The 7 Best Job Search Sites for Meeting the Most Qualified Job Seekers
Location, location, location — it’s vital in the real estate industry, and it’s just as critical in recruitment. Where you post a job opening determines who sees that job ad — and it also dictates how you’re allowed to interact with candidates and what you can learn about them.
The best job search websites for your organization’s needs might not be the biggest, the most popular or even the most niche.
We’ve rounded up seven of the best job search sites to help you understand how they compare, along with how well they’re positioned to meet your hiring needs.
The 7 Best Job Search Sites
- ZipRecruiter
- Monster
- CareerBuilder
- Indeed
- Glassdoor
- Simply Hired
ZipRecruiter
Some job search websites are so big, job openings have to be reposted over and over again to attract even a little attention. ZipRecruiter has solved this problem with artificial intelligence, which helps job seekers find your job posting and shows you where you should be focusing your recruiting efforts.
Artificial Intelligence That Keeps Getting Smarter
With ZipRecruiter, you can post jobs to multiple job boards — over 100 of them. The job site’s AI can help with sourcing candidates from various boards, making life easier for recruiters and hiring managers to put together a shortlist.
ZipRecruiter’s AI animates chatbots that can interact with job seekers on behalf of your company to streamline the screening process. Plus, the AI can send out job alerts to pique interest in job listings.
The AI’s Sponsored Reach solution can also seek out and bring in job candidates by analyzing their qualifications, job title, keywords they’ve searched, the types of jobs they’ve previously applied for and more. It’ll advertise your job listings on the sites relevant candidates already frequent and trust.
A Massive Resume Database
Don’t want the AI to get all the credit? You can seek out candidates on your own by browsing the site’s massive resume database, which sees about 380,000 resumes freshly added each month.
Want to stand out from all the other employers on ZipRecruiter? The site’s Featured Employer program can enhance your visibility by featuring you strategically on its job boards and in its hiring events.
Pros
You can post your job listings to over 100 job boards at once, though the site’s AI can help you determine which ones you should focus on.
Unlike other job search websites, ZipRecruiter’s resume search subscriptions offer unlimited searches.
Cons
As incredibly impactful as its AI tools are, you’ll have to pay a little extra if you want to take advantage of them. So you don’t have to ease off the gas as you near a monthly limit on searches.
Monster
Many job search websites will provide you with the tools needed to post jobs, along with supporting documentation to teach you how to use them. Yet, recruiters and hiring managers often struggle with coming up with attractive job descriptions.
Thousands of Job Description Templates
One of Monster’s biggest strengths is its massive cache of job description templates. You can choose from over 2,000 templates to draw from or adapt to describe your company’s job listings or even help you pin down a suitable job title for a new position.
Monster also has a native applicant tracking system to help you manage the traction your job ads may get. However, the site offers no support for third-party tracking systems, which could be more than a minor headache if your company already has a relationship with an ATS vendor.
Candidate Screening Tools and Resume Database
Along with tracking solutions, Monster has screening tools and a searchable resume database. However, some of Monster’s screening solutions are outsourced, so you’ll have to pay a third party if you want to deploy them during your recruitment campaign.
Another important consideration about Monster is its site’s traffic volume. The monthly number of visitors to the job board doesn’t even come near the slow months of some of the heavyweights like ZipRecruiter and Indeed.
Pros
You’ll have access to over 2,000 job description templates to post your job openings faster, and you don’t have to look elsewhere for an applicant tracking system.
Cons
It’s not the biggest job board around, plus there’s no support for third-party tracking systems and the outsourced screening solutions could be considered a negative for some employers.
CareerBuilder
If you’d like to search out candidates as much as you’d like to attract them, then CareerBuilder’s resume database may be its biggest draw.
A Competitive Resume Database
Its resume search tools let you browse a collection of resumes and social profiles shared with the site. While sites like ZipRecruiter allow unlimited resume search, CareerBuilder caps monthly searches inside subscription tiers.
Additional Features
The site’s monthly traffic and hiring tools compare more favorably with a site like Monster, than to bigger employment sites like ZipRecruiter and LinkedIn.
Like Monster, CareerBuilder offers a third-party screening service you can add to a subscription to help vet and qualify candidates for you. It also includes a native applicant tracking system, along with support for integrating third-party solutions.
Pros
You’ll find all of the core hiring features you need, though you may have to pay for add-ons like its outsourced candidate screening program.
Cons
While it’s one of the more popular job websites, its monthly visitor numbers are among the lowest for the upper crust of job search sites. You’ll need a subscription to search its resume database, and you can only view a certain number of them per month.
Indeed
If you’re after the job board with the most monthly web traffic, look no further than Indeed. But if you’ve read some of the more disappointing reviews about this job website, or if you’ve ever sat idly in rush hour traffic, you know that heavy traffic isn’t always a good thing.
