Career Tip: Job Board Aggregators versus Job Boards in Your Job Search

Like them or not, job boards are not going away, and continue to be a popular way for people to search for new positions being advertised.  They can come with a few issues such as reverse spamming (you join and put your resume on one site, and now it’s on 50 partner sites too), fake ads and job scams, and just like any other site, occasionally someone may hack them, but they do provide a good service.  The reason for this post is to learn a better way to use the job boards while protecting yourself from the above-mentioned issues. 

I am big promoter of Job Board Aggregators.  They still allow the jobseeker to use the job boards, but in a different way.  Instead of searching dozens of different job boards for potential positions, you can now use an aggregator to search hundreds, if not, thousands of job boards at a time.  Think of them like a database gathering the jobs posted on all the sites it searches and stores information from, and then allowing you to do ONE search.  Like in hospitality industry aggregator ads on TV, and I quote, “search one and done.”

So, here are two recommendations:  www.Indeed.com,  and www.Linkup.com.  Indeed.com is the number one job board aggregator online, and acts as a job board as well.  My suggestion is you use it as an aggregator only and then go direct to the company advertising and post your resume on their site.  To be more effective in your search use multiple job titles for the same job for which you are searching, such as:  Administrative Assistant, Administrative Coordinator, Secretary, Office Manager, Office Coordinator, Office Assistant, and Executive Assistant.  If you use only one title, you will limit your search significantly.  All of the above titles will fit in the search bar, and you can then sign up at the bottom of the first page with your email only for daily updates of the new jobs posted.  The other type of aggregator I listed is Linkup.com which actually aggregates company job boards.  If the company job board doesn’t require you to sign up before seeing the jobs they offer, then it will aggregate their content.  It works the same as a job board aggregator, you can sign up for the same type of daily digest email, but it is just for company-specific job boards like H&R Block, Sprint and Garmin.  I counsel jobseekers to use at least one job board aggregator and Linkup.com as there will be some different returns.

I hope this helps you refine both your job search, and saves a lot of time in your overall searching online.  Any time that is saved can be used to network, personalize your resume and cover letter for specific job applications, apply for jobs, and practice interviewing skills. 

Use a Beneficial LinkedIn Title

Every time I visit LinkedIn to help a client or see invites in my email box from LinkedIn, invariably there's at least one of the following titles used by a connection or invitee:

"Unemployed"
"Currently Looking for an Opportunity"
"Looking for Work"
"Needing a Job"

None of these titles will help you in your job search!  LinkedIn works through several different algorithms, and one of those is keywords.  Instead of using some sort of "description" regarding your current situation, tell them what you are looking for specifically.  For instance, if you are a salesperson try this:  Sales Professional | Business Development | Customers Needs Assessment | Consultative Sales | Cold Calling | Relationship Management

You have 100 characters and spaces to give Human Resources, Recruiter/Headhunters, and Hiring Managers detail on what you can do for them in the title section, versus just telling them you are unemployed.  What are the keywords and key phrases most appropriate to your industry?  Not only should they be used in your resume, but should be used on your LinkedIn profile, especially in the first thing a hiring professional will see - your title.   To your job search success.

Just Say “No” to the Resume Objective Statement

Although there have been many blog posts and articles concerning why an objective statement should no longer be used on a resume, it always bears repeating.  Too often I see the traditional objective statement on resumes saying what a jobseeker wants from a job, company, and career.  Plain and simple, it is always about what the company wants until you are in negotiation for the salary and benefits package.

Instead, use a job title, and let the reader know what relevant experience they will be evaluating in the resume. This of course means you may have two, three, or more resumes, concentrating on the different types of jobs you are pursuing.  You can follow that job title up with one of three choices:

1)      A summary statement (keep it to a short paragraph – no long statements).

2)      Three or four of the best and most relevant bullet points from your resume (remember to reword these back in your resume experience under the specific job for which they apply).

3)      A set of keywords and key phrases tailored to the job you are targeting.

Now, in a very short presentation you can better communicate your relevant experience prior to the reader reviewing your entire resume, and help HR, the Hiring Manager or Recruiter make a more informed decision.

The Difference between Job Boards and Job Board Aggregators

Like them or not, job boards are not going away, and continue to be a popular way for people to search for new positions being advertised.  They can come with a few issues such as reverse spamming (you join and put your resume on one site, and now it’s on 25 partner sites too), fake ads and job scams, and just like any other site, occasionally someone may hack them, but they do provide a good service.  The reason for this post is to learn a better way to use the job boards while protecting yourself from the above mentioned issues.

I am big promoter of Job Board Aggregators.  They still allow the jobseeker to use the job boards, but in a different way.  Instead of searching dozens of different job boards for potential positions, you can now use an aggregator to search hundreds, if not, thousands of job boards at a time.  Think of them like a database gathering the jobs posted on all the sites it searches and stores information from, and then allowing you to do ONE search.  Like in hospitality industry aggregator ads on TV, and I quote, “search one and done.”

So, here are a few recommendations:  www.Indeed.com, www.SimplyHired.com, and www.Linkup.com.  Indeed.com is the number one job board aggregator online, and acts as a job board too, as does SimplyHired.  My suggestion is you use them as aggregators only and then go direct to the company advertising and post your resume on their site.  To be more effective in your search use multiple job titles for the same job for which you are searching, such as:  Administrative Assistant, Administrative Coordinator, Secretary, Office Manager, Office Coordinator, Office Assistant, and Executive Assistant.  If you use only one title, you will limit your search significantly.  All of the above titles will fit in the search bar, and you can then sign up at the bottom of the first page with email only for daily updates of the new jobs posted.  The only different type of aggregator I listed is Linkup.com which actually aggregates company job boards.  If the company job board doesn’t require you to sign up before seeing the jobs they offer, then it will aggregate their content.  It works the same as a job board aggregator, you can sign up for the same type of daily digest email, but it is just for company-specific job boards like H&R Block, Sprint and Garmin.  I counsel jobseekers to use at least one job board aggregator and Linkup.com as there will be some different returns.

I hope this helps you refine both your job search, and saves a lot of time in your overall searching online.  Any time that is saved can be used to network, personalize your resume and cover letter for specific job applications, apply for jobs, and practice interviewing skills.