My Favourite Job Search and Research Tools
Here are my favourite tools not only for job searching, but research tools I use and recommend to anyone working in employment services, talent acquisition and management, and for job seekers.
Earlier in 2018, Glassdoor announced its acquisition by Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. for $1.2 billion. It seems like Recruit Holdings plans is to maintain Indeed and Glassdoor separate, as sister companies... for now.
What I like about Glassdoor, if you haven't guessed by its name, is the promise of transparency, of showing what goes inside companies. The only issue with this type of reviewing and leaving feedback, when someone needs to access a website that they don't usually go to, is that only the extremely satisfied, or dissatisfied are truly motivated on leaving reviews. So keep that in mind!
At Glassdoor employees and applicants can leave a variety of reviews,ratings, salary information, interview questions, plus I really love their website navigation and appearance. You can spend hours researching!
Indeed and LinkedIn also have company reviews, but I just really like the browsing experience from Glassdoor.
There's something about Indeed's website design that just doesn't tickle my fancy. However Indeed makes it easy for employers and job seekers to get sh## -stuff-done. Once a user sets up their online profile, they can literally apply to a job in 3 clicks! Indeed also seems to have the most extensive job board (until we get down to Google) and many of the local employers find it easy to post and manage jobs through Indeed.
Indeed has also a lot going on right now, not only because of the tools that the merger with Glassdoor can bring, but they continue to add new features to make improvements, and I think it is worth it to have a profile there and to increase your chances of getting noticed. I have a suspicion that Indeed will try to move towards what LinkedIn does, but that's just me speculating...
If you are not actively looking for a job, I'd still recommend you to have a LinkedIn account. I always tell my clients that a professional online presence tailored through LinkedIn, is better than no online presence.
Every time a client asks me what LinkedIn is, my first response is that LinkedIn is a Facebook for business. Career oriented individuals should take some time to create their online profile, which is basically your chance to have a professional online presence in an era where there are extremely high chances that a candidate will be googled at some point during their hiring process, so why not make sure you have your best out there?
I personally would rather spend my time writing here on my page's blog or talking to people face to face. I also don't love their navigation experience, and that's the main reason my clients report that they don't feel motivated to stay on top of their LinkedIn account.
My local labour market (Vancouver Island) does not pay LinkedIn much attention, and I wouldn't be surprised to see LinkedIn losing its place in the market to Indeed.
Google Jobs
I am a Googleholic, and I was so excited (I still am!) when the giant search engine released the Google Jobs platform. To get there, simply type "jobs" on the search bar and voila! Google will search all the aforementioned sites, include the "apply now" buttons, show company reviews from a variety of sources, and a link to the company's website.
You do have to use Google Chrome for this tool to work.
I have a quick assignment for you!
Open an incognito page on your search engine - incognito because your device will usually show content based on your browsing history, and you don't want that in here!
Type your name
Hit enter!
Shocked? Surprised? Relieved? What is your online presence like?
