Ultimate List of Leading Job Search Engines (and Which One You Should Use)

Ultimate List of Leading Job Search Engines (and Which One You Should Use) Ask your folks how it worked back then, when they were right out of college and were looking for a job. You’d probably hear (horror) stories of them spending hours and hours poring over piles and piles of newspapers and classified ad dailies, making marks on job wanted ads and similar postings.Then they’ll spend countless more hours making calls to the numbers indicated on the ads and, more often than not, the long list that they started out with will be shortened drastically into only a handful of prospects.You’d probably hear a lot about how much of a nightmare it was, trying to look for possible job vacancies. For them, looking for job postings was as much of a battle as the process of getting the job.Fast forward decades later, with the internet pretty much reigning over even the most mundane tasks, and your folks are probably thinking they were born a century early. If they had the conveniences that we have today back then, they’d probably have had an easier and less str essful time of it. Faster, too. You should consider yourself lucky, thinking how the process of job-hunting has been considerably shortened. And who do you have to thank for that?The numerous job search engines and job portals now up and online, of course!JOB SEARCH ENGINES â€" WHAT ARE THEY AND WHAT DO THEY DO?You are probably familiar with a “job board”. Many companies have them, and you’ve probably even used at least one or two of them before. A job board is simply one of the several types of employment websites, or websites that deal specifically with employment or building careers.A job board is a website where employers can make postings about vacant job positions, providing information on the job requirements, hoping that jobseekers will spot the postings and submit their applications. Is this the same as a job search engine?You might think it is, but a job board is different from a job search engine.You see, a job board contains lists of open positions supplied by companies or employers, often for a f ee. When jobseekers find an open position they want to apply for, they can send in their applications directly through the job board. Applicants, on the other hand, can create their resumes and upload them on to the job board which, in turn, will grant employers access to the resumes â€" again, for a fee.A job search engine, on the other hand, works mainly by scouring the web for open position postings and job listings, and aggregating them in their own space on the web. Basically, job search engines get the information found in, and across, multiple job boards and other employment websites, and put it all in one place.The resulting benefits? Greater convenience for jobseekers, and more eyeballs on the job offer for employers.Let me break it down for you.Faster job search. The internet has pretty much sped up how we do things. You don’t have to collect dailies for several days â€" weeks, even â€" to find a list of job prospects. Several clicks, and you can access a comprehensive l ist of job vacancies that you can check out. And you don’t even have to wait for days or weeks, because the real-time updates ensure that the list of choices will be updated at a fast clip.Less confusion. You don’t have to wade through dozens and dozens of job boards and employer websites just to find job opportunities. Just go to the job search engine and you can get results from multiple source websites. Certainly another feature of job search engines that will simplify the process is the use of filters in the advanced searches, making it so much easier for you to target specific jobs. You can refine your search by inputting the specific skills, qualifications, and other job requirements, so you can get more accurate and reliable recommendations or suggestions on which open position to apply for.Less cost involved. The simpler and faster process means there will be less cost incurred. Sure, some job search engines may require that you pay a fee to join, but most of the time, t he amount is quite minimal and even negligible, considering the returns that you will get. You do not have to spend so much on transportation expenses when you move from place to place, looking for job vacancies. You don’t have to buy publications with these job ads, and you don’t have to make expensive phone calls, especially if the employer is far across the country. You can do it all online.More options. If you rely entirely on the yellow pages or the dailies, it’ll probably take you days or even weeks before you can find a job posting with job requirements that you can meet. The job pool seems to be very limited, and there aren’t a lot of options available. And so you play the waiting game, hoping that the next time you open that page, you’ll find a job ad that seems to be perfectly made for you. Online job search engines are not hampered by this limitation in the job pool. By aggregating job postings from numerous online employment sources, you will be presented with a whole lot more options to go through. There is also a wider variety of the job postings. Initially you may have set out looking for a job in the tech industry, since that is where your skills seem to be most needed. But you will be surprised when a job search engine provides results that show how other industries, maybe the medical/pharmaceutical or even the manufacturing industry, has a high demand for your skill set. Pretty much, job search engines open up wider worlds and broader horizons for you, presenting you with doors that you didn’t know were there in the first place.Faster response rate. Since it is in real time, the response is likely to be faster. Usually, if done through the conventional manner â€" without the help of the internet, that is â€" it would take weeks and maybe even months before the employer can respond and act on all the applications they’ve received. Many jobseekers would say that one of the hardest parts of looking for a job is the waiting period. You’ll