I know that a number of people on here are looking for work so I thought that I’d post this on the off chance it may be helpful. It’s how I got my most recent job as well as some work before that.
This probably only works for someone who has a specific set of skills and enough time in their field to have a respectable resume.
You’ve probably been told to NOT do this, but it worked for me. Post your resume in the resume section of Craigslist for your locale.
Remove any personal info such as name, address, phone, etc. Set up a disposable email address just for this - use a free email provider like Yahoo or Gmail. Also be sure to use Craiglist’s email anonymization feature.
Be prepared to sort through MLM offers and scams. If it sounds to good to be true, it is. If someone wants you to handle money transactions for them, steer clear. But, at least in my case, I got a few legitimate offers.
I’ve had more interviews and more offers from Craigslist than I have with Montser, Dice, etc. I got one freelance job, followed by a job with a company creating websites, followed by my current IT support and software development job. All from Craigslist.
I have a theory about why this is. With the big job sites I always ended up communicating with an HR person. HR people have often been given a long list of skills - 2 years of X, 3 years of Y, 5+ year of Z, etc. etc. In the current job market they can often find the one person who has near or exactly that experience. Odds are that it’s not you.
HR people aren’t technically oriented. They don’t want to hear that your resume demonstrates your ability to pick up new skills and that your overall background is more important than a checklist.
HR people don’t look for potential employees on Craigslist. If someone is looking on Craigslist they’re either a scammer or some technically oriented person who understands your field and understands that the skills you list are close enough even if not exact. They understand that overall knowledge and a track record of picking up new skills can be more important than a check list.
Plus, there’s a lot less competition on Craigslist. If someone is looking on there for someone in your field you’re quite possibly the only one, or one of only a few, that have posted in the last week or so.
So there it is. It’s worked for me and hopefully it will be of use to some of you.
I’ll emphasize again, when you do this, BEWARE OF SCAMS.
