Posted on August 21st, 2009 by dave
I’ve spent several weeks working with the “Big 3″ online job resources and have been comparing them on a number of fronts. All three have strengths, most have weaknesses but each is better suited to a niche. Here they are listed in order of my preference.
CareerBuilder.com — The website is the easiest to use, most stable and has the most complete set of search features. I also find that it has close to the best quality of job listings. I have, however, received a few spams from companies that use their site to blast out mails to anyone who applies regardless of their qualifications. For instance, one mail I received (twice so far) is for a “broker” who needs employees for cold calling potential clients. This was not targeted at me, just a shot gun and a waste of time. Despite this, I’d give CareerBuilder the number 1 spot. It’s truly aimed at people seeking improve their career and not just trying to find a job.
Monster.com — Currently, Monster is the buggiest site. In fact, I couldn’t even sign up while using FireFox (I had to switch to Safari, I use a Mac). Many times, I’d get only a partial page or lines and lines of SQL or javascript errors spewing onto the bottom of screen. It lacks some privacy features that CareerBuilder.com has* and the job quality is only slightly higher than CraigsList.com, which is to say fairly low. On the plus side, Monster.com has a lot of resources to assist you in writing resumes, preparing for interviews, and choosing careers in the Resources section. However, I found them to be poorly organized and pedestrian in content. The biggest benefit of Monster.com is it’s name — of the Big 3, it’s the best advertised and best known, so if you’re looking to get your name in front of as many people as possible, Monster’s the place. (I just wish they’d clean up their site.)
CraigsList.com — This site is the easiest and quickest to use, so I use it most often. However, the quality of jobs posted there is quite low. I’ve found there are several great jobs listed every week, in fact I found my top pick there, but you need to kiss a lot of frogs, as they say. For a tech-head like me, frogs mean pre-money start-ups (not pre-IPO like in the good ol’ days) looking for a senior developer or intern who will design, code and test the back-end and customer facing front-end on their new killer stealth social networking site or top secret Facebook app for future pay and benefits. When I read phrases like that, I immediately think “high school kid in his basement”. However, that’s also the beauty of it. Since job posts on CraigsList are, well, posts on CraigsList you’re guaranteed to get an ultra fast response. I imagine that if you are looking for someone who can start in 15 minutes, it’s the place to post. If you are a job seeker, you’re likely the last of 10,000 people to see the post.
A couple of other new (to me) sites have piqued my interest because they are more nichey than the others. This helps drill down to better matches much quicker than searching the other sites. Also, because they aren’t as well known, I’m fairly certain I’m the same size fish in a smaller pond.
USAJobs.gov — This isn’t one of the Big 3 because it’s not available to everyone. However, because I’m a recent Peace Corps returnee, I get a special “non-compete elegibility” status with the Feds that makes it easier to get interviews in government organizations. The site is easy to search and the details on job openings are quite clear and more detailed than any of the other sites. Furthermore, the quality of jobs is outstanding since only the government or organizations that directly serve the government can use the service to post openings. I’d put USAJobs right in there with CareerBuilder for site and job quality.
CGCareers.com (Common Good Careers) I found through CraigsList. It’s not a site as much as it is a service, though the site does have the current openings listed. Common Good matches non-profit organization with high caliber talent for any imaginable positions. They have an interesting mission and one that best suits my desires in a career currently, which is why the hiring organizations of my top two choices are working through Common Good.
VirtualVocations.com is just what it sounds like: you can search for jobs that can be worked full or part-time from home. I found this site through a LinkedIn contact. For that reason, I can give it a thumbs up on reputation. I can also say the site is easy to use and is rather sparse graphically ala CraigsList, so there is more information on the screen and less to go wrong cross-browser-wise. Since, I’d prefer a job with a little travel, staying at home definitely isn’t for me, but it sounds like a good idea for a lot of people. I was surprised to see the number and breadth of telecommutable jobs available.
The point is, if you have a special need in a job, there is probably a site out there to help you find one. The Big 3 aren’t the only games in town.
*UPDATE: Monster DOES have privacy features. They are just not obvious.
