*Disclaimer: I am an affiliate for ZipRecruiter and may get commissions for purchases or trials made after clicking links on this page.
How Do I Start Posting My Jobs Online?
If you have an unfilled role at your business, you know that every day without that person costs time, money, and risk. For those employers still hunting for the best place to post a job, you need to know where to post a job to get the best candidates.
In this guide, we cover where to post your jobs online, including what methods are best on social or how to get freelancers. Lastly, we look at the most powerful job board and give our top pick for where to post jobs online.
Want us to walk you step-by-step through the job posting process?
Take our FREE HIRING SUCCESS COURSE
6 Best Job Sites to Get Quality Candidates
For many businesses, searching for quality candidates is a huge time-suck that doesn’t always produce the best choices if you don’t know where to post jobs. To find a great job site, you should look at where your industry posts jobs and look at reviews to gauge the performance of these sites.
Don’t know where to post jobs? We reviewed the top sites that work for employers currently. These include the best job sites, social networks, and job boards that make it fast and simple to find highly-skilled and qualified candidates in your industry.
Where Should I Post My Open Jobs?
First, some quick rules for job posting that you may already know, but it’s a good bar to set so that you are hitting every target to get the right candidate.
- Assess your recruitment fund. What’s your recruiting budget? If you want to post your jobs for free, look for job sites that offer free trials to get started.
- Find out where your target candidates are active and hang out online. What social networks do they use? Target users actively and by title or previous job experience via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
- Add screening questions to your job listings to narrow down candidates. Only some job sites offer this feature but it increases your chances of finding qualified candidates immensely.
- Look for job sites popular within your industry.
- Spruce up your company profiles online, especially on your website, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
- Search resumes by the most important keywords and titles. Most job sites let you search hundreds of thousands of resumes, but make sure the site also allows for private communication.
How to Post Jobs on LinkedIn
We’re kicking off our review with LinkedIn because it’s one of the biggest sites used for recruiting talented candidates. Almost everyone has a LinkedIn profile, so it’s easy to search and find skilled candidates.
LinkedIn is a social media platform based on professional networking and job recruitment. Your company has a profile that can connect with all employees, and you can post jobs to your profile page.
However, LinkedIn is also a popular B2B recruitment platform, so if you are looking for networking events, executive talent, and specialists, recruiters can easily find profiles by location and keywords.
Posting a Job On LinkedIn
Once you sign up, you can immediately create your company profile and then access LinkedIn Jobs, which is the basic job creation portal. It’s free to try, but premium plans cost as much as $119.95 per month.
To get started after logging in, employers and recruiters can access job posting through the “Jobs” icon. Here’s how it works:
- Click on the “Jobs” icon at top.
- Click “More” next to search bar.
- Next, tap on “Post a Job,” then tap your company name.
- Click “Create New Job.”
From here, there are a bunch of options, including adding job description, skills, salary, and selecting how to receive applications. LinkedIn will let you direct applicants to your website page or you can collect applicants directly from LinkedIn profiles.
To promote a job, you’ll need to click “Promote job” and add a payment method. This can cost up to $495 for a 30-day listing.
Pros
- Large, global online network
- Great profile tools and multimedia widgets
- Excellent job board
- Smart search capabilities
Cons
- Lots of generic LinkedIn email communications
- Very expensive including Premium plan and promotion costs
Verdict on LinkedIn
While this cross-industry network is very social and easy to find candidates, it’s difficult to communicate with them without paying for a Premium account. Additionally, it costs a significant fee to promote a job on LinkedIn. However, we think it’s essential to make a company profile and link to your jobs page on your website, which is free.
How to Post Jobs on Facebook
Facebook has over 3.5 billion active users per month, so whether you are looking for local or international candidates, this social site has a lot of options. In fact, there are so many ways to target the right audience that you’ll likely wind up with several highly-qualifed candidates.
However, Facebook isn’t a job recruitment platform. You can’t search resumes, and you can’t collect applications right within the app or network. Instead, you’ll need to set up a jobs section on your website and develop out your own application process.
Posting a Job on Facebook
Since Facebook is a social networking site, there are billions of profiles that could match for your position. So, the first step for you will be to create “candidate personas.” Basically, what demographics and characteristics fit your candidate? You’ll want to include previous experience, employee tites, interests, degree requirements, and many other specifications that you can likely get from your job description.
Once you know who you’ll target on Facebook, you also need to set up a Facebook for Business account, which gives you access to the ad manager. You’ll set up your campaigns through the ad manager, specifying audiences to each ad group so you can target your candidates.
While this process is pretty in-depth, the site provides a ton of guidance on how to use the advertising platform, and you don’t have to pay anything but the budget to run the campaign. Best of all, Facebook cross-posts your ad to Instagram, so you get the best of both networks if you want more exposure for your job.
