Using Job Boards Effectively

General Thoughts About Job Searches With Job Boards

This post resulted from helping my son do a job search while I was also searching for a new project manager contract. It was a good time to reflect on how to use job boards and their effectiveness in finding a job.

First, the best way to find work is through networking and professional relationships. Most of my employment has come from existing personal contacts. My son’s past employment has come from an internship and contacts. If you are in school, get an internship and part-time work to make connections and get your feet in the door for a job when you graduate.

Overall, it takes some effort to find jobs you qualify for using a job board since it can be saturated with outdated jobs that have been filled or jobs with unreasonable requirements. You want to evaluate when a job was posted, by whom, the job posting’s employment qualifications, and determine how you match up before submitting an application. Some job boards will do skills matching for you and let you know what skills your resume needs to include compared to the job post. Consider using this information to review and clarify the skills and experiences on your resume.

Interesting Statistics on Job Search Outcomes

I asked Microsoft Copilot (which is ChatGPT), “What percent of jobs are found using job boards .” Copilot’s response came up with several resources worth reviewing, and its summary was as follows:

“Roughly 50% of job applications come from job boards, according to recent statistics. However, it’s important to note that networking plays a significant role in the job search process, with about 85% of all jobs being filled through networking.”

Here is a list of interesting job statistics from “Job Board Statistics 2024 – Everything You Need to Know” at https://webinarcare.com/best-job-board-software/job-board-statistics/. To paraphrase some of the statistics from the article:

A most job postings are not available online; 60 percent of jobs are found through networking.
Less than 1% of candidates who apply for jobs through job boards and career sites are offered the positions.
The second most popular method for finding a job is hearing about it from a friend (45% of candidates).
12% of all candidates who applied for jobs are invited to an interview. Of those interviewed, 28% got a job offer.
According to ZipRecruiter, 80 percent of employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate through the site in just one day.
In 2018, 57 percent of hiring professionals decided not to hire a candidate based on content found on social media.
For 58% of candidates hired since 2018, the job search process lasted less than 2 months.
43% of candidates say they received a job offer within 2 weeks of the interview.
Over 98% of Fortune 500 companies use Applicant Tracking Systems and other hiring algorithms.
LinkedIn is becoming less widespread; only 77% of recruiters used LinkedIn in 2018, compared to 92% in 2017.

Challenges of Using Job Boards

There are thousands of job postings; the problem is finding the few real jobs that you qualify for. In sales terminology, you want to fill the funnel with qualified job postings to increase your chances of getting a job interview. Take the time to read a job posting and map your skills to what the job is asking for. It’s helpful to make a checklist and match your resume against the job posting for the following:

Job title – Your job titles of past positions should be similar to the job posting.
Years of experience – You must be in the ballpark on this.
Education – This is a mandatory requirement to meet.
Special skills required – These are mandatory to meet.
Certifications – These are mandatory to meet.
Job location – You are more likely to get a job response if you are local to the job. The exception to this suggestion is if you have specialized skills and want to relocate.
Type of work – Make sure this matches your needs. For example, since I do contract, I filter to select contract only job postings.
Salary – Be within their range. Apply for a job that offers a salary that meets your needs unless there is something special about the job’s potential experience that warrants taking a low salary or contract rate.
Type of interview – If you get an interview, it is usually a web-conference or in-person interview. I avoid taking video recorded interviews, which might be scored by an AI system. While there are indications that the use of video interviewing is growing among companies, you don’t have to accept these impersonal interviews. I like to talk to the people interested in hiring me. Being given a video interview by a company is not the type of company I want to work for.
Be prepared for testing as part of the job application to qualify for a job. Some job boards will post jobs where you must take a test as part of the online application. Sometimes, this is valid; other times, I avoid these jobs since they indicate the type of company you would be working for.
Job postings go out of date. Check the company site for the job posting you are interested in to ensure that the position is still open.
If you are a pending graduate, the job boards list some internships. However, you can also find internships by visiting the companies you are interested in and doing an Internet search on “internships.”

