Recruiting and human resource management is now a dynamic industry and today’s top employers are active in a number of professional communities. Finding a job online has never been easier and any of the top employment and job search websites featured in this article are a great place to start.
Best employment and job search website: LinkedIn
Any discussion of employment websites or professional networking has to start with LinkedIn which has established itself as the leader of all such sites. LinkedIn is "an interconnected network of experienced professionals from around the world, representing 170 industries and 200 countries. You can find, be introduced to, and collaborate with qualified professionals that you need to work with to accomplish your goals."
What started out humbly as a member focused, contacts driven community in 2002-2003 has incredibly become an entire human resource platform with many recruiter and human resource managers now depending on this one community for their employees and talent base.
Xing delivers global job opportunities
Xing is a global professional networking website with its base in Europe. As such, it serves a very international community. Xing has over eight million members from over 200 different countries which use the site to network, find new sales channels, employees, colleagues and jobs.Xing
As the company puts it, "XING makes your professional network an active part of your life. Far more than a directory of business contacts, XING enables its members to discover professional people, opportunities and privileges through its unique discovery capability and advanced contact management tools."
The site features over 15,000 groups in various industries and languages. Xing's internal messaging system allows you to make contact quickly even if you don't know a member's email address. Other members can get in touch with you easily as well which can be beneficial in sharing job leads or generating new business.
Joined has career resources
Joined is primarily a job search and career advancement community for users and members. The company says it "builds and grows global professional networks to improve the careers, opportunities and professional development of its members."The site has over 500,000 members as of January 2010 and was recently featured in an episode of Dr. Phil focused on job searching in today's economy.
An important part of the company's model is the segmentation of members based on networks or industries. When you register, you can select any number of networks that you wish to join. They range from Accounting & Finance to Skilled Labor & Trades. The company has embraced social media and created the Social Media CV, which is essentially your professional profile on Joined. With support for video, work samples and much more in the way of rich media content, the site provides a very visual and interactive online presence for members.
VisualCV is a business profile community
VisualCV was one of the first companies to embrace social media as a main focus and created what they call an internet-based resume or your interactive online business card. As the company's press release suggests, it sees itself as an important player in the recruiting revolution that is currently taking place online:
February 11, 2008 – Reston, Va. – VisualCV, Inc. today announced the launch of VisualCV, a revolutionary approach to creating an Internet-based resume, building and managing an online career portfolio, and securely sharing professional qualifications with employers, customers, partners and colleagues. VisualCV is the first website to allow professionals to do this all in one place, with unmatched privacy and control, and for free.
You can think of your profile on VisualCV as a nicely laid out map or template that allows you to copy and paste or upload content and files to “show the online world who you are and what you can do.” Much of the content is interactive and your profile may feel more like a functional website than a resume. There are many support resources available including an extensive online learning center and a comprehensive ebook available to help you build a profile.
Michael Firth - I'm a career expert, consultant, teacher and social entrepreneur. I have recently served as Ask the Expert blogger on ...
