10 Tips to Using Job Boards to Finding Your Job - Quickly
Job Seeker Blog
Job boards are an incredibly useful tool when searching for a job role online but are you using them to their full potential? There are some really useful things that can help you search and apply for jobs on job boards that you may not be aware of. Here we’ve listed our top 10 job board tips to help with your job search:
1. Job title
When searching on a job board one of the first things you’ll be asked for is a job title/skill. Here you should be thinking about the following:
- What is the industry? i.e. Sales
- What level am I? i.e. Executive
- Are there any other synonyms or terms for this? i.e. Sales Representative, Sales Advisor, Sales Coordinator, Sales Executive etc.
- What is my niche? i.e. Technical Sales Executive or Field Sales Executive
By asking yourself these questions you can narrow your search to something relevant for you and you can be confident that the results will more closely match what you’re looking for. If you don’t find something based on the key term you searched, try using another synonym as not every company uses the same job title.
Remember to think on a generic basis and try that first before going straight into something specialised and jargon-rich – you may think there’s not much out there based on the search results generated but really you’re searching for the wrong thing.
Also, remember that many companies are still learning the ropes on how to advertise too and it is common for employers to use job titles that no one has ever heard of. It may be worth thinking a little bit outside the box to broaden your search and perhaps pick up some vacancies that not many other people are applying for.
2. Location
The next thing you’ll be asked to search by is the location. It is advised you search by city or town, but you can search nationwide if that’s what you’re looking for. Avoid searching for small areas such as villages as these aren’t likely to be listed on job boards. If you are searching for field-based roles, consider looking for jobs in different towns or cities. In most cases, employers can only advertise jobs in one postcode location and are relying on you to widen your search to find them.
3. Distance
Most job boards allow you to specify a distance in your search, this is the search radius around the location you have specified. So if you put Bradford in your location search and then select a 5-mile radius, jobs within this geographical area will also be displayed.
Remember to think realistically here – Can you travel to the area? Does it have good transport links? Is it worth a 40-minute commute for the salary?
If you are searching for field-based roles, consider looking for jobs in different towns or cities or widening your search results to as big as possible. In most cases, employers can only advertise jobs in one postcode location and are relying on you to widen your search to find them.
4. Salary
The salary field is often hidden away in the ‘advanced’ search usually after you search for the title and location...but this doesn’t mean you should ignore it. The salary is a great way to only show jobs that are suitable for your level – most job boards allow you to select a salary range and some have a sliding bar or an open text box for you to fill. Try to keep your bracket realistic with a £5k - £10k parameter.
A really useful tip to know is that by setting the salary bracket you are filtering results by anything that matches that. This includes jobs described as ‘negotiable’ or ‘competitive’. If you set your bracket to £20k-£25k and some competitive jobs come up you can rest assured that these jobs are only coming up because they match your criteria! Useful huh?
5. Sort by
In the advanced search, you can also sort by contract. This means you can stipulate whether you are looking for a permanent, contract, full time or part-time role. Again, narrowing your search to enable the most relevant jobs to come up.
Sorting your search by more than the title and location will restrict the search results to more manageable and relevant numbers – phew, you don’t have to wade through irrelevant advert after irrelevant advert.
6. Make your CV searchable
When you’re signed up to a job board you can go into your account and make your CV visible or hidden. Some employers search a job board database to find applicants for their roles and if your CV is visible then you will come up in these searches (depending on whether your skills match their criteria). You’ll most likely be contacted by recruitment agencies as well...if you don’t mind this then this might be a good way for you to get in front of more hiring companies.
7. Check out the competition
On job boards, there are two ways to do this. Some job boards show you how many applications a job vacancy has received – you can use this information to suss out your future job position. If a lot of people have applied for the role, then you need to make sure your CV and cover letter display you as best as possible. Make sure that your CV and cover letter are tailored to the job role to stand out above and beyond the other applicants. If there aren’t many applications then you can go in confidently and perhaps be able to negotiate a little more flexible during the interview process.
Another way of using your competition to your advantage is that often when you apply for a job, there is a list of suggested jobs that come up along the side. This says something like ‘other people also applied for’ or ‘you may be interested in’. These jobs come up based on what other people like you are interested in and thus can cut down your search time a little as you use the technology to filter out the jobs.
8. Save job
We all know job hunting can get a little tedious at times and sometimes we’re just not committed to spending hours every evening or our whole weekends doing it. Luckily, job boards now have a ‘save job’ function which means you can save jobs that interest you onto your account to come back to when it suits you. This is particularly good for those hefty application forms that you really have to dedicate an hour or two.
9. Email alerts
Another savvy time-saving gadget is the facility to set up email alerts. Most job boards allow you to set up alerts which notify you via your inbox directly when jobs come up that match your search criteria. This reduces the amount of search time you need to put in to keep up to date with what jobs are out there.
10. Save CV
Remember to save your CV on your job board account, this means that the next time you find a job to apply for your CV is already there and applying is literally just clicking a button.
It also means that when you’re searching on-the-go, such as on your phone or tablet, you can apply from there too. There used to be big trouble with job hunting on mobile devices because they didn’t support the apply process (i.e. they didn’t have the ability to store and upload your CV easily) so now that it is saved to your job board account, it doesn’t need to be stored on your phone anymore...boom, problem solved!
For more handy tips on finding your perfect job, see our other articles below:
• Things to Avoid When Searching for Jobs on The Internet
• Using LinkedIn to Find a Job