Consumer Tips: Job Searcher’s Guide to Online Job Sites
This guide to online job sites is a list of the top job searching sites online. This list gives information about the privacy practices at each site. Because resumes contain such detailed personal and professional information, it is well worth caring about how job search sites handle privacy issues. This guide is updated monthly, and we add new information to the guide monthly.
How to read the site results
The guide is updated monthly. This guide originally began in 2003 as part of a World Privacy Forum year-long job search study. Researchers tested each site for how it used cookies, how it responded to privacy questions, if you could look at jobs freely, and other things.
A quick note: In this list, you will find information about “cookies,” small files that some job sites put on your computer. Some cookies are temporary — these are called session cookies. These cookies are generally just to help you use the site better. But other cookies, called tracking cookies, can be a problem. This is because some job sites allow one or more advertisers to deposit tracking cookies on jobseekers’ computers and track their activities across the web. Some of these cookies can last for years and can give out a lot of information over many Web sites you use. Some companies allow you to say no, or “opt-out” of cookie tracking. For more detailed information about cookies and how to opt out please see the Cookie OptOut Guide: <https://www.worldprivacyforum.org/cookieoptout.html >
Each listing looks like this:
Site name
- Privacy policy: Yes/No
- No registration/Must register prior to looking at job ads
- To apply: must register / do not need to register to apply for a job
- Cookies required to use site: Yes/No
- Site allows/does not allow use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads
- Accessibility:
- Note:
Here are detailed explanations of each item in the site results:
- Privacy policy: This indicates if a site has a posted privacy policy on its Web site. A privacy policy is a legal document that will indicate to you how a company will use and handle your personal data. We link to the policy when one is available, and if we could find the policy.
- Registration required/not required: This tells you if you have to register and give your personal information before you may look at job ads.
- To apply: This tells you if you are able to apply for a job without registering with the site. Some sites provide users with the ability to apply by contacting the company directly.
- Cookies required to use site: This tells you if you must turn on cookies to look at job ads and use the site.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads: Some people like to use anonymizing services like Anonymizer.com or Tor to look for jobs. If a site allows this, or does not, we have noted that. Please note that most sites require you to unmask from an anonymizing service to apply for jobs or post a resume. In general, anonymizing services work best for browsing through job ads.
- Accessibility: Some sites have added accessibility features. When we learn of these, we make a note of these features.
- Note: Occasionally, some sites have additional privacy information that we have noted. For example, if a Social Security Number is requested at the site, we list this.
Tips to remember when jobsearching online:
- No matter what site you access, you should always be extremely careful about giving out your SSN, date of birth, gender, race, and any sensitive medical or personal information.
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 <http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/vii.html> prohibits companies from discriminating against you based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Some Web sites will ask you to specify your gender and/or your race to help companies comply with this law. Providing this information is voluntary. If a web site will not allow you to apply to a job or access job listings without giving this information, please let us know about it.
- There is never a circumstance in which you should give an employer or Web site a scan of your driver’s license, your credit card number, your bank account information, plus your SSN and date of birth. Valid employers will not ask for a credit card number, even to conduct a background check.
- Also, please keep in mind that some job ads are for fake jobs that are scams. For more information about this topic, please see the Consumer Job Fraud Tips page at the World Privacy Forum: https://www.worldprivacyforum.org/2008/07/jobscamtipspayforwarding/.
- We encourage all job seekers to either accept only session cookies at job sites, or to opt-out of “tracking” cookies wherever possible. This is true even if you are just browsing job ads and not posting a resume. For more information about cookies, see our page on cookie privacy.
- And finally, before you post a resume online, please read our cautions and tips on how to do this: https://www.worldprivacyforum.org/2009/02/consumer-tips-job-seekers-guide-to-resumes/ This resource is regularly updated.
List of The Job Sites
6 Figure Jobs
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: must register .
- Cookies required to use site: No. You will need to turn cookies on if you want to register or logon to the site.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
BestJobsUSA
- Privacy policy: No. It is not linked from the home page. We could not readily locate the privacy policy. Proceed with caution.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: Most job announcements at the time of testing did not contain contact email addresses and/or phone numbers, so it is generally not possible to apply directly with the employer without registering.
