By Barbara Hewitt
Two jobs sites that I love to “see what’s out there” are Indeed.com and SimplyHired.com. Both are job aggregators – search engines that crawl the web for jobs and then return a list based on the criteria you input. Both include job listings from thousands of employers as well as a wide range of job boards. You can start with a basic search including a keyword and a location for where you want to work. If you get too many results, you can always narrow your search further by criteria such as salary estimate, type of job (full-time, internship, contract, etc.), date of posting, etc. Both also allow you to set up a search agent so you will be alerted via email if jobs matching your criteria are posted.
Of course, given the huge number of jobs that can result from a search, you will want to be sure to try a variety of keywords that best describe what you are seeking. When I typed in “Analyst” and searched for jobs within 25 miles of Philadelphia on Indeed.com it returned 3762 jobs. Including “Marketing Analyst” returned 27, and “Operations Analyst” returned 41. Trying a variety of keywords is a smart move, as employers might advertise similar jobs with different keywords and titles.
Even if you aren’t actively looking for a job, aggregators can be great for researching what is out there. Let’s say you are studying Spanish and would really would like to use it in your job, but aren’t quite sure how. Type in “Spanish” and you will see all sorts of advertisements for jobs that would utilize this skill. Searches can also be extremely helpful in determining how you might best prepare for a specific type of career. Perhaps someone mentioned to you that you would make a good copywriter but you aren’t really clear what copywriters do. Enter it into one of the aggregators and very quickly you will find both the duties of copywriters at various employers and the kind of background they seek in candidates.
While aggregators will not find all the possible jobs out there, they can give you a broad overview of the market and lead you to opportunities you might otherwise never uncover. Of course, the most effective job seekers do more than just search the web – they also network, attend related conferences, and spend time crafting effective cover letters and resumes.
