Searching for Opportunities

There was a time when advertising jobs was expensive and extremely difficult to do.  This led to the rule of thumb that 80% of jobs are unpublished and make up the “hidden job market.”  The job market was never hidden.  The logistics of advertising jobs was difficult and job seekers did not have a simple way to search efficiently.

Today, all a company needs is a webpage and they can start promoting their jobs around the world.  Companies want to hire the best people and actively try to attract these individuals.  Few jobs today are kept secret and typically these are only senior level positions.  The reason the company doesn’t disclose the search is usually because there is only one person in the position in the company and that person is going to be replaced. 

The vast majority of jobs are actively advertised by companies.  This doesn’t make it easy to find all the opportunities.  There are so many advertised jobs and places to look it can be overwhelming just sorting through the listings. 

When companies advertise jobs, they will usually use a number of tools.  The company website is the first place jobs appear.  After that, the jobs may be posted on community sites, niche job boards and the big job boards.  Many of these sites charge significant fees to post jobs, so it is rare for a company to post on all the big job sites.  This makes it essential for a job seeker to use a variety of sites to find a position. 

Two of the tools to make the process easier for job seekers are Indeed and SimplyHired.  Both sites are job aggregators.  They search the web for jobs listed on other sites and repost them.  The search functions have some limitations because the jobs come from such varied sources, but this is more than made up for by the ease of searching so many sources at once. 

Active job seekers should use one of these tools.  Both have email alerts and RSS feeds to update the job seeker about new jobs that fit saved searches.  This can help ensure the job seeker does not miss a good opportunity. 

Using these tools should not replace all other job search tools.  As broad as the selection of jobs is, no tool is completely comprehensive.  Using a job aggregator along with a variety of job sites that suit the specific goals of the job seeker can provide a comprehensive approach to finding opportunities.