Job Seekers: 5 Ways You’re Missing Out On Job Boards

When you’re looking for a new job, you’ll probably end up using a variety of recruiters and job boards to find the next step in your career – and it goes without saying that you’ll want to make the most of each platform to ensure you give yourself the best chance of finding the perfect job.

Now, we’ve talked about using recruiters effectively before – so today I thought I’d focus on job boards – and how you can use them to their full effect to find the best opportunities. Why? Because, while I know that a lot of the job seekers that use Bubble use it effectively, I also know that a lot of them don’t – and I don’t like the idea of great candidates missing out on jobs.

That said; I’ve come up with the top five ways you could be missing out on opportunities on job boards.

1. Not Filling Your Details In Correctly Upon Sign-Up:

When using a job board like Bubble, it’s really important to fill your details in correctly upon sign-up for a few reasons. Firstly, some job boards (including Bubble) offer employers targeted e-shots for their vacancies – which means the job board will email specific job seekers about the job based on the details that were entered upon sign-up. So, for example, if you’re actually interested in online marketing jobs – but you entered ‘CRM’ into the ‘Area of Interest’ field for a laugh because you didn’t think it would matter, there’s a pretty good chance you could be missing out on receiving the perfect vacancies in your inbox.

Sound familiar? Don’t panic – you can always change your details in your account area – but the sooner you update them, the sooner you could receive relevant content and opportunities without even having to visit the job board!

And secondly, a lot of job boards offer CV database search to recruiters and Hiring Managers – and the details you enter into your profile could affect how often and when your CV comes up. That said; it’s important to make sure your details are correct and your CV is up to date.

2. Not Applying For A Job Within A Few Days:

While the majority of vacancies are normally live on a job board for around 30 days, there are some (particularly vacancies with councils or universities) that are on for a much shorter period of time (sometimes even less than a week!). What’s more, some employers can ask a job board to expire a job without any warning (trust me – this happens more often than you might think!) – so a vacancy could literally be live one minute and expired the next. That said; if you see a vacancy you like the look of, I’d really urge you to apply as soon as you can to ensure you don’t miss out should a vacancy go AWOL without any warning!

3. Not Setting Up Job Alerts:

A great way to keep up to date with the latest vacancies in your niche is to set up job alerts…. but I know for a fact that a lot of job seekers that use Bubble don’t use this feature. By failing to set up job alerts, you run the risk of missing out on some great opportunities, particularly if you’re super-busy and you don’t have time to check what’s new on the job board every day.

Setting up job alerts for certain types of vacancies means you’ll get an email as soon as vacancies which match your criteria are added to the job board… which means you’ll never miss out on a relevant opportunity, even if it’s only live on the job board for a week or so. And what’s more, you don’t have to get them every day – you can set to receive them as often as you like so you don’t have to worry about your inbox being spammed.

4. Not Reaching Out For Help:

The majority of job boards have their own Twitter accounts and other social media accounts, and the person manning them is usually there to help – so make the most of them! If you’re having trouble applying for a particular vacancy or a vacancy you were planning on applying for has disappeared, reach out and ask for help. Job boards will always want to hear about issues with their site – and they’ll also always have the contact details of the recruiter or HR Manager who was using the site – so they might be able to forward your vacancy on. Remember, if you don’t ask, you don’t get! Not great on social media? You’ll be able to find a contact form or support email address on the job board which should do the same job.

5. Not Making The Most Of The Resources Available:

More often than not, a job board will do more than just advertise jobs. The best job boards will also offer free help and advice, particularly if they advertise jobs in a certain niche. So, before you apply for a vacancy, have a look through the resources available elsewhere on the site – it might be that you spot something which could help with your application for that particular vacancy.

So there you go; my top five ways you could be missing out on opportunities (and successfully applying for a new job!) on job boards. Think I’ve missed anything out? Leave me a comment below.

Job Seekers: 5 Ways You’re Missing Out On Job Boards