- Cookies required to use site: No.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
- Note: This site refers you to Indeed.com for searches. From there, you will be referred on to the job poster.
Black Collegian
jobs.blackcollegian.com/jobseekerx
- Privacy policy: Yes . The privacy policy is not linked directly from the home page, however, one is available.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: Do not always need to register to apply for a job. Some of the job ads lead directly back to the employer’s web site or the employers application portal.
- Cookies required to use site: No. You will need to turn cookies on if you want to register or logon to the site.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
CaliforniaJobs.com
www.californiajobs.com/ or http://www.localcareers.com/
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: do not need to register to apply for a job. Some of the job ads contain contact information for you to contact the employer directly, others do not.
- Cookies required to use site: No, but to apply online with an employer, you may need to turn them on.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads
- Note: This site is part of a network operated as part of LocalCareers.com, Inc. The CaliforniaJobs.com site is affiliated with a large network of sites in a number of states. In general, when you see a job ad on this network and act to submit an online employment application, you will generally be redirected to a new site. Sometimes you will land on the employer web site, sometimes you will land at a third party such as “Jobing” to submit an application. In some cases, you will be redirected to other sites such as CollegeRecruiter or Net-Temps by clicking on a job ad. You will need to read the privacy policies of all new links carefully, as they usually differ.
CareerBuilder
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: must register to apply for a job. However, some of the job ads contain contact information for you to contact the employer directly. In these cases, you may not need to register at the CareerBuilder site to apply directly to the employer.
- Cookies required to use site: No. You will need to turn cookies on if you want to register or logon to the site.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
- Accessibility: This site has a text-only option for screen readers and other devices. See the “508” link in the upper right hand corner of the home page.
CalJobs
- Privacy policy: Yes. Please see note below.
- Must register prior to looking at job ads
- To apply: must register to apply for a job.
- Cookies required to use site: Yes.
- Site does not allow use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
- Site requires SSN and date of birth before seeing ads or posting resume.
- Note: Many of the policies at this site are generally privacy-unfriendly. It is not possible to browse job openings without giving the site your SSN and date of birth. Additionally, the privacy policy is difficult to locate from some of the internal pages and needs to be much more complete. It is here: http://www.edd.ca.gov/About_EDD/Privacy_Policy.htm. The privacy policy notes that some information submitted may become a public record, but they do not specify what information this might be, or specifically how resumes and other job search activities are treated in this regard. Proceed with caution.
CareerJournal
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads
- To apply: must register to apply for a job, however, many jobs list contact information in full view, so it is possible to apply for the job without going through the CareerJournal site.
- Cookies required to use site: No. You will need to turn cookies on if you want to register or logon to the site.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
Career One Stop
- Privacy policy: Yes .
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
- Cookies required to use site: No. You will need to turn cookies on if you want to register or logon to the site.
- Accessibility: The site has a TTY line: 1-877-348-0501.
- Note: this site is operated by the US Department of Labor and leads to state job sites.
CareerSite
- Privacy policy: Yes. We noticed that the privacy policy only lists an email for contact information. This is a potential red flag; we like to see a phone number in addition to an email address.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads; some jobs listed contact information without need to log in.
- To apply: must register in order to apply online through CareerSite. However, some of the job ads give an address or other contact information where you can send a resume.
- Cookies required to use site: No. However, they are required to log into the site if you want to apply through the site itself.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
CollegeRecruiter.com
- Privacy policy: Yes. See note below.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads. For this site, you can see the job ads, the company name and general location. Some (but not all) of the ads list a phone number and a company website where you can apply directly for the job without going through CollegeRecruiter.
- To apply: do not need to register to apply for a job in all cases; direct contact information for the company is sometimes available. If it is not, you can select an option to email your resume directly to the recruiter through the CollegeRecruiter site without posting your resume online, or you can apply online through the CollegeRecruiter site by posting your resume. In either case, you will need to register.
