My son is graduating next week with a CS degree. Had about three serious interviews and received 0 job offers. He’s scheduled to start back at the job he’s had since hs and he is not happy about it.
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Money magazine rates job search sites. Gives LinkedIn top spot followed by Indeed. There’s some good information here.
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I don’t think these results are valid for college seniors and new grads. Kids are sending resumes into the void (literally- thousands of resumes per job post). Psychologically it feels like they are making progress but it’s close to a waste of time.
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I may be misunderstanding your point, but this article wasn’t presenting “results” for new grads, it was simply ranking widely used job search platforms based on features and usability.
For many students and early-career job seekers, especially those without strong networks or those who want to look outside their local area, search sites are often a necessary starting point. These platforms do host real opportunities, but yes, they receive a high volume of applicants and can be very competitive.
Job search sites are not a strategy they are a tool. And I agree, many (probably most) applications sent out won’t result in a job. Tools matter, but strategy matters more. In tough markets, though, applicants usually need to use every tool available.
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Ranking something as top five implies that it’s useful. That’s different than saying “this is a last resort” or “augment your productive job search techniques with one of these”.
College kids DO have networks. They just don’t want to use them. Professors consult and have part time gigs in industry. Grad students collaborate with alums from their undergrad institution on start ups. Deans know people at the relevant professional associations. Folks in career services have rolodexes of companies who’ve hired students from their college in the past. And maintain the alumni network. Etc.
It is much easier to shoot off a resume to an online job posting than to sit in your academic advisor’s office and say “I need a job when I graduate. Can you brainstorm with me?” But brainstorming with a professor who knows you is MUCH more likely to result in viable contacts!
The most useful job sites are industry specific, not the generic big guys. Most professional associations have these sites. Postings may get 8-10 responses in total, vs. thousands for Linkedin or Ziprecruiter. So I’d rank THOSE in my top five. Even the “hard to find” jobs- museum and archival professionals; landscape architecture or theme park design; program manager at a foundation- they all have their own job boards!
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I agree - few have networking prowess or opportunity that many on the CC like to bring up.
And the job sites are relevant and useful - and people are getting employed because of listings on them.
They may not be efficient - but they have real open jobs listed (and maybe some not open) and for some, that’s their only mechanism of any listing. Note - most of what’s on handhshake will also be on linkedin/indeed.
It’s funny - til Cornell took down their how kids are finding jobs - it was the 3rd party on line sites (presumably linkedin and indeed) that were by far and away how the biggest proportion of their kids were finding jobs. My guess is that’s why they took the source down - because if you’re charging $95K a year, you don’t want people to know that vs. you help them find jobs.
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I defer to the experts.
But I’ve probably hired over a thousand people over the course of my (too long) career in corporate recruiting/talent management and can tell you that the large commercial sites are NOWHERE near as effective now (talking 2026, not 2019) than they used to be. I have no doubt that kids found them helpful in 2017 or whenever. And people should feel free to post NOW, in real time- if their kids are getting hired via a large commercial site. And I will be happy to issue an apology and a sincere “I was wrong”.
What are they useful for? The trades, particularly if a kid is coming out a program with only limited apprenticeship opportunities. Some jurisdictions for roles in criminal justice, probation officers, etc. Some districts (but not all) for teaching or educational administration.
Happy to hear the stories of kids now finding success on Linkedin. Let’s hear it!
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You are from an industry/specific company and hire one way. My company lists on our site, linkedin, and indeed. We don’t post fake jobs.
Different companies do different things, even from within the same industries.
Everyone talks as if - well this is what we do - but the world is a lot larger than any of us. And many don’t seem to realize that.
I think you know the answer to your question is yes - or linkedin and indeed would not be sustainable businesses.
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LinkedIn seems to be great for when you are already employed. My daughter has recruiters trying to woo her away from her current employer on a regular now via LinkedIn.
The young people in my circle all have gotten their first jobs through school (career fairs, profs, clubs, major association) , word of mouth/connections, or aggressively networking their alumni circles.
D’s company exclusively fills their entry level positions in person at career fairs at their target schools. There has only been one exception to that rule in the last 4 years and that was someone who had a family member working for the company.
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The profitable piece of Linkedin is their corporate subscription business. Companies paying thousands of dollars so their recruiting folks can target specific individuals and send unlimited messages. Not the “you can see 20 folks at a time” on the free service- the paid subscription service. And the more recruiters (i.e. the bigger the company) the more expensive the subscriptions.