be in tenterhooks, wondering whether your application was received or not, whether you are going to receive a call for an interview or not, and other similar concerns. This mostly leads you to waste time due to uncertainties; had you known earlier that you won’t be receiving any call, then you’d have looked for other open positions to apply for.But these are just when we’re strictly speaking about job boards. In the search, you are bound to find job search engines that also work as job boards, accepting applications through their website.HOW TO CHOOSE JOB SEARCH ENGINES TO TRUSTWith so many job boards and search engines on the internet and some of them even charging a fee, you’re probably wondering which of them can be trusted. After all, you are looking for a job and you don’t have the money to pay every job board that you come across.What factors should you consider when choosing which job search engine to use in your search for your dream job?Safety and securit yMost job search engines, when requiring users to register, will require some personal information, and not all jobseekers are keen on letting just anybody access this information. Think about it. Put yourself in a jobseeker’s shoes. You will certainly not want to miss the opportunity to have potential employers take a look at your credentials and, along with it, your personal information.You’d probably look into the assurances or guarantees provided by the job search engine when it comes to the collection, storage, access and usage of any personal information that you provide.Ease of useNaturally, you’d choose a job search engine with a user-friendly interface, so that it is easier to navigate and you can get results much faster. There are several points to take note of in this aspect.Website design. If the job search engine looks messy, with clashing colors and jarring choices of font styles and font sizes, you’d have trouble taking it seriously. If it looks professional, then you’d feel more at ease and confident using the site for your job search. It might be window-dressing to some, but a lot can be said about a job search engine from the way it looks and makes first impressions.Site performance. This talks about the accessibility and availability, and the speed of the website. If the job search engine is always down, or undergoing maintenance frequently, jobseekers and employers will be turned off, and they will look for other job search engines to use. If the website takes a very long time to load, that will eat up a lot of your time, which you do not want because you’d want to cover a lot of ground in the shortest time possible.Targeting features. Again, filters. Usually, job search engines may come up with broad results, which can be quite confusing and convoluted. But thanks to filters, you can use keywords and set certain parameters that will enable the website’s search engine to narrow down the list, providing you more targeted job op tions.Compatibility. Everyone is now going mobile, and so should job search engines. This means that you should be able to conduct job searches even by using your smartphone, instead of having to look for the nearest desktop computer or laptop. Even while travelling, you can check on job vacancies, update your resume and submit your application, all on your phone.Job listingsQuantity, variety and relevance. These are three of the most important characteristics that you’d want the job listings of the search engine to give you. Why would you spend time using a job search engine that provides only two or three open positions for a single search, when another job search engine provides more than a hundred results on the same search?If you were focused from the get-go on a specific niche, then you probably won’t even bother trying to use a job search engine. Instead, you’d head directly to a niche job board and do your search there. But you decided to use a job search engine becaus e you wanted to expand the reach of your job search as much as possible. You want a variety of options, not restricted to a single niche or industry.It makes sense, then, that you will choose a job search engine that aggregates job listings from more than just a handful of sources.TrafficWe’re talking, of course, about the amount of website traffic that the job search engine gets. Between a job search engine that gets a thousand visitors in a day and one that has hundreds of thousands, which one would you prefer to rely on?Naturally, as a jobseeker, you’d want to be seen by as many potential employers as you can, so you’d go for the more frequently visited job search engine. On the other end of the spectrum, if you’re an employer, you’re likely to trust the job search engine that is used by more jobseekers.I hope that cleared things up a bit. Now on to the good stuff: the job search engines themselves. But there are so many of them; which one should you choose? Well, each has its pros and cons, and I’ll let you decide which one suits your needs best.Here are the leading job search engines you can find online today.IndeedIndeed.com has now evolved into one of the largest job search engines, connecting jobseekers and employers from different parts of the globe, not just in the United States. This is reflected even more in their slogan, “One search, all jobs”.Pros:It lets you search millions of job listings. Yes, you read that right: millions. That is because Indeed collects jobs from thousands of job and company websites and blogs, job boards and communities, newspapers and publications.It has a wider reach, and consequently, more users. On average, the site gets more than 200 million visitors monthly from more than 60 countries all over the world. It is also available in 28 languages (and counting), so that’s definitely a major plus.It simplifies the job search.com has a no-fuss, no-frills look and feel. In fact, it is likened to how Google an d other top search engines are designed to be user-friendly. You’ll be going through a long list of open positions in no time at all, because you’d be spared the time and effort of jumping through hoops in