powerful tool as well. Always remember, your job search is what YOU make of it. Good luck.

[Edited 10/24/14 4:52am]

I think the problem that I am having is really knowing what I can bring to the table. What makes me stand out from the other millions that are looking for work? I started a LinkedIn page about a year ago but never really got into the whole concept of it. It seems that there are too many people on LinkedIn that makes it tough to stand out from the crowd. I really miss the economy of the 90s but it's too bad that I was too young at the time to enter the workforce! As soon as the economy hit the skids that was the moment that I entered the job market. The past few years have been difficult to say the least.

Totally not a waste of time. Moved to a new city, checked online, applied and got the job.

JustErin said:

Totally not a waste of time. Moved to a new city, checked online, applied and got the job.

How long did it take you from start to finish?

SeventeenDayze said:

JustErin said:

Totally not a waste of time. Moved to a new city, checked online, applied and got the job.

How long did it take you from start to finish?

From applying to hiring I would say about a week.

I did job search for a couple of months, though. I live in a small town now with a pretty crappy market and was really holding out for a job in my field...but once I applied it was pretty quick.

JustErin said:

SeventeenDayze said:

How long did it take you from start to finish?

From applying to hiring I would say about a week.

I did job search for a couple of months, though. I live in a small town now with a pretty crappy market and was really holding out for a job in my field...but once I applied it was pretty quick.

Oh I see, for some reason I thought you were in a big city and pulled this off, LOL. Thanks for your input.

SeventeenDayze said:

JustErin said:

From applying to hiring I would say about a week.

I did job search for a couple of months, though. I live in a small town now with a pretty crappy market and was really holding out for a job in my field...but once I applied it was pretty quick.

Oh I see, for some reason I thought you were in a big city and pulled this off, LOL. Thanks for your input.

Not anymore but my previous job was in Ottawa and I also found that job online. That one took a little longer just because of their hiring process but I found that job super quick, like less than a month of looking online - on a government job listing site.

JustErin said:

SeventeenDayze said:

Oh I see, for some reason I thought you were in a big city and pulled this off, LOL. Thanks for your input.

Not anymore but my previous job was in Ottawa and I also found that job online. That one took a little longer just because of their hiring process but I found that job super quick, like less than a month of looking online - on a government job listing site.

I guess it helps to live in a country that isn't as densely populated as much as the US is. I think it's easier to compete with 30 million people instead of 350 million people

SeventeenDayze said:

JustErin said:

Not anymore but my previous job was in Ottawa and I also found that job online. That one took a little longer just because of their hiring process but I found that job super quick, like less than a month of looking online - on a government job listing site.

I guess it helps to live in a country that isn't as densely populated as much as the US is. I think it's easier to compete with 30 million people instead of 350 million people

Perhaps, however, less jobs available as well. So I suppose it works out to be pretty even in the end.

alphastreet said:

Not at all. Monster has been a questionable site but indeed and others are excellent. In fact, job searching is easier now than years ago, imagine physically going out about to search all the time though that option works too. Networking and who you know helps but I got career related jobs since grad all online, no connections to anyone whatsoever so I'm sure you'll find something too

You're Canadian, right? I don't think our experience counts.

JustErin said:

SeventeenDayze said:

I guess it helps to live in a country that isn't as densely populated as much as the US is. I think it's easier to compete with 30 million people instead of 350 million people

Perhaps, however, less jobs available as well. So I suppose it works out to be pretty even in the end.

Yeah I guess that's true because even though you have fewer people you have fewer jobs and stiff competition that way.

JustErin said:

Indeed, Linkedin & StyleCareers(for graphic designers) are tops.

But nothing beats networking and knowing people in your chosen field who can hook you up. I was laid off in 2011 after 18 years at my last job. For three years I bounced around, getting freelance gigs through an agency. Recently a close friend of mine in the business put me in contact with his former art director who desperately needed a designer after one of hers took ill and had to quit. I've been there a month as a fulltime freelancer, and she loves my work. She talked to me about a permanent position - shit, that's cool with me.

uPtoWnNY said:

Indeed, Linkedin & StyleCareers(for graphic designers) are tops.