Pros of Facebook Jobs
- Highly qualified candidates (right down to degree specifications)
- You decide your budget, so it costs less overall
- Over 3 billion profiles to search and find the right candidate
Cons of Facebook Jobs
- Not made for recruiters
- Requires setup and has a high learning curve
- No free options
Verdict on Facebook
This platform is best for those who are familiar with Facebook and don’t mind using an ad manager with targeting options. You also need outside resources to link to your job and application, as Facebook doesn’t provide these for you.
How to Post Jobs on Craigslist
If you just need to post your job for free right now with no strings attached, head to Craigslist. However, we don’t suggest using this platform unless you have already written a job description with specifications and can link to your own application page.
Additionally, you should always include instructions that the candidate must email you with a specific subject line. This indicates that they read the job listing and demonstrates they can follow instructions.
Pros
- Easy to sign up and get started
- Free to post your listing
- Job applicants send resumes directly to your email or apply via your link
Cons
- Not the best for finding qualified candidates
- Not helpful for finding international talent
Verdict on Craigslist
While Craigslist used to be a more popular platform in the early 2000s, it’s still easy to post jobs and get immediate response via email or your jobs post link. You won’t have too many options for job templates or screening candidates, but it’s a great option if you just want a large volume of applicants to choose from.
How to Post Jobs on Upwork
We also wanted to look at the best places to find freelancers who can immediately help with your projects. If you’re looking for specialists, developers, contract project managers, copywriters, bookkeepers, and any other kind of contract freelancer, Upwork is the de facto site to find talent.
There are hundreds of thousands of talented freelancers on Upwork, but not all of the profiles are active, which is why it’s best to post a job instead of using the search function.
Posting Jobs on Upwork
Posting a job isn’t as easy as we’d like it to be, and there’s a race to the bottom for pricing, so while it’s cheap, the work quality suffers if you can’t afford higher talent.
After signing up, you can post a job to Upwork and select specific candidates or open it up for bids from freelancers. In this scenario, contractors apply and offer a bid that is typically slightly lower than your budget.
Once you view the candidate’s profile and portfolio, you can communicate directly with the candidate to see if he or she is a good fit. If you like the candidate’s response, you hire through Upwork and pay directly from your account.
Pros of Upwork
- Find freelancers and independent contractors in real-time
- Faster for one-time projects
- Cheaper than hiring a full-time candidate
Cons of Upwork
- All kinds of talent, some with fake reviews
- Unstable work results
- Check for fake portfolios before hiring
Verdict on Upwork
While it is the most popular platform for finding contractors, you have to be very careful about who you hire for these jobs. Many profiles have fake portfolios, and the results may not match what you’re looking for. You also have to set up a mode of communication like Skype or Zoom to ensure that you stay in contact.
How to Post Jobs on ZipRecruiter
ZipRecruiter is one of the smartest job boards available for businesses in any industry. It’s very easy to get started, and your job posting is shared to over 100 other job networks.
While many job sites charge hundreds of dollars, ZipRecruiter offers a better way to get started through their free trial. Once you sign up, you instantly see how easy it is to set up a job listing with ZipRecruiter’s job description templates and screening questions.
Smart features like their mobile app and resume search make it easy to find candidates quickly, and you can search by any keywords, qualifications, job title, or previous experience.
Posting Jobs on ZipRecruiter
Knowing where to post jobs online is important, but ZipRecruiter doesn’t make a chore to post your listing across multiple networking sites. The site uses its algorithm to spread your job posting across social media sites, job networks, and job boards so you have the most opportunities to find talent.
After signing up, you can create a post for free under the trial. The wizard walks you through a quick step-by-step job posting process. You can collect applications through ZipRecruiter or link to your application page.
All candidates are saved in your dashboard, so you can contact and review their profiles.
Pros of ZipRecruiter
- Free to try
- Shares job postings to 100+ networks
- Includes smart tools like job description templates and resume search
- Amazing mobile app
Cons of ZipRecruiter
- May need to upgrade account with “Boost” to reach more networks
Verdict on ZipRecruiter
We’ve written a lot about ZipRecruiter and feel that it is the best job board currently for employers. It’s easy to get started and instantly advertises your listing to many job boards.
The interface is accessible via desktop or your phone, so it’s simple to find candidates any time you need to. Best of all, there’s a free trial so you can gauge whether it will work for your business.
Knowing Where to Post Jobs Online
If you have specific requirements for your candidate, then searching where to post jobs includes knowing what platforms offer the best targeting tools for candidates.
With screening questions, you can ensure that your candidates are qualified before they apply, which saves you more money.
It’s also about the convenience of posting once and letting the app show you where to post jobs online.
ZipRecruiter is one of the only sites that shares your post automatically to the best job boards, making it our top choice for employers who want to find qualified candidates fast.