Your Resume Should Be ATS-Friendly

Corporations use AI Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to qualify your resume. These systems look for keywords and experiences to decide who gets passed on to HR as a qualified job candidate. There are tons of job resume articles, job resume writing software, and coaches who want to help you get past the ATS system. However, developing the skills to write your resume to pass through these systems is best before spending dollars on the experts or resume software. Here are some considerations to make your resume ATS system-friendly:

Make sure you are using industry keywords on your resume that are used in the job posting. Many job boards can help you find keywords.
Use job titles on your resume that are common for the industry, and that are used on the job posting.
Most sites will show you a drop-down with keyword titles. I first list job titles to search for since similar titles can lead to additional job postings.
Ensure your resume is in an ATS-friendly format by using standard margins, single column, single line spacing, and a common font and point size such as 12-point Times New Roman.
Use typical section headings like Summary, Experience, Education, Certifications, Training, Awards, and Publications.
Use a standard date format (mm-yyyy to mm-yyyy) for the duration of your job positions.
Limit the use of bullet points. Try to do at most 1 level of indentions.
Put your resume through a spelling and grammar checker. This is a must.
Submit a resume in PDF format if possible.
If you use an AI system to write your resume or cover letter, be sure that it does not use over-the-top language to make you look better. In some cases, reviewers will notice that you used an AI system and get you disqualified.
Do a plagiarism check to see if the AI system used text that comes from Internet sources.

Know How to Use the Job Board

Some top-end job boards to use these days are LinkedIn, Indeed, and Zip Recruiter. Monster and Dice are older job boards and are still out there.
Some top-end job boards allow recruiters to search for your resume and invite you for a job discussion. It’s worth making sure your job-board information is up to date.
Note, that there is a breed of parasitic job boards that scan other job boards to copy their postings and send them to you. I avoid these. Also, you should recognize the job board sending a posting to your email to avoid phishing attempts.
Once you pick a couple of job boards to use, read the tips on uploading your resume and for filling out the profile information used by employers to find you on the job board. You don’t need to fill out everything the job board asks for-this is a judgement call.
You don’t have to convert your resume to the job board’s format since you may want to tailor it to each job posting you are applying for and attach it to the application.
Again, some job sites may list for you the skills you need for a job posting. This is worth looking at since you may have the skills but have not used the right keywords in your resume. Consider modifying your resume to clarify your skills before making a submission.

Know how to use job board filters to find the latest postings and jobs you are qualify for. The usual filters I like to use are as follows:

Posting date – I use the last 24 hours and apply for jobs the same day. By the second day, the number of applications for a posting can get be high, and it’s doubtful that the employer will look at this large number of resumes, especially if an ATS system is being used to limit the number of applications being submitted.
Location – Pick your current location unless the area you want to work in is somewhere else, and you can relocate. Relocation may be at your own expense. In addition, employers may not want to consider you if you live in the area of the job and the work does not have a remote option.
Distance – Pick the miles you are willing to travel to the job.
Credentials – You can limit jobs that are looking for specific credentials. This can be useful. As a project manager, I sometimes filter for “PMP” or “CSM” credentials.
Company – This is an interesting filter to try if you want to work for a specific company. Some job boards list the number of postings by company, or you can look up a company.
Number of applications – Some job boards list how many applicants have applied for the job posting. This is not a filter. If the pool of job applicants goes past 20, I don’t bother.

Keep a list of jobs you applied for and whether you hear back. In the past, would modify my resume after 20 “no” or “ghosting” responses. But given the hyper-competition for jobs these days, you may want to increase this number before considering if your resume needs revision.

Remember to Network

As mentioned, don’t just depend on the job boards. Network and list people you know to call when searching for a job. Professionals and students can use local professional meetings to meet people and search for opportunities. Volunteering is another avenue to get to know people and network. But don’t just network unthinkingly; find people and professionals you have common professional and non-professional interests.

References

Job Board Statistics 2024 – Everything You Need to Know https://webinarcare.com/best-job-board-software/job-board-statistics/

The Ultimate List of Job Search Statistics, Trends And Facts 2024. https://zety.com/blog/job-search-statistics

Statista – https://www.statista.com/topics/2727/online-recruiting/.