Finding Job Openings

Investing the preparation time to write your employment materials, including researching available positions, can save you many headaches in the job process. Finding a suitable opening itself can be time-consuming; if you are serious about finding employment, you have to dedicate the time and energy to make your materials competitive.  Here are some resources to get you started:

• Job boards: Browse sites like Indeed, CareerBuilder, Glassdoor and Monster to search for jobs in your field.
• Specialty job lists: Look for lists of jobs in specific industries such as food service (Poached), nonprofits (Idealist), or media (MediaBistro).
• Company, organization and government web sites: Visit the employment section on websites of companies you admire; search federal, state, county, and city websites for government job postings.
• Your own network: Talk to friends, past employers, and professors or visit LinkedIn to search for openings at companies in your network. If you are a member of any social media groups that are career-oriented, check for mention of available jobs there.
• Your college: Visit your college or university placement office/career center and attend job fairs hosted at your college. Here at UArk, you can also check Handshake for openings.
• Craigslist: Many job seekers also use Craigslist to look for work; just be aware that Craigslist postings often lack detail and may come from headhunters or placement agencies, rather than from the direct employer. Scams have also been reported on Craigslist job boards, so verify the legitimacy of any posting before providing personal details.

Once you have found a job, be sure to print and/or save a copy of the job posting or job description. You will use this document to help you tailor your application materials. Companies often delete the job posting once they have received sufficient applicants, so it is important that you save your own copy of the document, along with the date and location you found it (this information is often referenced in the job letter); you might also copy and paste the text into a new document, or bookmark the webpage.