9th Best Site for Active Job Search – Craigslist

If people came in two kinds – the ones who ‘get’ Craigslist, and one’s who don’t – I’d fall into the latter category.  To me, Craigslist’s interface seems cluttered, their search engine seems rudimentary, and their content seems rife with spam.  I’m in the minority.  Craigslist is one of the 50 most popular sites on the Internet, and supporters of Craigslist are legendary in their devotion.

What’s most important to our hypothetical job seeker (see the initial post in this series for background) is finding the site with the broadest coverage of available jobs in their area; and on this criteria, Craigslist is the 9th best site.

With 14% coverage of the sample job pool, Craigslist just noses ahead of Monster (12%).  Keep in mind though that Craigslist has a local site specifically for Eugene, Oregon (the test location for this comparison).  For locations without a Craigslist site, coverage would likely be lower.

Jobs on Craigslist are much different than jobs on Monster.  Posting ads on Craigslist is free in most cities (including Eugene), making it cost effective to advertise for higher-turnover, lower-paying positions.  Of course this is the inverse of the market served by Monster. 

And ‘free’ isn’t always a good thing.  Yes, anyone can place an ad since price isn’t a barrier to entry.  The bad news is that anyone can place an ad – even folks without legitimate job openings.   Mixed in with the real opportunities on Craigslist you may find ads for get-rich schemes, multi-level marketing programs that require upfront investment, and even ads phishing for personal information that may expose you to identity theft.

On Craigslist, the good far outweighs the bad; but for our hypothetical jobseeker, Craigslist is the 9th best choice.

Comments

[Craig Newmark]

thanks! and please help us out, let us know about scam posts.

craig

[Bob Wilson]

Thanks Craig! Your short response speaks volumes about why Craigslist is so popular.

First, in contrast to some key executives at other sites, you didn't challenge the methodology or conclusions. You could have ... there are limitations to my approach. I believe you understand that constructive feedback is one of the most valuable drivers for service improvement.

And second, you asked users to join "the Craigslist community" by asking for help in policing scam posts.

Bravo; and best wishes for continued success!

Bob :-)