Online Job Boards Can Help. Here’s Why You Should Still Look Elsewhere.

There’s a common proverb: death is the great equalizer. In the 21st century, the same surely applies to online job boards.

Throughout the 1990s, fledgling online job boards began popping up throughout the Internet, and many of the earliest are still around. Monster and NetStart—later renamed CareerBuilder—both formed in 1994 and then Craigslist was created the next year. Newspapers began migrating their job listings pages to the web via CareerPath around the same time, and websites like CareerCast introduced the concept of “job scraping” or “wrapping” in 1997. But in the 20 years since, job boards have grown from marginal start-ups to the industry standard, and hopeful applicants flocking to sites like Indeed have built up a new imbalance: the online talent market is officially flooded.

The news shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that’s applied for a job on a public board: responses are rare, interviews almost impossible to secure, and landing an advertised job can feel like a far-fetched pipe-dream. And while revisiting your application materials—tweaking your resume and cover letter are obvious starting points—might be the obvious move, it’s the online job scene that’s inherently problematic, and you might be better off looking elsewhere all together.

As Liz Ryan, a Forbes contributor and HR veteran, explains, external applicants are often trying to fill impossibly large shoes drawn up by overzealous managers. “When a hiring manager asks an HR person or internal recruiter to post a job opening, they specify lots of Essential Requirements,” Ryan wrote for Forbes earlier this year. Those Essential Requirements though are often anything but and instead come off like a kid’s shopping list at a candy store. In essence, Ryan argues that the online job application process is marred by recruiters dreaming up unrealistic applicants. If you’ve ever scrolled down a site like Indeed you’ve no doubt experienced the other end of this equation: entry-level jobs that baffingly require years of experience or low-paying posts that list professional degrees as a prerequisite. Because so many people are jumping at these same jobs, there’s another problem: everyone’s applications look the same in order to cater to keyword filters that help narrow down an applicant pool.

Ryan’s advice is stark: don’t apply for jobs online, which is, of course, also crazy and unrealistic. Still, realizing how crowded a job board can build up a productive self-awareness. And what’s more important than Ryan’s headline-grabbing motto is her alternative, which is, generally, to apply for jobs directly.

There are plenty of ways to apply to a job directly instead of through a job board, but the most common is an aggressive but respectful form of networking. What’s more, companies are often hiring new employees without having ever posted a vacancy, and approaching a manager directly can help add your name to the pile. LinkedIn is likely the easiest way to get in contact and send a letter to a potential employer, but even a quick look at a company website can provide a potential contact point.

If you are a veteran then try using vet focused sites like Hire Our Heroes and VetJobs.com.

Still, overcrowding and intimidating job experience requirements shouldn’t drive you away from job boards entirely as they’re still the largest pool of available positions around. Of course, no job search should be restricted to an online board either, but learning how to make better use of job boards doesn’t hurt.