Searching Through Job Boards

There are plenty of job boards available to the general job seeker, either through aggregation sites, government pages, social media, company websites, industry groups, and more. Each site uses different parameters to choose what it displays and algorithms that will adjust your results based on filters, user profile, and search history– so use as many job boards as feel appropriate.

If you find yourself digging through job boards, you might notice that some of the results will be similar or repetitive the more you look through a site. Try mixing up search terms or keywords, using different search filters, clearing your browser’s trackers, or using incognito mode. If you upload a resume to a job board, your results may also be influenced by key terms found in your resume or user profile.

How to Avoid Scams and Outdated Postings

With job boards and postings comes the possibility of scams, phishing, and other traps. Although most job boards will be free to use, there are some legit sites that ask for a signup. Watch for sites like Craigslist and Facebook that have less oversight on their job boards and can display a larger volume of phony or corrupt listings. If you’re asked to pay or provide sensitive information that does not pertain to the application, that should raise a red flag. When you’re unsure about the legitimacy, look to see if you find the job opening on other reputable sites, including the employer’s page, or contact the employer directly via the information on their site and ask for verification.

You may also see fake, “phantom”, or outdated postings that could have been valid at some point. The innocent reason would be that an employer forgot to remove the posting past the deadline, but they could also be intentional to gauge interest from jobseekers (to determine salary offering), satisfy legal requirements with no intent on hiring externally, or collect emails for marketing purposes. There can be serious frustration from encountering these illegitimate job postings, but the headache can be worse if you find out you were taken advantage of, so be cautious; when in doubt, confirm with an employer or continue searching for another position.