The Top 10 Best Job Sites for 2010

An expected uptick in hiring for 2010 will likely spur additional competition in an already tight job market. Many job seekers mistakenly search only the largest, most recognized job boards in search of open positions. Contrary to widespread belief this strategy is not as effective as one might think. In today's economy, the cost of advertising is often a concern and many of the large job boards are often out of reach of those with limited advertising budgets. When it comes to job boards, my recommendation is to go where there are the most jobs with the least amount of competition.

As a Certified Professional Resume Writer and Career Strategist, I am often called upon to assist job seekers with their job search. I recently assisted my niece--a college student, who was seeking a Customer Service position outside of a retail or call center environment. While browsing various websites, I found a job site with two open positions calling for a Customer Service Associate at Embassy Suites. Although Embassy Suites is a large and well known corporation that pays a bit more per hour than other local employers with similar job postings; they chose only to post the openings on their corporate website.

Many of the smaller, more specialized job sites do not rely on advertising revenue; but rather search employer's websites for posted career opportunities and provide this service to members. These opportunities are often virtually untapped since these positions are more difficult to find and generally rely on word of mouth advertising to fill. Although some of these websites require a subscription, many are at no cost to the job seeker. When evaluating a website, I look for the most unique jobs with the least amount of advertising.

My 10 most preferred job sites include:

http://www.indeed.com

http://www.craigslist.org

http://www.jobcentral.com

http://www.simplyhired.com/a/jobs/list/q-myspace

http://www.linkup.com/

http://hound.com

http://www.vault.com

http://www.dice.com

http://usajobs.gov/

http://www.execunet.com

An effective job search strategy requires several components including: an exceptional resume, strong networking skills, and simply knowing where to look for the best leads to available jobs. Incorporating these job sites into your arsenal of job search tools will significantly improve your employment outlook.