your search. For targeted results, Indeed.com lets you filter your job search as to:Salary EstimateJob Type (e.g. part-time, full-time, contract, commission)LocationCompanyExperience Level (e.g. Mid-level, Entry-level, Senior Level)It allows the setup of alerts and reminders. Feel free to join the notification squad! You can set up email job alerts if there are new job openings that fit your preferences and qualifications. This is definitely another time-saver, since you don’t have to visit the site every single day to check out what’s new. Just configure the alerts you want to receive, and how often you want to receive it, and Indeed will notify you about them.It has a resume management feature. Another time-saver right here! Upload your resume so that recruiters and empl oyers can access and view them. Don’t worry, because you can adjust the privacy settings yourself, so you can still have control on who can view your resume. You may even edit your resume directly on the site.It has added features for jobseekers to go through, such as salary reports, job trends, information on companies, and even a discussion forum where jobseekers and employers can communicate and interact.It is now on mobile, which means you can access it at anytime, anywhere, as long as you have downloaded the Indeed.com app on your mobile device.Cons:The large quantity of results can be quite overwhelming. This poses the possibility of the quality of some of the job listings not being quite up to par. There are some complaints about the jobs ending up having high turnover, or with poor working conditions. Therefore, you should still take caution when applying for these jobs. Do not forget to do your research.Job listing redundancy is highly probable. Do not forget, Indeed gets its job listings from so many other websites, so there’s a high chance that one job will appear more than once on your results feed.Maybe it is because there is a discussion forum, but Indeed  does not go the extra mile to offer resources for jobseekers and those who want to build their careers.It does not have a resume writing tool. You’ll have to create your own resume, then upload it to the site, but it has no facility that can actually guide you along in creating your resume. You’re on your own there, buddy.SimplyHiredSimplyHired, according to the website, lets you “explore millions of jobs… with just one search.” It works in a similar manner with Indeed.com, in that it aggregates job listings from thousands of websites, newspaper and classified listings, as well as social networks.As of July 2016, SimplyHired was acquired by Recruit Holdings, which also happens to be the parent company of Indeed.com. The takeover resulted in several features being affected, but the y are currently being smoothed over still, and SimplyHired remains operational to this day.Pros:It offers a wide reach, although decidedly smaller than that of Indeed.com’s. At present, SimplyHired operates as an employment website and online recruitment advertising network in 24 countries around the world, including the United States.Simplicity and ease of navigation is another strong feature of SimplyHired. You can get started simply by typing in a keyword, or a set of keywords, such as the Job Title, Skills or Company, and specifying the Location that you have in mind, and the search engine will search the corresponding jobs for you. The targeting filters available are on Relevance, the Date when the listing was added, the Distance from the location you specified earlier, the Job Title and the Company, if any.It has the Salary Estimator feature, which provides detailed salary information for thousands of different careers. This will give you a glimpse on what the current salary in your specific field is, so you can set your expectations more accurately.It provides information on job markets, which is very useful for those who want to know more about local jobs in every city, depending on the industry, company, or job type.SimplyHired is also optimized for mobile, with its own dedicated app that lets you access it through any Android or iOS mobile device. The best part? The app even has a one-click Quick Apply feature, which means that you can apply for a listing even when you are traveling or you are out on one of your early morning jogs!Cons:24 countries is already quite a lot, and SimplyHired is definitely one of the bigger job search engines out there today. However, it would be even better if it is able to operate in more countries, making its reach more global.It does not have a resume builder, which means you are also on your own when creating your resume. Or you could just use another tool offered by another job website?CareerBuilderCareerBuilder i s certainly one of the more recognizable names among the older crop of employment websites and job search engines.Encouraging you to “Find the right job. Right now”, all it asks is for keywords regarding the job you are looking for and the City, State or ZIP code of the location you want to work at, and it will get to work, collecting the matching job postings for you.Pros:As a job search engine, it goes a step further and actually makes recommendations based on the matches that your search has turned up. Usually, it would have just presented you with the search results; but CareerBuilder has a job recommendation engine that narrows down the list even further, making it easier for you to make your choices. This job recommendation engine works by using your uploaded resume or your job application as a basis.It boasts a global operation, present in more than 60 job markets in 23 countries worldwide, and forging partnerships with publication companies and other leading job and care er portals. This means that, no matter where you are in the world, you definitely have a great chance of finding a job with the help of CareerBuilder.CareerBuilder is not focused solely on its function as a job search engine. It also offer other products and services that employers and jobseekers will definitely find very useful. Examples are background check and screening software, candidate