- Cookies required to use site: No. You will need to turn cookies on if you want to register or logon to the site.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
- Note: The privacy policy at this site contains at least one problematic statement. For example, “Except as otherwise provided, we reserve the right to use and disclose any information that you provide via this website (regardless of whether such information is provided by you actively, passively, directly, or indirectly) for any purpose that we, in our sole discretion, deem necessary or proper.” This is a very broad statement; proceed with caution.
College Central
- Privacy policy: Yes
- Must register prior to looking at job ads
- To apply: must register.
- Cookies required to use site: Yes, due to required registration.
- Site does not allow use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
- Note: To get to the CollegeCentral jobs, click on the Student Central link, where you will need to register to see the jobs.
CollegeGradJobHunter
- Privacy policy: Yes. If you want to opt out of tracking cookies used at this site, try the NAI opt-out page or our cookie opt-out page.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: Do not need to register to apply for some of the jobs; many of the jobs we reviewed contain contact information that will allow you to contact employers directly. Not all jobs have direct contact information; to apply online, you will need to create an account at CollegeGrad.com.
- Cookies required to use site: No, but to register you will need to turn cookies on.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
CoolWorks
- Privacy policy: Yes. If you want to opt out of tracking cookies used at this site, try the NAI opt-out page or our cookie opt-out page.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads
- To apply: Do not generally need to register to apply for a job. Most of the jobs we saw here link you directly to the employer or give you contact information and directions how to apply.
- Cookies required to use site: No. But to register, you will need to turn cookies on.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
Craigslist.org
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: Do not need to register to apply for a job. Many job ads contain the contact information directly in the ad; others provide a Craigslist email. Either way, registration is not required.
- Cookies required to use site: No.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
Edjoin/ CalTeach
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: Do not need to register to apply for all jobs. This site contains primarily teaching jobs. Some jobs are available online, others require paper applications. Each job will list the requirements.
- Cookies required to use site: No, but to apply online you generally need to turn them on.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
- Note: You may be asked to provide your SSN at this site. Before you provide it, you may want to ask if the SSN is voluntary or required information. Sometimes it is strictly voluntary.
DICE
- Privacy policy: Yes. If you want to opt out of tracking cookies used at this site, try the NAI opt-out page or our cookie opt-out page. DICE lists only an email contact on its privacy policy.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: Do not need to register to apply for a job. DICE gives you the ability to apply to a job without setting up a profile. You still use its system, but it is a pretty straightforward process. You can register if you would like to.
- Cookies required to use site: No. You will need to turn cookies on if you want to register or logon to the site.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
DirectEmployers: see JobCentral
Execunet
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- Must register prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: Must register to apply for a job
- Cookies required to use site: Yes, to look at jobs and apply.
- Site allows does not allow use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
- Note: Execunet is a for-pay members only service.
FastWeb.com
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- Must register prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: must register to apply for a job.
- Cookies required to use site: Yes.
- Site does not allow use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
- FastWeb is owned by Monster.com which has had several significant data breaches. See our consumer alerts about Monster.com data breaches here: https://www.worldprivacyforum.org/ConsumerAlert_Jan27_2009.html and https://www.worldprivacyforum.org/ConsumerAlert_August222007.html.
FedJobs.com (Federal Research Service.)
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- Must register prior to looking at complete job ads.
- To apply: Must register to apply for a job (must register prior to seeing the complete job ad.)
- Cookies required to use site: Yes, due to the registration requirement.
- Site does not allow use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads, due to the registration requirement.
- Note: FedJobs requires a membership fee to see full job details.
FlipDog
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads. To see the complete job ad, you will be redirected to Monster.com.
- To apply: must register to apply for a job.
- Cookies required to use site: You can see job ads without cookies, but to apply you will need to turn cookies on.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
- FlipDog is owned by Monster.com, which has had several data breaches. See our consumer alerts here: https://www.worldprivacyforum.org/ConsumerAlert_Jan27_2009.html and https://www.worldprivacyforum.org/ConsumerAlert_August222007.html.
Hire Diversity
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: must register to apply for a job. Generally, most jobs require application through HireDiversity.
