Are Job Sites Still Effective for Finding Jobs?
October 2, 2024 6:48 AM
I'm about to start looking for a job for the first time in 7 years. I updated my accounts on Indeed (where I found my last job), LinkedIn, and my local state's jobsite. Before I start submitting applications, I'm wondering if these sites are still effective for finding legit postings, or if there's now too much misleading information (kind of like dating sites!)? Ideally I'd like to avoid optimistically plugging away, not knowing that I'm actually going nowhere fast. If these sites are no longer the best route, what is now?
I'm also wondering how this works for recruiters: how do they navigate all these folks applying for jobs? Are applications still just scanned for keywords, or have things moved on from there?
Bonus question: given the amount of time it takes to submit an application (assuming we're still uploading resumes and then re-entering everything on the company's site), how do you approach this efficiently: do you hone in on what seems like a handful of legit positing and focus on those, or do you play the numbers game (but then essentially become part of the problem)?
I'm also wondering how this works for recruiters: how do they navigate all these folks applying for jobs? Are applications still just scanned for keywords, or have things moved on from there?
Bonus question: given the amount of time it takes to submit an application (assuming we're still uploading resumes and then re-entering everything on the company's site), how do you approach this efficiently: do you hone in on what seems like a handful of legit positing and focus on those, or do you play the numbers game (but then essentially become part of the problem)?
I happen to be mentoring a couple of college students going through this process right now.
Job sites are useful if you have specific skills. And yes, they as well as most large companies will automatically reject you if a required skill is not on your resume.
Employers misrepresenting themselves tend to have a short and generic list of required skills, as they are trying to cast their net as wide as possible.
However, as AndrewInDC alludes to, the best way to find a job remains personal connections.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 7:07 AM on October 2
Job sites are useful if you have specific skills. And yes, they as well as most large companies will automatically reject you if a required skill is not on your resume.
Employers misrepresenting themselves tend to have a short and generic list of required skills, as they are trying to cast their net as wide as possible.
However, as AndrewInDC alludes to, the best way to find a job remains personal connections.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 7:07 AM on October 2
I'm also wondering how this works for recruiters: how do they navigate all these folks applying for jobs? Are applications still just scanned for keywords, or have things moved on from there?
In general, there are four layers to the application process:
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 7:34 AM on October 2
In general, there are four layers to the application process:
- Applicant tracking systems (ATS): There’s lots of fancy talk about AI, etc., but as far as anyone can tell they just scan for keywords. Documents should be submitted in Microsoft Word format and should have no fancy formatting lest you confuse the ATS. Straightforward and boring is good.
- Human Resources (HR): a person at the company who skims your resume and cover letter to see if it’s worth passing on.
- Hiring Manager: the person you would work for, who will probably read your resume in detail and if they’re interested will probably read your cover letter as well.
- Potential Coworkers: people who will be reading your resume (and only your resume) for the first time as they walk in the door to interview you.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 7:34 AM on October 2
Found my job thru indeed last year but also reached out via LinkedIn to a former colleague who now worked there to put in a word for me.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 7:52 AM on October 2
posted by St. Peepsburg at 7:52 AM on October 2
Agreed, unless you know someone, job aggregator sites or employer job sites are the go-to.
I built a little spreadsheet that can help do the daily grind of job searching. Save a copy for yourself, enter your search words in the left column (as many as you'd like), and then it generates links for you to click in the third column searching for your search words.
I wouldn't try to apply for things that are wildly outside your scope, but if you're in the ballpark let the employer decide if you're qualified (though make sure to list the required skills in your resume even if you only did the thing one time in high school).
I would though try to streamline some of your application process, have your resume conveniently broken up in a spreadsheet so you can copy and paste employer name, years, what you did there blurb, etc. Use ChatGPT to help you with your cover letter drafts, use a prompt like this:
posted by gregr at 8:02 AM on October 2
I built a little spreadsheet that can help do the daily grind of job searching. Save a copy for yourself, enter your search words in the left column (as many as you'd like), and then it generates links for you to click in the third column searching for your search words.
I wouldn't try to apply for things that are wildly outside your scope, but if you're in the ballpark let the employer decide if you're qualified (though make sure to list the required skills in your resume even if you only did the thing one time in high school).
