Craigslist a Good Way to Find a Job?

The Wall Street Journal says that more and more people are using Craigslist to look for jobs. The highlights:

Craigslist.com, a 13-year-old community Web site, has become a popular destination for more than just folks looking for second-hand furniture and apartment listings. The growing new crowd: Job hunters.

Craigslist features classifieds for more than 500 cities in over 50 countries world-wide, and these include ads for full- and part-time jobs ranging from the corner office to the entry level to babysitting gigs and bartending stints. The site posts two million new job listings every month and draws about 40 million unique visitors in that time as well, says Jim Buckmaster, Craigslist's chief executive officer since 2000.

The corner office? On Craigslist? Really?

Honestly, if I was looking for a job, Craigslist would be about the last place I'd think of checking out. But maybe I'm just missing the boat (or well behind the times). Anyone out there using or used Craigslist to look for/get a job? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this issue.

Comments

[guinness416]

I'm pretty sure this depends on which city you live in. CL is extremely active in New York and San francisco, for example. My husband did find a job via Toronto's CL (not a corner office one, though).

[uberlad]

i'm actually using craigslist at this very moment to find a new job (among other job finding avenues). short story short: there's a lot of crap but I'm finding some really great positions, moreso than anything careerbuilder or monster.com offer

[Anne]

About 3 years ago, I scored a job after posting my resume on Atlanta's Craigslist. Within 3 days of the post I had an e-mail from a local software start-up who was looking for someone with my background. It wound up being the best job I'd ever had, and helped finance the start of the company I now own.

[Ryan Waggoner]

I'd say there are a few factors at work here:
1. Location (huge in SF Bay Area, NYC, etc)
2. Industry (probably more popular with tech ppl)
3. Generation (tends to skew younger, I'm sure)

That being said, Craigslist has a lot of junk that you have to wade through, but over the last two years, my wife and I have found several awesome jobs on there, both of our apartments, sold cars, bought and sold furniture, and for the last year, the bulk of our consulting and freelance clients have originated at Craigslist.

Sites like Monster and CareerBuilder are a joke.

[Lauren]

I've gotten every job I've had since college through Craigslist. I've also advertised for positions through Craigslist and gotten excellent results.

However, these were for urban areas (Boston, Washington D.C. metro area). We're looking at relocating to a small town in Pennsylvania, and Craigslist is not a good job-finding resource for that location.

[Kevin]

I'll have to check that out as my wife may be looking for a new job soon.

[Nick]

I would have to agree with the above statements. I live in the DC Metro area and craigslist is a huge resource for jobs, especially for the younger generation and the technically inclined.

[tom]

Gen Y is using Craigslist to find their jobs. I think it's a great resource!

[Josh Stein]

I've had a couple interviews from Craigslist, but one ended up being for a pyramid scheme and the other simply didn't work out.

I would look on Craigslist in the future, though. Certainly there were a number of resumes sent out because of jobs on there. And if I were hiring, I'd look at Craigslist.

[Emily]

I live in Austin, where Craigslist is huge, and yes, I've used it for jobs. I've found several great families on there who I babysit for on occasion, and got a few part-time jobs in college from Craigslist posts. I also had an internship that turned into a job right after college that I found on Craigslist. The company where I currently am puts some job ads on Craigslist, though that's not how I ended up here. It's not very useful in smaller cities, but for certain places, it's an awesome job resource. There are definitely scams and things on there, but there's plenty of legit opportunities as well.

[Bezen]

I've gotten my last job via New York Craigslist. It is one of the first places I would look if I need another job.

[Michelle]

I have found several smaller, short-term jobs via CL.

Definitely one of the top places to look for jobs in Chicago.

[MonkeyMonk]

I've hired two people over the past few years through Craigslist and both worked out great. I also have a friend who owns a jewelry design and manufacturing business and she's gotten all of her employees through Craigslist.

["Mo" Money]

I'll have to check it out my son is looking for work. Thanks!

[Joshua Raines]

I found a previous job on craigslist. I worked as a web designer/web engineer for a Motorcycle company out in Southern California.

[Joe Marchelewski]

It really depends on your city. I lived in Los Angeles for a while and I got some good leads off of Criagslist. I actually got most of my freelance work from that site. With recruiters not always being honest or reliable, Craigslist sort of evens the playing field. The big challenge is that they don't screen the posters, so you get some real shady characters sometimes.