- Cookies required to use site: No, unless you want to apply online, then you will need to use cookies.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
HotJobs
- Privacy policy: Yes. If you want to opt out of tracking cookies used at this site, try the NAI opt-out page or our cookie opt-out page.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: must register to apply for a job .
- Cookies required to use site: Not required to look at ads, required to apply for jobs online.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
- Note: to post your resume at HotJobs, you will be sent to a Yahoo! Registration page. Yahoo! Is HotJobs’ parent company. While registering at Yahoo! you may choose to opt in or out of marketing emails.
Idealist
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- You can look at 3 job ads before you register for the site.
- To apply: Do not need to register to apply for a job in that you will see 3 full job ads with contact information. Then you will need to register.
- Cookies required to use site: Yes, if you want to see more than 3 ads.
- Site does not allow use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads. If you use an anonymizing tool, you may have difficulty seeing the job ads.
Indeed
- Privacy policy: Yes. (The privacy policy is not linked from the home page.)
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads
- To apply: You may or may not need to register to apply for a job — variable requirements. See note.
- Cookies required to use site: No.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
- Note: Indeed is a “pass-through” site. Your search will direct you to job postings on third party sites, where variable policies will be in effect regarding privacy and cookies, etc.
IM Diversity
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: Do not need to register to apply for a job.
- Cookies required to use site: No.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
- Note: This long-standing site continues to be an impressive and consumer-friendly job search site.
JobBankUSA
- Privacy policy: Yes. Please see note. Also, the privacy policy does not appear to be linked from the home page.
- No registration required prior to looking at partial job ads . To see full job ads, you must register.
- To apply: Must register.
- Cookies required to use site: No, but to see full job ads and register you will need to turn cookies on.
- Site allows limited use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
- Note: The privacy policy notes that your registration at JobbankUSA is your “consent” for sharing your information with some third parties for marketing. “By registering with JobBankUSA and providing your information, you are consenting that we may share the information that you provide to us with our marketing partners (including EmailOffersOnDemand) so that they can send you information about products and services which may be of interest to you.”
JobCentral
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: Do not generally need to register to apply for a job. Most if not all of the jobs on this site link directly to the employer and give contact information.
- Cookies required to use site: Not generally.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
- Accessibility: JobCentral has excellent web design for accessibility. You can turn scripting on and off, and you can disable AJAX, among other features.
- Job Central is a non-profit consortium of employers called Direct Employers. The idea is to offer jobs directly to job seekers.
Jobing.com
- (Network of sites includes sites in a variety of states: Arizona, California, Colorado, etc.)
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: Must typically register to apply for a job, but it is variable. See note.
- Cookies required to use site: in general the site may be used without cookies, but to apply they will usually need to be turned on.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
- Note: This site is a “pass through” site. When you conduct a search for jobs, you will be passed to Indeed.com, where you will then find a variety of jobs from employers listed.
Jobs.com
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads
- To apply: Do not always need to register to apply for a job; some of the jobs contain contact information directly in the listing.
- Cookies required to use site: No.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
- Note: Jobs.com is a “pass through site.” The links will eventually lead you to Monster.com, it’s parent company.
The Ladders
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- Must register/join prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: must register / do not need to register to apply for a job
- Cookies required to use site: Yes.
- Site does not allow use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
- Note: Although you can register for a free basic account for some limited access to job listings, this is a primarily for-pay site.
LatPro
- Privacy policy: Yes. The policy is not apparently linked from the home page.
- No registration required prior to looking at partial job ads. You will usually need to register or supply some information to get full ad details.
- To apply: Variable requirements, application is easier at this site if you register to apply for a job.
- Cookies required to use site: No. But to register, you will need to turn cookies on.
- Site allows/does not allow use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
Legal Staff
- Privacy policy: No. We could not locate a privacy policy as of the most recent update. There is a Terms and Conditions page, but not an express privacy policy that we could find.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: Do not need to register to apply for a job.
- Cookies required to use site: No. But to register, you will need to turn cookies on.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
Medzilla
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: Do not need to register to apply for a job. Many if not most of the job ads direct you to the employer for application.