engagement software, resume database search and applicant tracking system, to name a few.It is equipped with security features that minimize fraudulent job listings and postings that are nothing but scams or fakes. You will definitely feel more secure applying for jobs knowing that there are lesser chances of you being duped and wasting your time over something that will never really pan out in the end.You get to enjoy comprehensive search options with CareerBuilder. Targeting results won’t be hard, thanks to the filters and parameters that you can easily customize while doing your search.Sti ll unsure what type of career is most suitable for you? Then try out the various personalized career tests and assessment that CareerBuilder is offering. That way, you can explore your different career options and possibilities, and you don’t even have to pay an HR expert to do that!What do you know, it has a free resume builder! This definitely makes it so much easier for you to customize your resume so that it can be presented in such a way that will attract and engage potential employers. A free account already allows you to upload up to three resumes and cover letters.You’ll be in the know, because CareerBuilder actually lets you view the competition for each job! You’ll basically be able to see a comparison between you and the other applicants, so you’ll know exactly how your chances are!Thanks to the Quick Apply tool, you can directly apply for the job posting you see. After all, you already have your resume and even the cover letters uploaded into your profile. All yo u have to do is access them and make the tweaks necessary.Career resources are aplenty at CareerBuilder, which is definitely much appreciated. If you are looking for career advice, or some other ideas or thoughts related to your job search, you can check out the CareerBuilder blog for articles and even videos to move you along.Cons:If we’re going to be realistic about it, CareerBuilder is actually more focused on the employers and recruiters, rather than the jobseekers, especially when you take note of the software and programs they offer, which complete a suite of recruitment and advertising solutions. Still, there is no denying that jobseekers can still use the many features on the site.At first, you might need some time to get used to the interface of the site. There’s just too much going on, it might appear a bit cluttered at first. Not to worry, though. Once you get the hang of it, navigating it and looking for your dream job will be a breeze.MonsterWhenever you do a search on the top job and employment websites, there is no doubt that Monster will be on the list. And why not? Monster has proven itself as one of the forces to reckon with in the global job market, and its name “Monster Worldwide” is definitely right on target. Its slogan? “We connect people and job opportunities”.Pros:It boasts an extensive global network where, reportedly, 7,900 jobs are searched, 29 resumes are uploaded, and 2,800 jobs are viewed in ONE MINUTE. Just one minute. How many is that in a week? In a month? In a year? Do the math. With its operations in 50 countries all over the world, those figures certainly do not lie.It has a wide range of filter and search options, where you can use keywords, or specify the Job Title, Experience (in terms of years worked), and the preferred Location. You can refine your search further using the following parameters:Top EmployersLocationIndustryJob FunctionCompany TypeSalary RangeJob Freshness, or how recent the posting was madeR ejoice, because Monster has a resume writing service! For an additional fee, of course, but that is still a good feature, especially if you really require help in creating a resume that employers and recruiters that come on Monster will notice. Monster has partnered with TopResume, and came up with various resume packages that you can choose from. If you upload your resume, you will also get a free critique, so you can tweak and improve it accordingly.On top of the resume writing service, it also offers a direct application process, which is very convenient for jobseekers. One click, and they can apply to multiple job postings, choosing from any of the numerous resumes that they have uploaded on their profile.It has an email service where subscribers can get regular notifications and updates on job vacancies directly on their inbox.Similarly, it is also optimized for mobile access, thanks to its dedicated Monster.com mobile app.Cons:Many users complain about the numerous ads and pro motional links that keep popping up and appearing when they visit the site. Although they don’t really affect the results of the job search, they can be quite distracting.The resume writing service is quite pricey, especially if you are just starting out and looking for your first job.LinkedIn JobsYou already know that LinkedIn is an excellent platform for professional networking. But its job search engine has also become so powerful that more and more jobseekers and employers are using it for exactly that purpose.Pros:Perhaps the strongest point of LinkedIn is how it lets you build your network, while going about the motions of looking for a job. In other job search engines, you create an account and maintain it. In LinkedIn, you create an account and network, so your online professional identity grows and becomes stronger, increasing your attractiveness as an employment prospect, and your chances of being hired by a very good company. Hey, it won’t be called the “world’s l argest professional network” for nothing!You can count on LinkedIn to turn out very high-quality job postings, since it combines the ability to index and collect job postings in the internet with its facility of bringing like-minded professional individuals and entities together.As a professional network, it does the job of providing career advices and resources from the experts. As you are slowly building your professional identity, you will also learn a lot from the news, inspiration and other insights shared by other LinkedIn users and even industry leaders and