Top job sites for your job search
Are you starting a job search?
Have a look at the video below and read our career advice to find the top job search sites that are suitable for your job search.
What is a Job Site?
A job site or job board is where companies or recruiters post up jobs that they are actively recruiting for. Generally, you can search for jobs by sector and location on the sites. There are some main sites, such as Indeed, Total Jobs and CV Library who also have extra information or services. For example, you can post up your CV on CV-Library and find companies that are hiring on Total Jobs. Over the years, the amount of job sites has increased dramatically and there are now sites for specific sectors and types of work, such as part-time work.
Jobs can be posted by companies and so it is obvious who is recruiting. Recruitment agencies tend to post jobs anonymously. The reason for this is that the agency does not want competitors to know the company they are recruiting for. This avoids the competitor finding candidates, sending them to the organisation and potentially getting the fee for the placement. You may also see that a job is advertised by several recruitment agencies. This is because a company may brief more than one agency to find candidates. If your details are submitted to the organisation by two agencies, generally the company takes the CV from the agency who provided the CV first. It is good to be upfront
Job sites should be used as part of your job search strategy. Networking (on and offline) and using recruitment consultants should also be part of your job search.
What are the best jobs sites to search?
Recruiters, whether that be HR professionals or recruitment consultants tend to post on the job sites that are most relevant for the role that they are recruiting for. That might not be your favourite job site. So it is worthwhile researching the sites that are used by your job sector. It may well be useful to have a few that you use regularly.
How do I use job sites effectively?
On most job sites, you can set up searches or Job Alerts. Set the job alert up by job name and location. Some sites have more complex search criteria. Remember to set up searches for different job titles. For example, if you are looking for a role as a buyer, it could also be called a category manager or purchasing manager. You can set up the results of the searches to come to you every day or every week, whichever works best for you.
Some sites, such as CV -Library allow you to post your CV. This means recruiters can search the CV’s and will get in touch with you if your CV is of interest. Remember to make sure you have the important keywords on your CV, or else it will be missed. Think - if I was looking for someone to fill the sort of job I want, what words would I use to search on?
Top Sites for General Search
Have a look at the video above. Here are my recommendations for the top job boards for a general search:
LinkedIn - not strictly a pure job site but it has to be at the top as it is the most powerful site for searching for a job. Employers can add jobs onto the site and you can search for jobs. LinkedIn is intuitive as it suggests jobs for you around your CV. It is a networking site and if you get your profile right, employers will approach you.
Indeed - one of the busiest job boards. Employers can post jobs for free and it is an international platform. There are also company reviews and salary information to check out.
CV-Library - a job search site but also upload your CV for employers to find you.
Reed - on Reed.co.uk you can search for jobs, upload your CV, search for courses and there is also a good section on career advice.
Total Jobs - This is another big job search platform. You can also search by companies hiring and search courses and career advice.
Top Sites for Specific Searches
If you are looking for a specific sector or type of role, it is worth finding a job board that specialises in that field. Here are some sites below:
Glassdoor - this is also a general job search site. But it is incredibly useful as a site to research companies. Current and previous employees report what the company is like to work for. There is also a section on interviews. If the company is big enough there is information about the type of interviews and interview questions asked.
Jobs.ac.uk - this is a jobs search platform for careers in academic, research, science and related professions.
Good Moves - one of the best sites for jobs in civil society, charity and voluntary sectors. Also worth a try is CharityJob
GuardianJobs - this is also a site for jobs in charity, the public sector, marketing and government jobs. For jobs in the public sector try the Gov.uk site Find a job (dwp.gov.uk), In Scotland try MyJobScotland . For NHS and NHS Scotland
Need more? Type in the job title you are searching for into Google and see what comes up.
I am Diana Dawson, Founder of Working Career. As a Professional Career Coach, Career Psychologist, Career Counsellor, Career Consultant, Executive Coach and Wellbeing at Work Coach, I work with organisations and individuals to help manage their careers.
I am an Accredited Master Coach with the Association for Coaching, a Coaching Psychologist and Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist with nearly 20 years of experience in the field.
I work with professional people from different sectors and backgrounds to cope and flourish at work. I also run Career Workshops and Wellbeing Workshops for organisations.
I can provide one-to-one career coaching in Edinburgh or zoom sessions worldwide. I can provide Career Workshops at your organisation or remotely. Find out more about me here