I’m keeping an open mind. Parents on here- feel free to post about your kid’s successful job hunt, landing a job they applied for on Indeed or Linkedin this year (or last). Not a decade ago before bots took over the sites so that a job posting can get 800 applicants in the first two hours. And not five years ago before entrepreneurs set up actual businesses getting people to pay for someone else to find and apply for jobs on their behalf.
That’s where the corporate skepticism comes in. You need a lawyer in Chicago who is a member of the Illinois bar for a corporate litigation role at your company, reporting to the General Counsel. And you get 500 resumes of clearly unqualified people, none of whom have a JD, let alone Illinois bar admission. Who has time to wade through the pile?
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We always post our openings on Indeed but we rarely, rarely get a decent application that way. I’m pretty positive we never hired anyone in a professional role who came through Indeed but I may not be remembering. Again industry specific brings in better candidates generally except for say, clerical jobs. Handshake used to be great but I don’t think people are using it as much as a few years ago. We used to get very few applicants through Handshake but they were often excellent. Now almost none. If you are going to apply for a job you found on Indeed if at all possible go to the company website and apply directly - indeed often screws up the qualifications required for application and if I have to chase you for a cover letter I’m already losing interest.
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Please support this generalization.
Footnote: Some don’t want to use them, I’m totally on board with. Maybe even many. But as phrased, this is a generalization across the group.
Footnote #2: The rest of your post has some good stuff, sure. But the generalization feels really dismissive.
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In other words, the “public” ways for applicants and employers to find each other have become less useful due to bot-flooding and such, increasing the dependence on connections and nepotism (which have more limited reach from both the applicant and employer point of view), which makes the matching of applicants and employers less efficient for both applicants and employers.
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Many jobs on indeed take you to the actual corporate website - and if they go through indeed instead, you always first go to the company website and find it. That’s a given.
Some are hidden - and you have to use the indeed thing.
But indeed is the engine that’s helping you find these jobs - all in one place.
I don’t believe the world has changed so much in two - three years that these systems are now ueless.
We can tell everyone to network - but guess what - most people don’t know how - so then what do they do?
Something, even if inefficient, is better than nothing.
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AI screens … and tailoring an application with that in mind needs to be part of an applicant’s strategy.
We all come to this board with life experiences and perspectives. One of my children got a great job he found on Indeed, and that organization still posts jobs there.
My other child teaches graduate classes at a large university, and he works in industry (his company also posts jobs on Indeed). He does not have connections to place his 25 students into jobs. He is also reluctant to risk professional relationships by recommending someone he knows only from a single class. He will gladly write letters of recommendation when asked, because that is something he can speak to honestly as he’s reporting only on a student’s performance in his class.
My question is: if you need a job, why not use all available resources rather than limiting the approach? Job search sites are a resource.
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Ok my son got his job as an environmental consultant via LinkedIn this past November. He was also networking like crazy – he has excellent social skills, kept a spreadsheet of contacts, talked to anyone and everyone suggested (including someone on CC).
He did get an offer from the network, but the job wasn’t a good fit, and he had started the interview process at another firm (through a contact there). But he also applied for all jobs in his area that he learned of through LinkedIn. Besides the company he works for now he also was in talks with a huge company where he was likely to get an offer (too long and boring to explain why it was likely).
Anyway, the bottom line is that both approaches were successful; my son believed he had to pursue EVERY lead, whether it was cold, via LinkedIn, or through networking.
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I mean it was just 2023 when my kid had 19 interviews, every single one from indeed. And that’s how he got his internship two summers before (he returned so no need the next summer) - and it had to be some job board he got his after first year job. And my daughter got her internship through the State of Tennessee through indeed - and her DC internship at the think tank and all 7 job intern offers - through indeed.
It’s simply silly to say - you can only find a job this way and no other way. There are so many ways people are finding jobs too - that we don’t even know about.
I still love the GA Tech kid who put on Post It Notes in his apartment window - Hire Me - and NCR (I believe it was) posted a message back in their window - and oola - he had an internship.
To be so defining and limiting that there is only one way - is farcical.
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S24 got his summer job last year via Indeed. Not having the same success this year.
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S21 got his summer 2023 career related internship via Indeed. His other internships and first job via parental extended networks.
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I stand corrected and I am thrilled for the kids who are employed in professional careers!!!
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