Finding a Job on Craigslist

I'm sure you've seen the many commercials of a couple online job search websites during Super Bowl 43. So why not use these websites in order to find a job online instead of using Craigslist? Well, it just so happens those websites charge a lot more for employers to post job ads than Craigslist does, so many employers are gravitating towards Craigslist to attract talent. Craigslist tends to advertise more opportunities for smaller, private companies as well as seasonal or temporary jobs that the other sites do not. The types of jobs that employers are advertising on Craigslist are the ones that they might have used the newspaper to advertise about 10 years ago. This article will offer some helpful tips to help you find a job on Craigslist.

How do I know Craigslist is better than the other sites? I applied for many jobs using the other sites to no avail, but my wife landed a childcare management position using Craigslist and I secured a part time tutoring position using the site. The company she worked for was small and did not advertise on any other website-the same was true for the franchisee I tutored for. Craigslist promptly put her and me directly in touch with the person who was doing the hiring.

The first step is to navigate to the Craigslist region or area you're living looking to find work in. The right hand side of the Craigslist splash page is dedicated to helping people find local jobs. There are three main headings: jobs, gigs, and resumes. Start your job search under the jobs heading if you're looking for something permanent. If you're looking for something seasonal or temporary, search under gigs. If you can't find anything appealing or that you're qualified for in jobs or gigs, then post what you're looking for or offering under resumes or services (this is in the middle of the splash page near the bottom).

The first way to go about using jobs to find a permanent position is clicking on a particular job category. For example, if I were an unemployed engineer in search of a job, I'd click "arch / engineering" to peruse architecture and engineering job postings. If there are too many postings to browse, the next step would be to use Craigslist search engine to narrow your job search. Use this feature as you would any other search engine. If a non-related job pops up in the search results, it's probably because the person who posted the ad embedded many keywords in the posting to maximize search hits (such an ad can be considered spam and you'd be best to avoid such postings). There are options you can check underneath the text field of the search feature that further narrows your search. If you're looking to find a position where you can work for home, make sure "telecommute" is checked before you search.

You still might not have found an acceptable full time job using the aforementioned methods. This could be because you work in a non classifiable field or the particular job you are looking for is applicable for many fields (e.g., an administrative assistant could work in the financial or legal fields). If this is the case, use the drop down menu adjacent to the search field to expand the search to apply to "all jobs" before you enter your search string. Alternatively, just click on "jobs" on the splash page and search from there.

If you're looking for something temporary or to sustain you until you can find something permanent, check listings under gigs. Under gigs, you'll see 9 different categories that are quite different from the ones under jobs. If you're a freelance writer, check listings under "writing." If you're an aspiring or experienced in adult films, check under "adult." Gig postings that your average person are qualified to perform tend to be in the labor subsection-these odd jobs can range from painting a room to helping someone move.

In conjunction with applying for specific jobs or gigs, you can take the other route of finding a job on Craigslist and advertise for employers or individuals to come to you. You can do this in one of two ways: paste your resume or desired job on the resume section or advertise in the services offered. A friend of mine advertised his ability to perform drywall jobs and got some work to help support his family during his period of unemployment. If you advertise in the services offered, just make sure you post in the appropriate section or you may get flagged. The resume section has no further subsections to worry about.

Because it's free to post, Craigslist exposes people to potential scams. Employment scams on Craigslist are not as prevalent as retail ones but any telecommuting job should be initially suspect. Any employment opportunity that requires you to initially pay money to make money is a scam. Avoid these at all costs. If you are searching for a job that isn't local, do your homework before you make any major commitments. For example, don't move your whole family four states away because someone from Craigslist emailed you that they had a job waiting for you.