In this final post in my three-part series of online job hunting, I will describe where and how to post your online resume to ensure it is found by the most employers and recruiters possible. What are the best job sites? How do you keep your resume at the top of the results?
Online job sites (Image courtesy of http://www.visualcv.com)
In the first post of this trilogy, I discussed how to use search optimization and job postings to research keywords to use in your online resume in Online Resume Keyword Research – Online Job Hunting with SEO: Part I of III.
Next, I described tips for using recruiter-friendly wording and layout in writing your resume to make your online resume a recruiter magnet in Writing a search optimized online resume- Online Job Hunting with SEO: Part II of III.
So, now you’ve written a killer resume and included all the important industry and job-related keywords to ensure it shows up on the majority of searches by recruiters and human resource personnel. Where and how do you post your online resume?
RESUME POSTING TIPS
First, some tips on posting your resume.
1) JOB SEARCH AGENTS: Set up automated job search agents on each site to send you email alerts with jobs that fit your profile. However, I’ll warn you that I don’t find these work very well for job types that may have a variety of titles. So use it for a reminder to go do a search yourself every couple of days…
2) REFRESH YOUR RESUME WEEKLY: These sites work on the LIFO (Last In, First Out) policy in that the most recently uploaded resumes show up at the top of the search results for the recruiters, when all search criteria is equal. This gives the “freshest meat” to recruiters searching and shows the newest candidates first. Therefore, you need to go in at least once a week and “refresh” your resume to keep yours rising to the top. This could mean clicking on the “Refresh Your Resume” link as in 6FigureJobs.com, or actually making a slight change (like one word) on your resume then saving the new version. This will make your resume “new”. I also recommend adding keywords based on job ads that you read.
3) BEWARE OF SPAMMER JOB SITES: Be very careful of posting your resume with personal information on some of the marginal job sites. Many allow spammers to skim off email addresses (or worse your personal information!) and send you spam or even steal your identity. Don’t use those resume submission engines, either, since they are considered spam by the legitimate job sites.
4) DON’T POST TOO MUCH PERSONAL INFORMATION ONLINE: Don’t include personal information that could be stolen for identity theft. I created a free Yahoo email address that I use just for online resumes as a contact email, and don’t usually list my full name (I use initials), home phone or my actual address on my online resume. Don’t include birthdate, either.
5) SALARY RANGES: The key is to make your resume easily searchable by humans or automated search bots. For example, keep your salary requirements below cut-off ranges, so post $99,999 vs. $100,000 if you want this amount, or even better, list lower than you want. If they like you, they tend to pay after they know you, but most HR people put in even numbers like $100,000 or just under threshold numbers like $199,999 as their maximum salary range when searching for your resume.
6) CROSS LINKING: Include links to your other online resumes, profiles and testimonials. The more recruiters and employers can confirm that you are who you say you are, the more likely you will get the interview… and the job.
RESUME POSTING SITES
Why do you have to post your resume on different web sites? Well, each of them charge recruiters and companies to use them, so many times a company will do a deal with only one of the sites to save money. Therefore, a particular job may only show up on a single job web site, and not the others. Likewise, recruiters may not pay to search for resumes and candidates on ALL the web sites, and may only use one or two of the job hunt sites to that they are most comfortable with. Therefore, it behooves you to post on multiple sites to ensure you are on the ones your recruiter uses.
Where to post your resume? I post my full resume on the following legitimate job posting sites:
- www.monster.com- Was the top job hunt site, but its high prices and identity theft problems has created openings for some of the other sites. Still critical to have your resume on here.
- www.careerbuilder.com- Many top companies are using this site now. Very inconvenient to upload new versions of your resume, as you have to reconfigure your personal data each time.
- www.6figurejobs.com– for jobs with salaries of $100,000 and up only. Tends to be cheaper for recruiters to use, so it remains a valuable site to post your resume.
- www.dice.com (for technical and web-related candidates only). This is THE top site for technical jobs, and may have recruiters looking for ecommerce executives as well, or salespeople for technical companies.
- www.indeed.com This is a search engine of multiple job sites, and has recently added the ability to post resumes as well. However, I do not see where employers can search resumes yet, so I am not sure how useful this is yet except that Indeed gives you a personalized URL for your resume that you can use in other posts.
SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES
In addition to the normal job and resume posting sites listed above, it has become critical for serious professionals to create and maintain accurate online profiles at the various social networking sites. The important ones include:
- www.LinkedIn.com
- LinkedIn has become a very important site for all US professionals wishing to network or job hunt, since employers have told me that they use this site first to look for potential candidates, particularly those who have worked for a competitor. For LinkedIn, create a truncated version of your optimized online resume there, mark that you’re looking for job opportunities, look up friends and acquaintances and ask them to link to you as well as write you online recommendations to increase the visibility of your profile. Make sure you include your alternate keywords, perhaps under the Interests section, but you will be limited as to the number of worlds.
- www.jobster.com
- This is just starting to grow in use. If you already have an account on Facebook or LinkedIn, you can import your information into Jobster, making it easier to get started.
- www.plaxo.com
- Not a networking site per se, this is a way to keep your address book updated for life if your friends and contacts use it as well. I’ve had a few recruiter contacts come from this as well.
JOB SEARCH SITES
One your resume is posted, you will want to continue job searching and applying, using your online resume. You also want to continue to hone your resume with keywords and additional phrases as needed that you glean from relevant job postings. Here are some of the better job sites to hunt for jobs (other than the company’s site itself):
General Online Job Boards:
- LinkedIn Jobs Board: http://www.linkedin.com/jobs
- Monster.com: www.monster.com (includes Hot Jobs’ listings)
- CareerBuilder: www.careerbuilder.com
- Indeed job search portal: www.indeed.com
Executive Jobs of $100K +
- 6FigureJobs: https://www.6figurejobs.com/ Free site for job hunters and recruiters for jobs paying six figure salaries. Cheaper for recruiters than Monster or CareerBuilder.
- The Ladders http://www.theladders.com/ Paid job hunting site for $100K+ jobs. Some people have used this successfully, but since you have to pay to respond to recruiters, I don’t use it. I get better results from LinkedIn.
Local Newspaper web sites: search the JOBS or Help Wanted sections of the web sites of your major local newspapers, like:
- New York Times: http://jobmarket.nytimes.com/pages/jobs/
- Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/public/page/news-career-jobs.html
- The Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wl/jobs/home?nav=cbsplash
- The Los Angeles Times: http://www.latimes.com/classified/jobs/
Specialized Job Boards: Certain industries have their own web sites and rules for recruiting.
- Technology Jobs
- www.dice.com (for technical and ecommerce candidates only). This is THE top site for technical jobs, and may have recruiters looking for ecommerce executives as well, or salespeople for technical companies.
- http://www.techcareers.com/ is another IT job site.
- Nonprofit Jobs:
- http://www.idealist.org/ lists full-time, intern and volunteer jobs in not-for-profit sector.
- The Chronicle of Philanthropy http://philanthropy.com/section/Jobs/224/
- Government Jobs: The federal government has its own job board as well. To learn about available federal jobs and the application process, go to www.usajobs.gov.
Marketing, Advertising and PR Jobs
For jobs in the marketing, advertising, and public relations fields, there are a number of specialized sites you can search.
Public Relations Jobs:
- PR Week Jobs Board http://www.prweekjobs.com/
- PR Crossing http://www.prcrossing.com/#
- PR Job Force http://www.prjobforce.com/
- Public Relations Society of America Jobs Board http://www.prsa.org/jobcenter/career_resources/resource_type/specialization_areas/public_relations/
Marketing Jobs
In addition to trade magazines, industry associations you may belong to often have jobs sections on their web sites, or send job announcement emails. Sign up for these, as they are in your field.
- The Direct Marketing Association Job Bank: http://jobbank.the-dma.org/search.cfm
- Talent Zoo: http://www.talentzoo.com/ Find jobs in advertising, marketing, creative, new media and digital industries
- MarketingSherpa: http://www.marketingsherpa.com/career_jobs.html
- MarketingProfs Career Center: http://www.marketingprofs.com/jobbank/index.asp
- MediaPost: You’ll need to sign up for a free account to access their job board www.mediapost.com
- Target Marketing Group Job Connection: http://jobs.targetmarketingmag.com includes jobs from marketing industry magazines like Catalog Success, Target Marketing, eMarketing and Commerce, and others.
- Shop.org Online Retail Job Postings: http://www.shop.org/joblistings/joblistings.aspx
- Good Experience Job Openings Blog: http://goodexperience.com/blog/archives/cat_job_openings.php
So now you’re ready to conquer the online job market! Happy (job) hunting!
QUESTION FOR MY READERS: Do you have any tips or links for posting online resumes? Share them in a comment!
– Michele Bartram
Web Practices Blog by Michele Bartram 
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