Are you looking to hire new staff for your small business? One of the most effective ways to get good exposure to your job posting is to use a recruitment or jobs site. We look at ten of the best free sites that can help you hire staff for your business.
Your team is always your company’s most valuable resource but thankfully, it doesn’t have to cost a fortune to hire them if you use a free job posting site. As you search to fill vacancies with smart, motivated people with the skills to drive your company forward and a love for their work, you also need to decide where to advertise.
If your business uses an HR software system to manage hiring, holidays, appraisals and other employee-related tasks, then check to see if the jobs site can integrate directly with your HR software – this saves your time and effort in entering vacancy details and candidates during any recruitment process.
Here is a rundown of some top sites to post a job online for free.
Top 10 Online Sites to Post a Job Advertisement
1. Indeed
Indeed, founded in 2004, it is one of the best-known job sites. There are almost 55 nations represented on this job portal, and it is translated into 28 languages. You’ll have a huge pool of applicants who can search for any job posted, regardless of where the advertisement was placed.
Compared to other job sites, it has a market share of over 15%. Additionally, it is a well-known UK employment website. Indeed gathers job postings from thousands of sources, including online job boards, staffing agencies, and business career portals.
You can advertise a new job and monitor applicants without having to pay a fee (or even register with your credit card). However, to increase the exposure of your job posting you can enhance your advert by sponsoring it. Indeed is hard to beat when it comes to free services.
Around 70% of all job searches are done on mobile devices, according to Indeed and there’s an app and mobile version of the site to make the most of visitors browsing on their phones.
As an advertiser, you can use Indeed’s CV search tool, helping you find applicants based on their experience or job titles. Taking ownership of your Indeed business profile and keeping it current is another great way to get the attention of the most serious job seekers. You can pay to be a Featured Employer to ensure that your company appears at the top of all relevant searches.
Job posting on Indeed is free. However, premium and sponsored solutions are available to reach a wider audience and get more applications. You may set your budget for how much you wish to spend to boost your advertising position.
Pros
- Great customer service
- Impressive cost value
- Ease of use
- Fast service
Cons
- Irrelevant resumes
- Lacks additional resources
2. LinkedIn
LinkedIn’s goal is straightforward: to increase global professional productivity and achievement via connections among professionals.
It also provides one of the best UK job boards with over 690 million members worldwide that allows LinkedIn to facilitate communication between prospective and current workers.
It’s quick to post your vacancies and sign up for LinkedIn’s website and email notifications to promote your job advert to suitable applicants who match your position’s requirements. You will also get personalised results based on LinkedIn’s candidate suggestions.
Also, you can easily manage your candidates from application to hire using a centralised dashboard. The platform will only charge you when potential employees read your ad. It’s free to post your job ad but you normally have to pay when an applicant clicks on your ad or applies – though look out for special offers that offer a free trial period. To help you budget, you can use the online calculator to tell LinkedIn how much you can spend and get an estimate of the number of candidates you should expect.
Pros
- Research potential companies and staff
- Connect with existing workers
- Ease of use
- Expand your network
- Very reputable
Cons
- It may take some time to get results
- Spam connections
3. Guardian Jobs
The Guardian newspaper has always had a great jobs section, especially known for its media jobs, public sector and volunteer jobs sections. The online jobs board, Guardian Jobs, is often used to advertise managerial or executive-level employees in nonprofits, government agencies, media, and large corporations. In this context, hiring for core principles takes precedence. To encourage people to take up green or low-carbon careers, there is even a “Green Job” program. As a company that’s hiring, you can contact active and passive prospects via the Guardian’s readership by using various products beyond the usual job ad, including employer branding guidance and paid-for choices.
Pros
- Great applicants
- Excellent for niche sectors
- Personalised recommendations
Cons
- Complicated signup process
4. Monster
The Monster jobs site provides recruitment solutions to help businesses find and hire qualified staff and the technology pairs job seekers with employers. Monster is a well-known jobs board in the UK and it helps employers scour the web for the best applicants, making it simpler and faster to fill available jobs with the right people. Creating a free company profile is a great way to make it easier for potential employees to find and learn more about your business before applying.
Your company’s profile may help you stand out by providing reviews, ratings, descriptions, and messages from satisfied customers.
With Monster’s user-friendly Monster Studios, you can easily create engaging content to attract qualified candidates. A single software can create, edit, and share interesting and effective films. There are paid-for options to enhance your company’s profile as an employer and there are frequent discount schemes for new employers.
Pros
- Numerous job templates
- Easy to use
- Automated communication
- Available in various countries
Cons
- No tracking for applicants
- Redundancy and spam
5. Debut
Debut, a job board for recent grads and students, works to connect employers with prospects in several ways and prioritises mobile with its award-winning app.
Debut lets you create a targeted, objective, multi-touch recruitment campaign, thanks to its database of more than 150,000 student and graduate profiles. This leading job board provides a single platform that integrates mobile-first applications with classic talent acquisition channels, including UK job boards, recruiting agencies, and careers fairs.
The platform lets you collaborate with the in-house client success team to create a compelling recruitment campaigns. Get in front of people who would never otherwise hear about or consider your position, and increase your pool of active applicants.
