Job boards

There are a great variety of job boards across the web. These range from a basic listings site which simply enables you to make a search of jobs fitting your criteria to huge sites that offer advice, networking and CV hosting.




Here are some of the main job boards and an idea of what they offer.

• Monster is one of the biggest worldwide job boards. As well as a search function they offer Career Tool and Advice. You can upload your CV for employers to search or join their networking group BeKnown. There is also a facility to sign up for Job Alerts; if you fill out your criteria for a job they will email you with matching jobs as and when they come up. They also have iPhone and Android apps and Advice Forums. You can connect to them via Twitter and Facebook as well. Monster is also an international company so try their Site Selection page to choose a new location abroad for your job hunt.
• Jobsite is a British site that started simply as a Jobs By Email (Job Alerts) site. It has grown to include Searchable Jobs, Career Advice, and CV hosting. They are also on Twitter and Facebook. Jobsite advertise on UK TV, currently featuring Max Beesley.
• JobServe, also British, make sure every job and CV is checked by a person to ensure nothing on the site is out of date.
• Total Jobs is another British board offering all the usual services but in their Careers Advice they also offer advice on Life At Work.
• CV Library offer the main services but also promote CVs through a network of other sites, the list of which proves just how many job sites there are out there.

A number of news publications offer a job board with many of the same features as the above boards.

• The Guardian aims at "an audience comprising high quality jobseekers just like you, we only list the highest calibre vacancies"
• The New Statesman  "focuses on attracting the unique and diverse jobseekers reading the New Statesman." 
• Jobsearch is provided by Trinity Mirror Group who publish The Mirror a host of local newspapers around the country and also provide Fish 4 Jobs.
• Jobs 24 comes from Archant who publish a lot of local newspapers.

Then there are the recruitment agencies, many of which have High Street branches, that offer similar services again.

• Reed
• Adecco
• Office Angels
• Blue Arrow
• Hays
• Or try Agency Central to find more specialised or local agencies

Most of these boards and recruiters are generalists, aiming to reach the broadest possible audience. This of course means that the esoteric and unusual jobs you might be hunting for are not listed there, or might be hard to find if they are. It is worth searching these boards though, or setting up email alerts, as that special job might be listed and you don't want to miss it.


You could also try other listings sites that have a jobs section, like Gumtree, FreeAds or Friday Ad.

When filling in your job criteria it is important to get the right balance between specific and general. If your search is too vague then you may find yourself inundated with results that are not close enough to your requirements. If you are too specific you may not get very many jobs. You can widen or narrow your search using criteria such as salary and location very easily, choosing the words to describe the sort of job you want is a trickier proposition and you may need to trial and error some phrases; for example the search term theatre may result in jobs in a surgical theatre, while the word stage may bring up Key Stage teaching jobs,

Please note, all the advice and services here should be free. If you are asked to make a payment for anything please do check the authenticity of the service, even if they claim to guarantee you a job.

Where to go when job hunting

The obvious places to look for a job are the big employment websites.

The Guardian Newspaper's Careers section serves a variety of functions for the job hunter, from a search facility and email news on jobs to articles and advice. A high proportion of its content is aimed at graduates and professionals but a lot of the advice is just as applicable to less conventional career paths.

Monster is one of the largest such sites in the world and as such is geared to the most common types of job hunt. It was one of the first such sites, set up in America, but its UK branch is just as extensive. As well as offering job searches and lists of employers, it has a Career Advice section and Career Snapshots giving insight into jobs that are out there. They also publish the Monster Employment Index which is an analysis of what trends in online recruiting have done each month. It also hosts BeKnown a networking app on Facebook.

Similar networks are offered by BranchOut, again on Facebook, and LinkedIn is probably one of the best known networking sites. It is advisable to exercise some caution when sending your CV to any website. Make sure you don't include any personal data, like address or NI number. Never pay for job introductions and try to verify that job offers are authentic via other websites. Be aware of the types of scam you might encounter.

(See also; our post on Online Resumes for more on networking and promoting yourself)

Men at Work

More esoteric jobs though, particularly artisanal or freelance positions will not be suitable for massive job search websites. People looking for such individual employees may well be overwhelmed by large numbers of applicants and so feel that they need to advertise their position to a much smaller audience. This means though that they are harder to find, especially for people looking to move into the sector. Often these adverts will be advertised with professional societies or in trade magazines so it is worth trying to find out what resources are offered in your chosen niche.

Local newspapers are also more likely to have local adverts for jobs in smaller organisations.

Life Coaches

There are lots of life coaches offering careers guidance and tips on their websites, many offer a free Newsletter as well.
Here are some of the best I have found, in no particular order.

• Carol Ann Rice
• Suzy Greaves 
• Careershifters
• Job Seekers Advice

Find life and career tips to help you stretch your wings