Within the North American labour market – there are generally 2 sources that job seekers use to apply for work – Indeed and LinkedIn. These sites are perhaps the most popular and understandably so- indeed adds a new job to its job board every 10 seconds and hosts over 150 million resumes today. When it comes to LinkedIn, the behemoth hosts over 900 million members in over 200 countries and regions. It is also one of the most diverse job boards for employers – according to recent statistics the number of black and Latino leaders grew by 35% and 20.3% last year while the female leadership grew by 42%. For these reasons, over 77% of recruiters rely on LinkedIn and it remains the most used channel for recruitment efforts.
Although LinkedIn and Indeed are popular among recruiters and employers, the question is: does their popularity guarantee success for job seekers? In my experience, an essential aspect to consider while searching for a job is to identify where and how to find the best opportunities. Therefore, it's crucial to understand when it's optimal to use LinkedIn and Indeed and when it's necessary to expand your search to alternative resources.
Regarding Indeed, I would not suggest using this site for corporate job positions. In reality, the platform's primary job sectors include loading and stocking, pharmacy, software development, childcare, hospitality, and tourism. Although Indeed is a valuable resource for jobs outside the corporate world, it's infamous for providing subpar job candidates for corporate positions. As a result, it is often not used by recruiters for corporate positions.
As a social network, LinkedIn has become a go-to for employers to invest in due to its easy access to the "corporate job" target market. This allows them to source passive candidates and build long-term relationships with them. As a result, LinkedIn provides better opportunities for job seekers to network, discover hidden job openings, and find positions that are specifically targeted for the corporate world.
It's important to note that in order for a company to post a job on LinkedIn, they must invest in "sponsoring the ad," which can result in a daily investment ranging from $40 to $200 ($840 - $5600 per month). Without sponsoring, the job may not be easily searchable or receive adequate exposure to candidates. Due to the cost, not all companies choose to make this investment, resulting in a potential lack of job postings on LinkedIn.
If you're on the hunt for the most effective resources for job postings, I recommend conducting a Google search. Have you heard of Google's "Jobs" feature? You can find it at www.google.com/jobs. This feature enables you to search for jobs based on location, job type, and employer, and even allows you to save job searches and receive email notifications for new job postings that meet your criteria. It's a real game-changer when it comes to streamlining your job search and maximizing efficiency.
The other resource I often suggest to my clients is Eluta.ca. Eluta.ca's search engine is designed to help job seekers find relevant job opportunities by allowing them to search for jobs by keyword, location, and company. The site also provides various tools and resources to help job seekers in their job search, such as career advice, salary data, and employer profiles.
One of the unique features of Eluta.ca is its Top Employer rankings, which are based on an annual survey of Canadian employers conducted by Mediacorp. The rankings recognize employers that offer exceptional workplaces and progressive HR policies and practices.
Eluta.ca is free to use for job seekers, and employers can post job listings for a fee.
For more advice on job hunting, follow IG@canada_hr_consulting
