Using online job boards effectively

In our modern world, there are many ways of looking for a new role. We were interested to hear directly from HR Professionals* which channels their companies had used to recruit so far this year and while social media and via the company’s website ranked high, it was no surprise to us that their top method of recruitment was via online job boards. With this in mind, here is an insight into online job boards, what they are and how you as a job seeker can navigate and use them effectively in your job search.

What is an online job board?

Whilst there are many ways of looking for a new role, searching online is one of the quickest ways to look for opportunities.  Online job board postings allow companies to reach a much larger audience as jobs can be posted and updated instantly, allowing companies to respond to their hiring needs more quickly.

Here are some 4 simple steps to increase your effectiveness when job searching online.

• Create job search criteria

Before you begin to search online, you need to have an idea of what you are looking for to ensure you find the most relevant job sites and vacancies.  Even if you don’t know what you are initially looking for, it will help if you create job search criteria.  Consider the types of jobs you are looking for and what types of industry you might like to work in. Think about the types of job title, skills required and the functional areas that they sit in, e.g., HR, Finance, IT, as this will have an impact on which job boards you use and what keywords to search for. You will also need to consider salary range, location (or remote), industry or sector to make sure your job search is specific. Once you have thought about the types of roles you are interested in, you will need to identify the online job boards that are going to be most relevant for the roles or industry that you are looking for.

• Explore a range of different job boards

There are hundreds of job boards to consider so it’s worth doing a bit of research to find the right job boards for you. Here are some to consider:

Job Board Aggregators

Job board aggregators such as Simply Hired or Indeed are essentially search engines for job adverts. A bit like ‘Compare the Market’, job board aggregators gather job postings from job boards and other internet sites and consolidate them in one place.

Generalist Job Boards 

These are very popular job boards for recruiters and employers to advertise on. These sites advertise roles across all industries and sectors and at all levels. Some useful generic websites include Total Jobs, Reed and CV Library.

Industry or Function Specific Job Boards

These job sites advertise jobs in a specific industry or function, so it is worth looking at these too. The easiest way to do this is to run an internet search of your industry or job function, e.g. ‘HR jobsites’ or ‘Administrator jobs’ and your search results will list job boards specific to your interests.

Don’t forget to run a Google search too. Typing into Google, ‘jobs in finance’ or ‘charity job boards’ will highlight current vacancies and which sites they are being advertised on.

• Look directly on recruitment agency websites

Recruitment agencies often advertise roles on job boards and their own websites too. Sites such as agencycentral.co.uk is a good starting point to look for recruitment agencies. They list 1000s of agencies using categories and locations to draw down by sector and location. Once you have identified relevant recruitment agencies, be sure to look at vacancies advertised on their own websites.

• Review company career pages

Look for companies of interest based on your location or in your chosen industry or sector as many companies will have their own careers page listing current vacancies. Once you have looked directly on their website, follow their social media company pages. On LinkedIn you can privately express an interest in working for a company.  Once you click on the tab to show ‘you’re interested’, recruiters at the company will be able to view your profile during their recruitment efforts. You can find this feature on the company’s ‘About’ or on the ‘About the Company’ section of job details pages.

Don’t forget to see if you have any connections who work at your companies of interest. Often companies will incentivise through employee referrals schemes before they advertise on external job boards.

Effective Job Searching

Once you’ve identified the job boards that are going to be most relevant for you, you can make a start searching for suitable opportunities. Searching via keywords is the primary way that you will look for relevant jobs on job boards. Think carefully about what keywords are most relevant for the type of roles you are looking for. You can use keywords to describe job titles, skills or industry. You can read more about key words searches in this article here.  Make a note of the job boards that generate the most relevant results as these will be the ones you will regularly check. Where possible, set up job alerts to be notified of new opportunities.

We would always encourage you to adopt various job search techniques in addition to online job searching to increase your chances of securing a new role.

*poll carried out via Facebook, August 2024