A Real Career Coach's Honest Review of FlexJobs.com
Nadia Ibrahim-Taney, M.Ed., MA, MS
Helping You Design A Happy and Fulfilling Career | Career Coach & University Professor | Resume Writer | Interview Expert | LinkedIn Profile Optimizer | ICF ACC Certified
As a full-time university career coach at a college of business and the Founder of Beyond Discovery Coaching, which supports folks in their career exploration and journey, I know a few things about how to get a job and where to search for said jobs.?
I’ve been a loyal LinkedIn user long before I became a career coach and have first-hand experience in its power to connect human beings to jobs and networking opportunities.I’ve had clients and students alike find success on sites like Indeed and ZipRecruitor but nothing has been more influential and robust of a platform than LinkedIn, until now. Enter, FlexJobs.com
What is FlexJobs?
FlexJobs.com is the #1 job site to find vetted remote, work from home, and flexible job opportunities since 2007. And they’ve gotten some pretty big features over the years from outlets like CNN, Fox News, Forbes and the Wall Street Journal just to name a few. With the long lasting employment needs and wants shifts from the pandemic the last few years, it’s no wonder job seekers' appetite for work-from-anywhere roles are literally at the top of everyone’s dream list and FlexJobs.com is happy to serve up amazing opportunities people actually want. So what makes FlexJobs.com so unique compared to other job platforms? Let’s get into it.?
High-Quality Remote & Flexible Jobs
FlexJobs.com helps people find professional remote and flexible jobs in 50+ career fields, entry-level to executive, part-time to full-time, in the U.S. and around the world. Compared to other sites, the expert coaching team at FlexJobs.com works tirelessly to find and screen the best remote and flexible jobs, and to provide information on each company to help job seekers decide if you want to apply.
The fact each company and job is reviewed by a real human being, with real human eyeballs is a huge deal job seekers! Having real people reviewing real opportunities eases the burden and stress of wading through “too good to be true” job descriptions or honestly, just down right scam jobs.?
I love LinkedIn, I posted for a blogging role on LinkedIn and had an amazing experience. BUT, also, ANYONE can post a job on LinkedIn. There was no vetting, no review and no background checks to ensure my company was authentic and real. When you apply for a job on FlexJobs.com, you can feel comforted knowing you’re applying to real opportunities with vetted organizations.
It’s giving you a solid piece of mind knowing your details are going into a real application system and not some dark hole on the internet and when you are applying to hundreds of roles a week, a little piece of mind never felt so good.??
How Much Is This Going To Cost Me?
As a university career coach, I know money can be tight for many job seekers, so when I first started learning about FlexJobs I was a little apprehensive to recommend it since it costs money (meanwhile LinkedIn and other sites are free with optional premium versions). FlexJobs.com has a free trial version and three premium membership levels- 1 month, 3 months and 1 year.?
If you are looking for a permanent role, I’d recommend the 1 or 3 month version. I’d honestly recommend the three month version most often as it does take a bit of time to learn the platform, find jobs you like, apply and interview and finally get hired. Three months is a reasonable timeline for starting your search and landing a role. If you’re a freelancer and looking for short-term roles or part-time gigs where you will get hired a few times a year, perhaps going with the 1 year version, which equals just a staggering $.96 cents a week!, is a better deal.?
All premium levels come with:?
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Show Me The Success Stories?
Like all purchasing decisions we make as consumers, we want to know someone else came before us, spent their money and experienced true value and impact in their lives from said purchase. Not only did I spend hours reading success stories on FlexJobs.com but I actually started talking to real life people I knew in my network (and beyond) about how influential FlexJobs.com was in their job search.?
Many folks I interviewed did a combination of searching and applying for jobs on both LinkedIn and FlexJobs.com to diversify their opportunities as much as they could. Many people reported hearing back from applications (positively or negatively) much quicker on FlexJobs.com than LinkedIn. Additionally, more people said they were actively contacted by companies and recruiters more often on FlexJobs.com than on LinkedIn. I talked to one person who had 4 job offers just from attending a single FlexJobs.com virtual job fair. Not too shabby of a single day’s work!??
All in all, I can say conclusively people enjoyed their experience with FlexJobs.com and found value in putting out a wee bit of money to access the platform. FlexJobs.com also offers gift certificates if your friends or family are looking to support your job search, which will help on the affordability side.?
Career Coaching Services
If you’ve got a little money in the bank, FlexJobs.com can also connect you to career coaching services. Now as a career coach myself, my bias towards a holistic, comprehensive and long-lasting partnership between coach and coachee is the way to go in my mind, but perhaps you are looking for a one-off resume review? FlexJobs.com has you covered.?
Basic resume reviews and an update start at $179 with career coaching starting at $89 per 30 minute call so about $178 per hour. By comparison, I charge clients $100 per hour or if paying in advance and in full, a discounted rate of about $83 per hour (rates as of October 2021). Flexjobs.com’s best option is the resume review and coaching session which will set you back $239.?
As I said, if you’ve got the money, hire a coach. If money is tight, check out blogs like the one you are currently reading or free online resources wherever you can find them. Having a career coach in your corner as you move through a job search is a huge advantage but you can get a job without one. You’ll just need a little bit more support from friends and family in terms of self-care, talking things through, taking breaks and people around you to keep you motivated with your head held high even through rejections and failed searches. It happens to all of us and it’s very normal, so be sure to have your squad assembled and get that support when you need it!?
Final Verdict
This career coach is a fan of FlexJobs.com! I love the searchability and ease of finding roles on the platform. I appreciate real human beings who are approving jobs and companies and keeping scam jobs off the site. For the quality of opportunities FlexJobs.com is serving up, paying to be on the site is well worth your investment.?
I would recommend doing as many have done before you and apply everywhere and as often as you can. Use ALL your tools including LinkedIn, networking into the hidden job market and paid sites like FlexJobs.com. You never know where your next opportunity is going to come from, so keep showing up in all the spaces you are likely to connect with jobs or people as often as you can.?
It’s not so much a matter of luck in the job search, it’s consistency! Keep offering yourself opportunities to show up powerfully and consistently and paths to employment, joy and happiness will start to emerge. If one job search strategy isn’t working- change it! Move towards things serving you and be strong enough to walk away from people, places or strategies not yielding the results you truly desire.?
About the writer...
Hi! My name is Nadia and I help people design happy and fulfilling careers through authentic career coaching. My expertise includes career exploration guidance, resume writing, interview prep and LinkedIn profile optimization. My pronouns are She/ Her/ Hers and as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I focus on how diverse identities impact and influence folks holistically and professionally.
I'm on Etsy as?The Career Coach Shop ! Visit, favorite, shop and share. You can also find me on?Instagram ?too and at my coaching website, www.beyonddiscoverycoaching.com.