The 8 Most Recommended Job Boards

Not all job boards are created equal. Although there are plenty to choose from, I want to share with you the 8 best job boards from a recruiter’s perspective. I’m going to break down why you might use one over the other, and why I recommend each one. As a head hunter and a recruiter, I used to use these job boards to find quality candidates just like you!

This isn’t by any means a comprehensive list, but I personally trust these job boards. I also know that other companies are utilizing them to find candidates based on the specific industry or function that they’re going for. So without further ado, let’s dive in! You can read the rest of this article, or feel free to watch the video below instead.

The 8 Best Job Boards From A Recruiter’s Perspective

Job Board Recommendation Number One:

Indeed.com is a really great marketplace for employers and hiring managers to post their jobs because it’s free for employers to post, which is really amazing if you think about it! A lot of the other job boards out there charge about $350 per posting or a really expensive annual fee of like $12,000 for a license. What I love about indeed from a candidate perspective is the advanced search feature as well as the weekly alerts feature. On the advanced search, you can specify exactly what you’re looking for and what you’re not looking for. You can save these search parameters and get notified weekly of any matches that come through.

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If any of you are watching from my Happily Hired Formula job search program, you know that I’m not a big fan of applying online. I still wouldn’t necessarily apply to the jobs that are coming through on indeed. However, it’s still a really great tool to get notified of growing companies in your area. From there, you can use that as research to determine whether or not you want to introduce yourself to that company.

Job Board Recommendation Number Two:

LinkedIn’s job page is actually quite interesting. They have a sophisticated algorithm in place that analyzes your profile for different keywords and experiences to determine or recommend jobs you might be interested in. So if you haven’t yet optimized your LinkedIn, be sure to read up on how to create a Linkedin profile optimized for job searching. Doing so will ensure that the jobs being recommended to you are actually of interest to you.

Generally speaking, LinkedIn has really high-quality jobs because it’s not cheap for companies to post on there or to have a license as a recruiter. So the jobs that you do see are pretty solid options! What’s also really great, is sometimes they give you further insights about, for instance, who posted the job. LinkedIn is, at heart, a social media platform that tries to connect people and give them channels to be able to introduce themselves.

Job Board Recommendation Number Three:

I always have to preface that this might sound sketchy, but I promise it’s not! If you watch my video about how to find a job ASAP, you’ll notice that a lot of the jobs on Craigslist are either small to medium size businesses who have less layers of recruiting, which is great for those that want to find a job quickly.

A lot of contract and temp positions are posted there as well. On Craigslist, you just want to make sure you go to the city you want to work in, look at all of the different functions to find the right fit for you, and just scroll through some of the search results that come up. I think you’ll be surprised at some of the big companies that are also posting there as well.

Job Board Recommendation Number Four:

AngelList, or Angel.co, is a really great resource if you’re looking for a VC backed company or an early-stage startup. If you want to join a tech company at its earliest stages, this is really the place to be. What I like about AngelList is that they believe in salary transparency. If you look at the jobs that are posted, you’ll notice they have salary ranges in place, which is really helpful for job seekers.

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Even if you don’t end up finding any jobs there, you can take advantage of their salary transparency by cross-referencing salary data points from one company to another. Go ahead and take a look at what they have listed for different titles!

Job Board Recommendation Number Five:

FairyGodBoss is a really great community for women. They do an excellent job of finding companies that are friendly towards women. Through the vetting that FairyGodBoss does, you can be sure that the values, workplace environment, and benefits of jobs posted there are truly aligned towards the working woman. I have actually submitted quite a bit of career advice to their blog! They have a really great blog full of resources for anything that’s woman-related and workplace-related. So take a look at that and let’s move on to number six.

Job Board Recommendation Number Six:

What’s really interesting is I attract a lot of really hard centered professionals, which I love. A lot of the people that I work with are wanting to make a greater impact on the world and their communities, and just want to contribute and give back in any way that they can.

So one of the things that I’ve realized is a lot of them are looking for cause-based companies or organizations. And one of the best job boards that has really compiled companies and opportunities that are in line with this mission is Idealist.org. Idealist.org has a really great database of companies and organizations that are hiring people who want to leave the world a better place than they found it. They focus on mission-based roles, which can be extremely useful if you find yourself gravitating towards those types of positions.

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Job Board Recommendation Number Seven:

If you’re in a highly technical role, you’ve probably heard of Dice.com. Technical recruiters are on dice quite frequently, whether they’re posting jobs or looking through their database of candidates. If you’re looking for some type of tech role, this is the job board for you. I would absolutely post your resume in there and refresh it every week or so to make sure that you’re being seen by recruiters who are looking for a candidate just like you. I know that the tech world is very fast-moving and there’s always a shortage of tech talent, so Dice.com is the place to be if you’re in tech.

Job Board Recommendation Number Eight:

The final recommendation I have for you is the professional organizations or associations that you’re a part of. If you go to any professional organization, let’s say for example, you’re in marketing. Your professional organization or association is the American Marketing Association. If you take a look at their website, you can see from their jobs tab that they have very specific marketing-related roles posted there. So take a look at whatever industry you are a part of and start to research!

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If the association is on the national level, they will most likely have job postings on their main page as well as on the local chapters page. This way, you can find out if your local chapter is promoting specific jobs that fit your specific industry or niche. It’s a really great place to get very targeted, very specific job postings that match your background. My advice is to check these pages frequently, because they are always evolving!

There’s A Job Board For Everyone

I hope you found these recommendations helpful. To be honest, there are so many job boards out there and I probably left off a lot. I know at the top of my head, there are so many that could be a really great resource to find the best jobs for you. But hopefully this article gave you a good sampling of the types of jobs that you could be looking for based on the different types of categories or industries or roles or niches that you’re really aligning yourself for.

There’s a job board for everyone, so once you establish your niche, make sure to use that as research to see what new opportunities are springing up for you. Let me know in the comments down below what your favorite job board is and what your ideal job is so that we can hopefully get this list even longer!

About the author: Hi! I'm Emily Liou and my mission is to help corporate professionals wake up happy on Mondays. It's so disheartening to know that most of us are just going through the motions - clocking in, clocking out - counting down until the weekend. Whether it's just feeling stuck (period), not knowing what to do, navigating toxic workplaces, dealing with difficult people, or trying to figure out how to land a dream job... I've got you covered in all things career. As a former Fortune 500 and Silicon Valley startup recruiter turned career happiness coach, I help corporate professionals learn how to take control of their careers again through mindset coaching and job search consulting. Learn more here: CultiVitae