Pros
- Excellent value for money
- Ease of use
- Excellent customer support
Cons
- Missing features for recording applications
6. DirectlyApply
DirectlyApply is an all-purpose jobs and recruitment platform that uses a programmatic exchange to syndicate job postings to many other websites, including some of the biggest job boards, specialist websites, and social media sites.
With DirectlyApply Exchange, your job posting is likely to be sent out to a range of other sites as DirectlyApply uses real-time bidding across its network of publishers to manage, monitor, and optimise your spending on job advertising in real time. It’s got good exposure in the UK and also serves job seekers in the US and Canada. Every month, millions of users from all professional levels and sectors use the site to find employment. DirectlyApply is the only application-based service where you pay only when someone applies.
Therefore, unlike standard tenancy or pay-per-click job boards, DirectlyApply guarantees that you will only pay for clicks on your job advertisements when a qualified candidate applies.
Pros
- Helpful email subscription service
- Targeted clicks
- Quick responses
- Exchange with other big platforms
Cons
- Relatively new platform
7. Glassdoor
The Glassdoor platform started out as a employer rating platform – giving employees the chance to review the company and executives of the company they work for. It’s now added an active jobs and recruitment feature. Get in touch with 67 million active Glassdoor users and millions more across 100 of the UK’s top employment sites. This make it a good place to publish your job advertising since it enables current and former workers to share their experiences with the company. Potential candidates can then use this information to make more informed judgments about the company.
A greater retention rate for Glassdoor applicants of 30% means that employees hired via Glassdoor tend to remain in their jobs for longer. You may use Glassdoor for advertising jobs specifically to people with a certain skill set.
Responding openly to evaluations left by former workers is a great way to demonstrate an interest in hiring them. Integrating your company’s social media postings, videos, and featured images helps build brand awareness. Find and hire people excited about working for your business and growing with you.
Glassdoor provides a free trial for seven days, a free membership and a premium account for a monthly fee.
Pros
- Targeted job ads
- Integration with social media features
- Attract specific candidates that meet your requirements
Cons
- Outdated info about some companies
- Concerns regarding fake reviews
8. Reed
As a national recruitment firm in the UK, the Reed platform features a database that lets applicants look for jobs advertised by region, company name, or industry with more than 24,000 governmental and private sector recruiters and employers having posted openings.
Reed.co.uk pioneered the concept of a dedicated internet recruitment platform in the United Kingdom. While the first site served mostly as a brochure, the updated version, which went live in 2000, included 42,000 available jobs. Reed is currently one of the first places with other UK-based employment sites in terms of website traffic.
The site has close on 200 million visitors per year and normally carries over 250,000 available positions every day, so your job ad will be one of many, but also seen by a lot of potential applicants.
Pros
- Established, proven website
- Customised applications
- A huge number of users
Cons
- Not for long-term clients
9. Twitter
Twitter is a free social media network that you may use to publish job adverts to a large audience. Out of these 15 employment forums, Twitter has one of the highest user bases. Companies, recruiters, and HR departments increasingly use Twitter to advertise vacancies with a link to the job description on the company’s own website.
Every day, tens of thousands of users post new jobs worldwide. Tweeting about a job opening is a breeze; the challenge is getting your point across in fewer than 140 characters!
Utilise hashtags; tweeting with the #jobpostings or #Job Post hashtags will increase the likelihood that your post will be noticed by those actively seeking employment. Get more qualified applications by including the job location in the hashtag.
While everyone who uses Twitter can do so for free, there are also options to promote and advertise on the site to help promote your tweet about your vacancy or promote your business.
Pros
- Customised search function
- Millions of active users
- Various tools to create appealing ads
Cons
- Strict updates and rules
- Can find a lot of fake accounts
10. ZipRecruiter
The ZipRecruiter platform was setup to help small businesses manage job job advertisements. It’s now grown into a dynamic marketplace where millions of individuals in the UK and USA advertise and look for jobs and opportunities.
The platform will distribute your job advert to multiple other sites in its network, and you can keep track of every potential hire in your dashboard. As a employer, you can search through candidates by CV and filter to produce a shortlist of applicants.
Employers can try out ZipRecruiter free of charge for a period of time (check for special offers) before you have to pay.
Pros
- Transparent platform
- Access to qualified candidates
- Excellent customer support
Cons
- Integration services are not free
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS)
1. Where can I find the finest free employment board?
The quality of these supposedly “free” job advertising sites varies widely, and which is ideal for you will depend on business size, budget, and recruiting requirements. Indeed and LinkedIn are the finest free platforms for posting jobs but have paid-for requirements; Twitter is totally free and Monster has free options.
2. What should I include in a job description?
Include details about the company and the position’s duties in the job posting. Use direct, simple language and highlight features that top-tier interest applicants.
Conclusion
There are many good platforms available to help you recruit new staff by placing free job advertisements and start looking for qualified applicants. We recommend you explore a couple of the websites mentioned above to choose the one that best suits your company’s requirements.
Many different types of free job boards exist. Which is ideal for you will depend on business size, budget, and recruiting requirements. Indeed, LinkedIn and Monster are three good places to start and, if you a strong social following and have your own company website, you could post to Twitter.