I would though try to streamline some of your application process, have your resume conveniently broken up in a spreadsheet so you can copy and paste employer name, years, what you did there blurb, etc. Use ChatGPT to help you with your cover letter drafts, use a prompt like this:
Read the JOB DESCRIPTION and my COVER LETTER letter below, rewrite my cover letter so that it talks about the things in the job description. Don't make me sound smarter. Don't use long words where short ones suffice. Maintain a 6th grade reading level, unless technical vocabulary is required.You'll need to edit the cover letter, but it'll get you most of the way there. Oh and all the bits about 'Don't make me sound smarter...", ChatGPT will throw in long words that are a dead giveaway that you're using ChatGPT (Innovative, Noteworthy, Pivotal, Intricate, Meticulous, etc).
JOB DESCRIPTION:
[[copy and paste in everything from the job title at the top to the bottom of the job description]]
COVER LETTER:
[[copy and paste in your complete cover letter, if you have several use the one that's most similar to this job]]
posted by gregr at 8:02 AM on October 2
I've had the best luck direct applying to jobs via the company website's "careers" or "jobs" pages. But the last job change for me was in 2022, and people say that the market is much different now. That would still be my first choice if I had to go looking again: searching for companies I'd like to work at and checking their jobs page. I guess this is inefficient, but it has allowed me in the past to be incredibly targeted in my applications, which I think helps immensely in floating to the top of the resume pile. Having been in the position of sorting that pile in the past, it's true that jobs get tons of applicants, but most of those applications are just pure spam by people who didn't even read the requirements and have very little or barely relevant experience. You can tell. When someone who clearly did some homework about the role and thoughtfully applied comes in, they stand out immediately and make it to the short list right away.
posted by dis_integration at 8:12 AM on October 2
posted by dis_integration at 8:12 AM on October 2
I agree with dis_integration and my job hunt experience is from this year. I had my best luck at getting interviews with government websites and school websites and applying with those directly. Aggregator sites just gave me a whole lot of weak-ass jobs that paid $16 an hour, or would spam me telling me I'd make a great night clerk at Albertson's (I have no retail/clerking/food experience), or they'd hit me up for jobs that I straight up did not qualify for, like "you sound like you work in HR!" when I do not have X # of years of experience in HR, or whatever. Very pointless and a waste of my time.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:16 AM on October 2
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:16 AM on October 2
My comments below might not be pleasant to read.
I've been looking since April, and I am getting desperate. Very.
do you hone in on what seems like a handful of legit positing and focus on those
Yes, that's the way. I'd stick with Indeed or Idealist, or go directly to the sites of organizations of interest to you. Or even CareerBuilder or Monster.
Frankly, the feed on LinkedIn is bad, bad, bad for my mental health and that of many other posters who have mentioned this. Avoid it or very carefully skip posts from job seekers. Or create your own feed content to gain exposure, and ignore everything except comments on your own posts.
Another issue that is made obvious on LinkedIn is employers reposting jobs over and over and over. Posters on the LinkedIn feed talk about this constantly. I've been applying to jobs at Guidehouse (within days after my job loss I got immediate hiring-manager response from them on my first app), and one of them has been reposted for the third time with a note that there are over 100 applicants. What do they want???
Now, it's true that the applicant number on LinkedIn reflects clicks on the "Apply" button and not actual applicants, but, still.
Work your contacts. I found something on LinkedIn yesterday, with the firm employing a LI connection I knew 20 years ago. I sent my materials to her, and she responded immediately asking me to email them. It was heartening, at least.
Then there's the issue of employers posting fake jobs on job boards to build their resume coffers or to motivate their employees.
You might get contacted by recruiters about roles that are absolutely outlandish. They throw stuff against the wall to see if it sticks, and that makes no sense given that it's not a candidate's market right now. I recently got two calls from a recruiter who insisted I apply and be interviewed for a job as a chemist somewhere in the Midwest. The words "chemist" and "chemistry" do not appear in any of my online profiles or my resume. But as another recruiter later explained, the words "analysis," "reporting," "data," and "policy" prompted this. Beyond absurd. I also managed to get a rejection email about a job I never applied for and did not know about. Things are really screwy out there.
Make sure you get exercise and in-person socialization. A team sport would be great; mine is saving me (so far). Eat really well and healthfully, for as long as you can afford to do it. Read biographies of people who have overcome adversity on the path to achievement. (My go-tos for this are FDR, ER, and TR.) Find a non-profit to which you can offer pro bono professional services. Watch a comedy in the morning to start the day with a laugh. Really.
Forewarned is forearmed.
posted by jgirl at 8:19 AM on October 2
I've been looking since April, and I am getting desperate. Very.
do you hone in on what seems like a handful of legit positing and focus on those
Yes, that's the way. I'd stick with Indeed or Idealist, or go directly to the sites of organizations of interest to you. Or even CareerBuilder or Monster.