- Cookies required to use site: No. But to register, you will need to turn cookies on.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
Monster.com
- Privacy policy: Yes. Monster.com has had data breaches involving job seeker information. See note.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: Variable. Do not always need to register to apply for a job, depending on how much contact information the employer has given.
- Cookies required to use site: No. But to register, you will need to turn cookies on.
- Site does not generally allow use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
- Note: Please see our consumer alerts about Monster.com data breaches here: https://www.worldprivacyforum.org/ConsumerAlert_Jan27_2009.html and https://www.worldprivacyforum.org/ConsumerAlert_August222007.html.
Nacelink
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- Must register prior to looking at job ads; see note. Your school will need to be a member.
- To apply: Must register to apply for a job.
- Cookies required to use site: Yes, due to logon requirement.
- Site does not allow use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
- Note: Naclelink is a site that may only be used by member colleges and universities, and by those who have accounts at those institutions. If you are attending a college or university, you will need to ask your career center about accessing this site. Nacelink is owned by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, a non-profit organization. NACE as an organization has a code of Principles for Professional Conduct that employers must abide by when working with college students. You can find the principles here: http://www.naceweb.org/about/principl.html.
NationJob.com
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: Do not generally need to register to apply for a job, many of the jobs contain employer contact information directly in the job ad.
- Cookies required to use site: No. But to register, you will need to turn cookies on.
- Site allows variable use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
- Note: NationJob.com is a straightforward, long-standing job site.
Net-Temps
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: Do not always need to register to apply for a job; variable, depending on amount of contact information given in the job ad.
- Cookies required to use site: No. But to register, you will need to turn cookies on.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
Poynter
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: Do not need to register to apply for a job. Most of the jobs have contact information for the employer.
- Cookies required to use site: No. But to register, you will need to turn cookies on.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
Studentjobs.gov /USAJOBS
- Privacy policy: Yes. Privacy Impact Assessment is also available. Please see note about USAJOBs data breaches below.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads
- To apply: Variable requirements, may need to register to apply online, but not always.
- Cookies required to use site: No. But to register, you will need to turn cookies on.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
- StudentJobs.gov and USAJOBS are the U.S. government’s official gateway job sites. The sites’ operations have been contracted out to Monster.com. Monster.com has had several large data breaches of job seeker information, and this has resulted in USAJOBs having data breaches as well. See our Consumer alerts about USAJOBS here: https://www.worldprivacyforum.org/ConsumerAlert_Jan27_2009.html and https://www.worldprivacyforum.org/ConsumerAlert_August222007.html.
TrueCareers
- Privacy policy: Yes. The privacy policy links back to CareerBuilder.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads
- To apply: Variable requirements; some job ads contain employer contact information.
- Cookies required to use site: No. But to register, you will need to turn cookies on.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
- Note: Truecareers is a “pass through” site. Your searches will be directed back to CareerBuilder.
Vault
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: Do not always need to register to apply for a job; depending on how much contact information is in the job ad.
- Cookies required to use site: No.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads. The pages do not display as well, but the site still works.
Volt
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads. (Limited information)
- To apply: You will need to typically work through Volt in some way to apply for the job, either by sending email or registering.
- Cookies required to use site: Yes. You must turn on cookies to use this site.
- Site does not generally allow use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
WorkingWorld
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: You do not always need to register to apply for a job, some of the job ads contain employer contact information. Some jobs do require you to apply through the site.
- Cookies required to use site: Generally not for browsing the job ads, but to apply you may need to turn cookies on.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
Workopolis
- Privacy policy: Yes.
- No registration required prior to looking at job ads.
- To apply: Do not need to register to apply for a job; many of the job ads list employer contact information.
- Cookies required to use site: No.
- Site allows use of anonymizing services for browsing job ads.
- A consumer-friendly site.
The updates of this guide are made possible by a grant from the Rose Foundation Consumer Privacy Fund.
Most recent update: May 8, 2009. Originally posted: November 2003.
Pam Dixon is the author of the Job Search Guide. She is the author of two books on online job searching (Be Your Own Headhunter Online, Random House; Job Searching Online for Dummies, Wiley) and has done research work on job search privacy with the University of Denver and with the World Privacy Forum.