I interview people about how they landed their latest job, and for the last 12 months, the site mentioned most often in Craigslist.org. It's kind of a unique site - online classified ads, by location (city or state). No one in the last 12 months has mentioned either Monster or CareerBuilder as the source of a job. Only Craigslist!
If you want to work in a local business, call the ones that interest you and ask how to apply for a job there.
* If they say, come in and complete an application, ask for a good time to come in to speak to with the manager or, if they are a large employer, with Human Resources or Recruiting or whomever does the hiring. When you find the right department, ask if they are hiring, and what the application process is.
* If they say, apply on line, ask which Website - the employer's Website or Monster, etc. Go to the site they suggest, apply for the jobs for which you are qualified (don't apply for the ones you don't have the skills, experience, or education to do). Then, call them back to tell them that you have completed your application.
Have a list of people who have agreed - in advance - to serve as references for you. Bring their names, business addresses, and business phone numbers with you.
DO NOT include your references on your resume!
3 Websites that are good sources of jobs:
1.) Craigslist -
http://www.craigslist.org Craigslist is a giant online classified ads site, organized into hundreds of small sites by location. Pick your city from the list on the above page, and check it out. Craigslist has jobs and "gigs" (which are short term jobs). You can browse through what's available or do a search.
Craigslist is a little quirky to use - it's organized something like an internet newsgroup, and it is free for employers to post jobs in all but 7 of the 400 sites. So you'll find a fair amount of junk postings. Just be careful. I interviewed people who landed jobs with Verizon as well as with many smaller employers using Craigslist.
For help using Craigslist successfully and safely, see this guide to using Craigslist to find a job -
http://www.job-hunt.org/onlinejobsearchguide/article_guide_to_craigslist.shtml 2.) Indeed -
http://www.indeed.com Indeed is a "job aggregator" which collects jobs off big job sites (like Monster and CareerBuilder, but NOT Craigslist) as well as many other smaller sites and even employer Websites. So, it's a great place to do one search that covers more Websites and employers than you would think of yourself.
Look at the options in the left column of Indeed's search results page, and you'll see that you can see the results by employer, location, job type (full-time, part-time, internship, contract, etc.), and even separate employer postings from recruiter postings.
3.) Job-Hunt.org -
http://www.job-hunt.org/ With over 8,700 links to employers and career resources, organized by state or specialty, Job-Hunt will help you identify possible employers and also job search networking and local support groups to help you with your networking.
For each state, Job-Hunt links to over 125 local resources and employers:
- - local job search support groups
- - local job sites and online classifieds
- - state and local governments
- - colleges and universities
- - public school districts
- - banks and financial companies
- - internet and technology companies
- - medical, biotech, and pharma companies
- - many other employers
After you apply for a job online, follow up. Call to see what is going on in their process of filling the job. See if you can speak with the recruiter handling the job you want. Ask if they have any questions about you and what the next steps in the process are. Be politely persistent.
Good luck!