business movers and shakers.It offers a comprehensive search facility that lets you refine your job search, according to location, company, date of posting of the job opening, job function, industry, experience level, or even job title.Cons:LinkedIn is, first and foremost, a networking site, and it uses that format in its job search engine function. Therefore, you are expected to spend a lot of time and effort on it, jus t as you would in any networking gig. Building a good professional identity cannot be done overnight, and if you’re in a hurry, this may not be the best option for you.CraiglistCraiglist is no longer just a place to buy and sell properties and other stuff online. It is now used as a place to look for job opportunities, although most are temporary in nature. It is one of those free websites where employers and jobseekers flock to.Pros:Craigslist can now be seen all over the world, which means that job listings are also sourced from practically everywhere. This is a good thing, as it means there are a lot more options for jobseekers to choose from.It’s easy to conduct a job search. Just type in the keywords, or look under the parameters such as location or City and Jobs category.Cons:There is a very low chance to find long-term or permanent employment if you’re using Craigslist. You see, most of the job listings include jobs that are temporary in nature, such as part-time gigs, contracts, and freelance work. This is ideal for those looking for short-term employment, but not really for those with long-term career goals.Unfortunately, not all the job postings on Craiglist are legitimate. Some are even downright scams, so you have to exercise caution when using this site for your job search.In addition, here are a few worthy runners-up to that list. They are classified mostly as niche job search engines, because they aggregate career- and industry-specific sites.USA JobsWait, did you think that you are on your own in your job search, with no help from the government? What if you are eyeing a job in the government? Did you think that there’s no way a job search engine will get you that type of job?Well, you’d be wrong, because there is USAJobs right there, waiting to present you with the best job opportunity. For 20 years, it has been connecting jobseekers with federal jobs, functioning as the federal government’s official employment site.Pros:You’ll g et high-quality job postings in this site. If you’re using USAJobs, that can only mean that you are specifically looking to land a federal job, or a position in government service. Well, rest assured that the job postings you will find on this site are accurate and legitimate. And these are not just jobs located stateside. Anywhere that the US government operates in, there is a chance of you getting employed. In 2015 alone, job opportunities listed in USAJobs were located in more than 145 countries.The advanced search capability is surprisingly easy to navigate, considering the usual expectation that anything related to the government is bound to be complex and convoluted. The filtering tool is so efficient, you’d wish other job search engines work in the same way.There are zero possibilities of job redundancies or multiple postings of a single opening in this site. That means less time wasted when poring over the list.Since USAJobs works as a one-stop-shop for recruitment of fe deral workers or employees, this is where you can directly submit your application. It’s so simple and quick, you don’t have to spend so much on transportation and other costs related to applying for a job.You get an easy-to-manage and comprehensive account when you sign up. As an account holder, you will be able to manage documents (your resumes, mainly), and keep a record of saved jobs, saved searches, and other resources on building a career in the government.Cons:The only complaint against this job search engine is the lack of diversity in the jobs posted. This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, really, since you already know what you are getting into when you signed up for an account. Do not expect much variety of jobs here, though.DiceWith the tech industry thriving on a global scale, it is no small wonder that several job search engines dedicated to the niche have cropped up. Dice claims to be the “The Career Hub for Tech Insiders”, as it focuses only on inde xing information and technology jobs.Pros:It’s all tech jobs here, so you will get the results you want. Dice’s listings are sourced from some of the biggest IT companies in the world, such as Dell, eBay, Cisco, Deloitte and Hewlett Packard. It is smaller than that of other job search engines, yes, but you can count on the quality of these postings to be high.The filtering system of Dice is very impressive, so you can really do your search up to the most specialized positions. This is definitely a very good thing, on top of the very easy-to-use interface of the website (which makes sense, considering this is for tech positions!).Customize the job alerts that will be sent directly to your email, so you can get them on a specified schedule, or in real time as updates come.To make things more convenient, download the mobile app and keep your eye out for that tech job of your dreams even when you’re on the go.Cons:It’s a niche job search engine, so expect the listings to be limi ted. What it lacks in quantity, however, it more than makes up for in quality.Do not be confused when using job search engines in your job hunt. Sure, they might be confusing at first, but if you choose well, you’ll have an easier time of it later on.What most people would recommend is that you should not stick to only one job search engine. Use as many as you can; maybe not all the top search engines since it may become too overwhelming for you. Pick two or three job search engines and focus your efforts on them.Be diligent in keeping your profiles updated in all these sites. Be active in communities and discussion groups, if there are any. Most importantly, put your heart and soul into finding the job of your dreams, and it’ll surely happen.