Up until the early 1990's, jobs were listed in the employment editions of leading newspapers or government employment exchanges or through retained search companies.
However, during the late 1990s the conventional means of job search became ineffective, as the Internet significantly changed the way that people looked for jobs. Dedicated job portals and job boards have since become even more common on the Internet and these online job search portals have easily become the preferred option for employers and job seekers alike.
Job seekers who are actively looking for jobs now have the option to search through thousands of job postings online or advertisements posted by headhunters or recruitment agencies on these sites. Searching for a job online is the easiest and the most convenient way of looking for the most appropriate jobs. If there is something that suits their requirements they can easily register on the site and apply.
It is also possible to conduct a passive job search through these sites as sometimes people are happy with their current jobs and are not actively looking for new employment opportunities, but don't mind if they are "searched for" or identified by a recruiting agency for a vacancy that matches their skill sets.
This can be achieved by the job-seeker posting their resume on the online job search portal. Resume uploads are normally free and these job portals have filters and intelligent tools that do not divulge the person's name or current employer to safeguard their privacy.
There are times when retained job search is still the way to go, particularly for very senior positions. Whilst there are a small number of executive recruitment search sites, online job search is not as appropriate for very high-level jobs as the employer typically defines the segment or companies from where their future employees have to be sourced, narrowing the potential field significantly.
Online job sites have however become the primary method used by employers to fill entry and mid level positions. These employment portals also help companies that seek to fill many positions in a short period of time because they give access to a database of resumes ready for them to search through and line up interviews.
The employment portal charges a fee to employers and recruitment agencies to access their database of resumes while the job seeker gets to upload their resume for free. There are a small number of online job search websites that charge a fee to job-seekers if they wish to register to apply for certain jobs.
These online job search websites also provide news and information on the job market and resume building and profiling services for jobseekers who want to create a professional resume or when they want their resume to match the specifications of a particular job.
There is no doubt that online job sites and the ability for so many people to conduct an online job search have significantly changed the recruitment landscape and made it easier for employers to find new recruits and for jobseekers to land the job that they were looking for.
