A tale about CareerBuilder.com

[Orrex]

I loaded my resume a while back and found the service to be more or less worthless. I have a range of experience, including sales, and the one thing I don't want to do again is sales. Now every single job suggestion that CareerBuilder sends me is a sales position, typically described as "great earning potential for an ambitious self-starter." Worse, all of the suggested jobs are in North Carolina, which would be fine if I didn't live in Pennsylvania.

So I went to the site to update my information, and my email address should be the login. However, mine didn't work, and I requested that my password be sent to me. Then CareerBuilder tells me that my email address isn't recognized... The same email that they've been using to send me North Carolina sales opportunities for the past year.

Great service they've got there.

[JANdad]

1. That site is nothing more than

MLM and work-from-home crap!

[Orrex]

2. Yeah, it kind of sucks

I'm getting to the point where I'll simply lable the incoming messages as spam and let my email server sort it out for me.

[mythology]

3. At least the crap they send me is for the right state.

But it's all financial services and sales, neither of which I have experience at or would be any good at. I've unfortunately gotten on that spam list, but I'm starting to get a little concerned about a lack of income so I need to keep that line in the water just in case.

[tabbycat31]

4. before I went into my current field

Career Builder would send me jobs all the time that were either sales (I have no interest or desire to EVER do sales) or medical related. Again I have nothing against those in the medical profession, but I am very squeamish and it would not be the field for me.

And they were in New York City--- I live a 2 hour train ride from there and would not commute there for a $12/hour job.

[JonLP24]

5. The only interview offers I get is for sales

Used to be really good along with Monster about 5 or more years ago.

[Curmudgeoness]

6. I have the same problem, and I have never done sales.

Sales is nowhere in my resume. All scams.

If anyone knows of any online job site that really will work, let us all know. I have tried so many, and they are all uselss. I don't know who finds jobs on any of these sites.

[tabbycat31]

8. what is your field?

I've noticed that the online job sites specific to your individual field are much better than the general ones.

[Kat45]

7. Now they send me individual job descriptions of a job they say is a "great fit" for me

based on my information, yada, yada, yada. And the job never fits me in any way at all. It's a WTF!

[TZ]

9. Actually Careerbuilder is how I found this current job

I found it to be waaay superior to Monster and even some of the local sites. Occasionally it would suggest something out of left field (what part of my science/biology resume indicates I'm interested in doing MORTGAGES?) but usually it was very relevant and most of it local. But then again this was a few years ago so it could have changed.
Maybe you need to find something locally oriented like DCjobgigs here.

[OmahaBlueDog]

13. I know my employer uses both Careerbuilder and Monster

They also work with trade websites.

Your mortgage example is pretty typical of all professions. I think the advertiser simply tags every job type under the sun to get the maximum number of eyes on their ad. It's annoying, but it's not unique to Careerbuilder.

[kedrys]

10. Consider joining LinkedIn

A lot more serious and focused. I met the recruiter who found me my current job there - I was unemployed a grand total of 4 days between jobs. Great networking as well.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

12. Interesting. All I have noticed is a whole bunch of people I have

worked with before - with phony "recommendation"s from their friends.

[Orrex]

15. That's been my experience with the site as well

The only people I seem to be able to link with are friends and former coworkers who are in no position to hire me or to give a reference that will count for more than a Facebook wall-post.

[Orrex]

14. I have to confess that I have approximately zero skill at networking

The whole enterprise feels smarmy and unpalatable to me, in the same way that I don't get along well with salespeople who are always "on."


Any suggestions?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

16. lol...I agree. have you ever used "dice.com" ..good site

[Laura PourMeADrink]

11. try dice.com. I have found all my assignments thru them.

[fabsfour]

17. The point is not to wait for jobs to be sent to you

The people sending you job information are not from CareerBuilder. They're folks who are paying to be able to send you those "job opportunities". CareerBuilder makes money from it but otherwise they have nothing to do with it.

The way to use any job site is to load your resume and search their jobs database and then submit your resume to jobs, not wait until they send you your dream job in an email. My company uses several of these sites, and I have gotten jobs through these sites (not sales jobs), and they work just fine.