[Jim K]

I work for a financial firm based in Chicago. As a smaller firm (under 50 employees), we rarely are looking for high level executives as most have been in place for at least 10 years. However, being a sales organization, we are always looking for motivated individuals that are looking for an opportunity to get into our field. We consistently post for openings in Craigslist and have had much success. We offer a valuable opportunity and in return have found motivated new employees. I have also had personal success on this site with a rental property. Craigslist is simply another way for two interested parties to meet; whether it is furniture, an apartment, autos, books or jobs.

[Dave]

It costs $75 to post a job listing on CL. It's the only listing they charge for. Therefore, the job listings are usually of a slightly higher quality than the rest of the listings, because the poster had to pay for it.

As everyone else said, it depends on location and what you're looking for. While I'm sure there are corner-office postings, I have a feeling they're rare, and are the corner office for "Awesome internet startup looking for COO! Will offer stock options until salary is justifiable!," not Lehman Bros.

[Lady Tawodi]

I found my dream job on Craigslist :)

[D]

As other folks have mentioned, Craig's List in the Bay area is an institution and hundreds of thousands of people rely on it for jobs, apartments, meeting new friends, couches, cars, etc.

I've used it to find mid-level marketing jobs in my younger days and have hired extremely talented people from CL. While it is currently a large city phenomena (with a concentration in the West) it has made significant inroads elsewhere. You are more apt to get a call back from a job listing you answered on CL than you are on Monster, Hotjobs, or even the local paper.

[Nation]

it's a better place to look then the newspaper ... both for the business and the prospect

[Anonymous]

One benefit of posting a job on craigslist is that it screens out people who aren't Internet savvy.

[Rissa]

Got a GREAT job right out of college with Craigslist. I love my position; it pays what I was looking for, I'm getting some well-rounded experience that I can take with me, and I really like the people I work with. It is a small office, but they're a legit company (mebath.com), no shadiness, no MLM, etc. This is the 2nd or 3rd job I've gotten off craigslist. The first one, I was making 20/hr at a small business managing the office while I was in school.

A lot of employers are posting on Craiglist - it's cost effective and you can land some amazing talent. They're also using social networks like LinkedIn more and more.

[Kimberly]

I work in Denver and I found my current job on Craigslist. There are a lot of quality listings in the Accounting/Finance area, but there is quite a bit of garbage, too (Denver job postings are free), and a lot of recruiters' ads you have to wade through (I prefer direct hirings). My manager said that she received fewer but higher-quality résumés through Craigslist than through their Monster ads.

I still scan the ads (you never know what you might find ;), plus we're thinking of eventually moving to the Boulder area), and I see several higher-level positions advertised (Controller and up). There are also some national ads for really high-level positions.

[Gavagirl]

I got my current tech writer position by posting my resume on CL. Austin employers and recruiting agencies seem to check the site pretty regularly for candidates. I wasn't relying on CL as a primary resource though, it was more of a "what the hey, I'll post here too" decision.

[SmBizMan]

I have posted jobs twice on Craigslist and hired once from there.

It has turned out great, and at only $25 for an official listing, its a good value.

[Jvi]

It's true that it depends on the city you are looking in. I am from Westchester County in NY and found my current job on craigslist - it actually ended up being the most useful job search site for me, and the company I work for is fantastic.

On the other hand, if you are from, say upstate NY, the pickens are slim, as the saying goes. However, you find more postings for jobs (and fairly legit ones, no less) in obscure areas than you would on monster, careerbuilder, or the local newspaper.

[Sick of Debt]

I've gotten a wide variety of jobs off of Craigslist in the Chicagoland area. It helped me get through a rough patch of time when I couldn't find a job.

In addition, a few weeks ago a friend from church thanked me profusely for directing him to Craigslist for work, his finances have turned around 180 degrees due to the leads he found.

[CM]

I found a job listing on craigslist and applied for it and ended up getting a really good job as a contractor for the government getting paid more than I ever have so craigslist is now the FIRST place I go to look for jobs!

[briang467]

I work in online marketing in Los Angeles, and CL is the best place to find jobs. It's also a good place to find talent. I brought someone in as a contractor because his resume was on CL, then we hired him.

[Solar]

I have used it, and we find a lot of our employees on it. It's common to use in the Orange County area.

[piglet]

I am working close to home after finding a job on Craiglist in a very small town in PA. My commute is now 2 miles as opposed to 42 one way when I was in burnout mode in corporate America. I am in a holding pattern for the next five years until the little one goes to middle school, but then I hope to springboard to a sales position, hopefully commission sales. I can bust my butt with the best of them, I would like to be rewarded financially for my hard work in my next gig.

[Adam]

I even got laid from craigslist!

[Hossain.]

I've been looking for job on Craigslist almost a month now, and nothing. I'm living in Vancouver BC.