Job boards, also known as job sites, are essential online platforms to use when looking for a new job. Very few people understand what these sites are and often confuse them with recruitment agencies. And, while they’re similar, they’re certainly not identical.
A job site will host job adverts on behalf of recruitment agencies and employers. You, as a job hunter, can search through these adverts to find your next role. You can also upload your CV to these websites to apply for any of the vacancies you come across – it really is that simple!
Recruitment agencies and employers will use job boards to find the ideal candidates for their roles. So, once you’ve uploaded your CV, companies that pay to use the job board’s services will be able to view it.
This means they may contact you if they think you’ll suit one of their vacancies. But don’t panic if you don’t want them to do this. You can easily hide your CV from recruiters and still apply for jobs.
Why use job boards?
Here’s our guide to using a job board like SATJOBS, including the top five reasons why they’re a major advantage to your job search.
1. Discover the latest opportunities
By using job boards, you can discover the latest opportunities that match your needs. Most job sites have advanced searching tools that enable you to discover the roles you’re looking for, quickly and easily.
The job criteria you can input includes keywords/job title, location, salary, job type and industry. You can even order the search results by the criterion that’s most relevant to you.
The best part about searching for jobs on a job board is that you can get really clever with the criteria you’re inputting by using Boolean searching operators. This can help to make your results even more specific, by uncovering job vacancies that relate exactly to the role you’re looking for.
2. The opportunity to be head hunted
If you’re using a job board, not only can you search for jobs, but you can also let the jobs come to you. As mentioned above, recruitment agencies and employers use job boards to find the right candidates for their vacancies.
This is a major advantage to your job hunt, as recruiters are essentially doing a lot of the searching for you. In most cases, recruiters will have a lot of roles they need to fill and will search CVs via keywords and Boolean techniques to find the right candidates.
If your CV is full of searchable keywords related to the role you’re looking for, e.g. ‘HR’, ‘digital marketing’, or ‘sales manager’, your CV will be pulled to the top of their search.
At that point, recruiters may choose to contact you and let you know they have a job that suits your experience and skills. Job searching never got so easy!
3. Research your ideal job
Because of the vast amount of jobs hosted on job boards, they’re an excellent platform to conduct some research if you need a little guidance on your career path.
For one, you may be unsure of the jobs you could land with your skill set. If this is the case, start searching for these skills as keywords (rather than job titles) to find your next move.
Alternatively, you may be interested to see what direction your career path could take. So, use the job board to search for job titles similar to your own and check out related roles.
You could also search for the job titles you’d like to have in the future and gain an insight into the skills and experience you’d need to progress.
On the other hand, you may want to know what salary you could be earning. Therefore searching job titles in specific locations may help aid your research. Many job boards also have useful salary guides.
4. Make the most of Job Alerts
A lot of job sites have useful features called Job Alerts. These alerts send jobs matching your criteria straight to your inbox; saving you plenty of time searching for the ideal opportunities.
For example, if you’re looking for a sales manager job in Manchester, set these keywords as your Job Alert criteria and you’re good to go. Your alerts will then send the latest jobs matching your criteria, allowing you to apply before the rest of the competition.
With Job Alerts, you can keep an eye on different locations, job titles or industries; so you’ll never miss a job again.
5. Check out the latest career advice
Many job boards will have a career advice blog in addition to hosting job postings. As the career advice is written by career experts, the blogs can be extremely beneficial to your job search.
The advice on these sites will guide you through every step of your career. If you’re just starting out, you can read up on anything from applying for your first job and getting your CV and cover letter in great shape; to interview preparation and tips.
For the more seasoned professional, you can also learn about career development, workplace practices and more.
Get started today
Clearly, job boards are a major advantage to your job search; offering plenty of ways to help you find your next career move. Try out some of these tips and you’ll instantly give your job search the competitive edge.