Low Barrier to Entry
Indeed lets you post jobs for free, though it’ll start to bill you once your job postings attract interest from job seekers. Meanwhile the site’s resume database follows the conventional pricing format of monthly subscriptions.
The site’s pricing model for posting jobs makes it possible for anyone to try their hand at posting just about any type of legitimate job to the site. And that could explain the job seeker and employer complaints about a perceived higher concentration of temporary and part-time jobs on the site.
A Massive Resume Database and Sponsored Ads
Despite the complaints, there’s still plenty to like about Indeed. It has one of the larger resume databases, plus it offers employers the ability to stand out in the crowd through sponsored ads — pay extra and they’ll boost the visibility of your job postings.
Additional Features
Other bright spots on Indeed include its candidate screening tools that can disqualify unqualified candidates via custom voice or text interview prompts. The site also includes video interviewing tools, a limited suite of applicant tracking tools and broad support for integrating third-party tracking systems.
Pros
You don’t have to look elsewhere for screening solutions and remote interviewing tools. There’s also broad support for popular applicant tracking systems.
Cons
You could find it harder to get the attention of skilled candidates. You won’t reach job seekers who are turned off by Indeed.
Glassdoor
If you’re like most people, you think “employer reviews” when you think of Glassdoor. It’s what the site excels at, it’s what it’s known for, and it’s the reason a lot of job seekers may not think to check out the site’s job board.
Indeed Integration
Despite missing some key features, such as a resume database, Glassdoor still ranks among the best job search websites. The site shares reviews and ratings with Indeed, its sister site following a 2020 acquisition by their parent company Recruit Holdings.
Pros
Company reviews help introduce your organization to potential candidates. Indeed integration combines reviews, ratings and billing into one platform if you opt to use both sites.
Cons
You’ll need to look elsewhere for resume searches, applicant tracking and other job board mainstays.
Its biggest strength is business networking. But like Glassdoor, LinkedIn offers employers much more than its core product.
Much More than Professional Networking
The networking site has a full-featured job board, along with a hefty resume database and a native applicant tracking system that also supports third-party integrations. It’s all packaged in the LinkedIn Talent Hub, which now combines its job board with its suite of recruiter tools.
As for downsides, you might miss out on talent that doesn’t want to share much, if anything, on a social network — not everyone will want to share their CV with the rest of the world. Also, their full set of services can fall on the pricey side of things for small and midsize businesses.
Pros
It has all the requisite features of a job search site, while its business networking platform helps bring it all together.
Cons
Many qualified candidates may opt to search for jobs on other sites that don’t include the social media elements of LinkedIn. Pricing could be prohibitive for small and midsize businesses.
SimplyHired
Want to cover more ground without the extra legwork? Like ZipRecruiter and other job search engines, SimplyHired lets you post job openings to more than one job board at a time.
Unlike ZipRecruiter, however, SimplyHired lacks a few of the key features employers tend to demand of job sites. This job search website lacks a searchable resume database and its candidate screening solutions are limited compared to other job search sites.
While its screening solutions may leave you wanting, one of SimplyHired’s other bright and sunny spots includes its HR tools for onboarding new hires and managing existing employees.
Pros
You can post to more than one job board at a time, and the site’s HR tools make onboarding easier for companies with smaller staffs.
Cons
You may miss basics, such as screening tools and a searchable resume database.
Comparing the Top Job Search Websites
Want to see how these job search sites stack up head-to-head? This chart highlights some of the key differences between each of these employment websites.
| Job Board | Resume Search | Applicant Tracking System | Native Screening Tools | AI | Pricing Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZipRecruiter | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Subscription |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Subscription | |
| Glassdoor | No | No | No | No | Subscription |
| Indeed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Performance-based |
| SimplyHired | No | Limited | Limited | No | Performance-based |
| CareerBuilder | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Subscription |
| Monster | Yes | Yes | Limited | No | Subscription |
Final Word
So which job search site takes home the first-place trophy? To answer that question, you’ll have to first ask a few qualifying questions about your organization’s needs and objectives.
What’s your budget and target date for hiring?
Job search sites with performance-based pricing models may remove barriers to entry, but you could save more with a subscription that includes all the tools and services you need.
Sites that are more rounded in their solutions can also make hiring more efficient and expedient – you can tackle new problems with something from your toolbox, rather than having to run to the hardware store.
How much infrastructure is required?
While the job sites mentioned here are in the top tier for the North American market, several of them lack tools and features that are commonplace elsewhere.
Determining whether you need a full-service recruitment solution can help inform your decision. If you are unsure or have any doubts about what you need, go with one of the more balanced job search sites.
How easy is it to use?
Ease of use is just as important for job seekers in their job search as it is for employers during recruitment. Job search websites like ZipRecruiter simplify things by allowing employers to post to over 100 job boards at once, while it empowers job seekers to search those same boards with its job search engine.
