Craig’s List and Job Hunting

June 8th, 2012 → 1:29 pm @ Mark Story // 2423 Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.startingacareerinsocialmedia.com%2F2012%2F06%2F08%2Fcraigs-list-and-job-hunting%2FCraig%27s+List+and+Job+Hunting2012-06-08+13%3A29%3A17Mark+Storyhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.startingacareerinsocialmedia.com%2F%3Fp%3D242

The nice thing about having a January publication deadline is that I get time to think about things that I may have overlooked when writing the book.  There are those occasional #facepalm moments in which I am seized by a firm grasp of the obvious, brought to my attention by someone else.  This is one of those moments.

In the June 7 ResumeWriting.com post “Jobseekers Forget About Craigslist At Their Peril,”  the author reminds me that Craig’s List is still a terrific resource for job listings in social media.  Unlike more prominent sources like Monster.com or Indeed.com that cost a company money, it’s free to post a job on Craig’s List.

The advantages of using this as a resource include the fact that:

• It’s hyper-local.  People from Columbus, Ohio are unlikely to be applying for jobs in Washington, DC.  The pool of people against whom you are competing is smaller.
• It’s still hip.  My experience has been that many of the smaller, boutique social media agencies are still using Craig’s List to post job openings.  I searched in Washington, DC for “social media” in job openings and the results included 43 jobs posted in the last seven days.  That’s significant.  Not all of them were spot-on, but 43 is a pretty big number.  I get that DC is a large market, but it’s still a healthy amount.
• Direct access.  When you respond to a Craig’s List job, you are, in essence, having an email conversation with the person who posted the opening.  My sense is that other, larger platform involve having your information dumped into a database.  I much prefer the conversational aspect to it.
• It shows that your potential employer gets social media.  Craig’s List is about as low-tech as you can get, but it’s s niche.  Those who use it for recruiting are much more likely to have an understanding of online, its impact and where the talented people are online.

The jobs that I have encountered on Craig’s List tend to be junior and mid-level, so I am not sure that I would recommend it for more senior job-seekers.  But if you are starting your career in social media, it’s a resource.