But nothing beats networking and knowing people in your chosen field who can hook you up. I was laid off in 2011 after 18 years at my last job. For three years I bounced around, getting freelance gigs through an agency. Recently a close friend of mine in the business put me in contact with his former art director who desperately needed a designer after one of hers took ill and had to quit. I've been there a month as a fulltime freelancer, and she loves my work. She talked to me about a permanent position - shit, that's cool with me.

LinkedIn is probably the best place to look for jobs these days, yet while they do have job listings it's better for networking, as you will probably have more luck getting a job by conevrsing with people in the field you want to be employed with. At least half of the open job positions are never advertised on any job site, so you want to get your name out to some of these networks so they can contact you if they have an opening you are interested in.

[Edited 10/26/14 16:41pm]

Just joined Linkedin too. Thanks for the info.

Now I'm thinking of taking 2 weeks off from work in November since we have a couple of International Conventions coming here. I was worrying how I was going to work around my schedule (10 hours in 3 days - if you call that work) and with my seeking another job but decided to just take the time off since I had saved a couple thousand dollars either for disaster volunteer or kingdom hall building projects. I think this qualifies as dedicating myself as a volunteer.

I guess starting new jobs will be on hold too. And if my job doesn't give me the time off, I'm contemplating on just quitting. Or letting them suspend me. Whatever. They give me stress anyway.

SeventeenDayze said:

So, I'm searching for a (new) job and was just wondering if you all think that online job sites are a waste of time. I'm talking about Monster (which I stopped using a long time ago), CareerBuilder, etc. How in the world does anyone get a job in this economy these days?

17

What field are you looking for??

wildgoldenhoney said:

Just joined Linkedin too. Thanks for the info.

Now I'm thinking of taking 2 weeks off from work in November since we have a couple of International Conventions coming here. I was worrying how I was going to work around my schedule (10 hours in 3 days - if you call that work) and with my seeking another job but decided to just take the time off since I had saved a couple thousand dollars either for disaster volunteer or kingdom hall building projects. I think this qualifies as dedicating myself as a volunteer.

I guess starting new jobs will be on hold too. And if my job doesn't give me the time off, I'm contemplating on just quitting. Or letting them suspend me. Whatever. They give me stress anyway.

Good luck

Is there any OTHER way to find a job nowadays?

My job doesn't bother advertising in the newspaper anymore. No one reads them.

It's all about Monster and Careebuilder nowadays, unless you have other leads (school, referrals, etc.)

kpowers said:

wildgoldenhoney said:

Just joined Linkedin too. Thanks for the info.

Now I'm thinking of taking 2 weeks off from work in November since we have a couple of International Conventions coming here. I was worrying how I was going to work around my schedule (10 hours in 3 days - if you call that work) and with my seeking another job but decided to just take the time off since I had saved a couple thousand dollars either for disaster volunteer or kingdom hall building projects. I think this qualifies as dedicating myself as a volunteer.

I guess starting new jobs will be on hold too. And if my job doesn't give me the time off, I'm contemplating on just quitting. Or letting them suspend me. Whatever. They give me stress anyway.

Good luck

Thanks. I'm gonna request it tomorrow. If they don't accept my leave of absence, then I'm planning to hand them my 2 weeks notice. I'll be gentle.

Oh, I thought this was about actually working online. Never mind. I've never used a job site online to (successfully) find an offline job, but Indeed seems pretty good. I just work on various different things online, which suits my needs perfectly.

Heh heh, I friended my manager on Linkden. She might start freaking out now.

Fauxie said:

Oh, I thought this was about actually working online. Never mind. I've never used a job site online to (successfully) find an offline job, but Indeed seems pretty good. I just work on various different things online, which suits my needs perfectly.

Yeah this thread can also be about actually working online as well. Which websites do you use to find online jobs?

kpowers said:

SeventeenDayze said:

So, I'm searching for a (new) job and was just wondering if you all think that online job sites are a waste of time. I'm talking about Monster (which I stopped using a long time ago), CareerBuilder, etc. How in the world does anyone get a job in this economy these days?

17

What field are you looking for??

Anything involving research and/or writing.