Frankly, the feed on LinkedIn is bad, bad, bad for my mental health and that of many other posters who have mentioned this. Avoid it or very carefully skip posts from job seekers. Or create your own feed content to gain exposure, and ignore everything except comments on your own posts.
Another issue that is made obvious on LinkedIn is employers reposting jobs over and over and over. Posters on the LinkedIn feed talk about this constantly. I've been applying to jobs at Guidehouse (within days after my job loss I got immediate hiring-manager response from them on my first app), and one of them has been reposted for the third time with a note that there are over 100 applicants. What do they want???
Now, it's true that the applicant number on LinkedIn reflects clicks on the "Apply" button and not actual applicants, but, still.
Work your contacts. I found something on LinkedIn yesterday, with the firm employing a LI connection I knew 20 years ago. I sent my materials to her, and she responded immediately asking me to email them. It was heartening, at least.
Then there's the issue of employers posting fake jobs on job boards to build their resume coffers or to motivate their employees.
You might get contacted by recruiters about roles that are absolutely outlandish. They throw stuff against the wall to see if it sticks, and that makes no sense given that it's not a candidate's market right now. I recently got two calls from a recruiter who insisted I apply and be interviewed for a job as a chemist somewhere in the Midwest. The words "chemist" and "chemistry" do not appear in any of my online profiles or my resume. But as another recruiter later explained, the words "analysis," "reporting," "data," and "policy" prompted this. Beyond absurd. I also managed to get a rejection email about a job I never applied for and did not know about. Things are really screwy out there.
Make sure you get exercise and in-person socialization. A team sport would be great; mine is saving me (so far). Eat really well and healthfully, for as long as you can afford to do it. Read biographies of people who have overcome adversity on the path to achievement. (My go-tos for this are FDR, ER, and TR.) Find a non-profit to which you can offer pro bono professional services. Watch a comedy in the morning to start the day with a laugh. Really.
Forewarned is forearmed.
posted by jgirl at 8:19 AM on October 2
I recently got two calls from a recruiter who insisted I apply and be interviewed for a job as a chemist somewhere in the Midwest. The words "chemist" and "chemistry" do not appear in any of my online profiles or my resume.
Have you heard this story?
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:28 AM on October 2
Have you heard this story?
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:28 AM on October 2
Have you heard this story?
Well, that covers "start the day with a laugh"!
Thank you! Next up, eat healthfully and go to team practice at 12:30!
posted by jgirl at 8:36 AM on October 2
Well, that covers "start the day with a laugh"!
Thank you! Next up, eat healthfully and go to team practice at 12:30!
posted by jgirl at 8:36 AM on October 2
Also recommending finding the openings on indeed, etc. but actually sending your application through the link from company’s website.
My favorite story of a robot screening my resume is that I’d had a line on my resume about how I’d “developed automated sales processes”, which got me a bunch of emails from car dealerships, because the robot had somehow parsed that line as equivalent to “auto sales”.
posted by Jon_Evil at 9:38 AM on October 2
My favorite story of a robot screening my resume is that I’d had a line on my resume about how I’d “developed automated sales processes”, which got me a bunch of emails from car dealerships, because the robot had somehow parsed that line as equivalent to “auto sales”.
posted by Jon_Evil at 9:38 AM on October 2
To add to Andrew's point: Please look into the book 2-Hour Jobsearch by Steve Dalton for strategies on how to implement what Andrew is advocating.
It helped me when I was making a career change in my mid 40s.
posted by indianbadger1 at 9:39 AM on October 2
It helped me when I was making a career change in my mid 40s.
posted by indianbadger1 at 9:39 AM on October 2
Recruiter here with a suggestion for using LinkedIn to connect with a good recruiter. Seek the profiles of individuals who are doing the job you want to get. Ask them for the name(s) of the quality (important adjective) recruiter(s) they regularly hear from.
Contact that recruiter and use the individual's name as "so-and-so referred me to you."
posted by John Borrowman at 9:52 AM on October 2
Contact that recruiter and use the individual's name as "so-and-so referred me to you."
posted by John Borrowman at 9:52 AM on October 2
I am starting a new job on Monday that I found via LinkedIn. I have found LinkedIn to be very useful as a job posting aggregator. I always click through and apply on the company’s website; sometimes you discover the posting is actually closed. The main thing is not getting discouraged when that happens. Also, ignore everything else on LinkedIn except the jobs tab.
posted by bluloo at 12:26 PM on October 2
posted by bluloo at 12:26 PM on October 2
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posted by AndrewInDC at 6:57 AM on October 2