There are some great online job search tools available in 2023. If you know where to look you can access some very powerful and very free resources.
Job searching in 2023
Job hunting has become a more complex process. Competition is at an all-time high, largely brought on by the mass layoffs in the latter half of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023. On top of this, HR teams and recruitment companies are relying more on technology to help them manage hiring processes.
In short, if you don’t want to get left behind, you need to learn how to use the technology and tools at your disposal.
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10 online tools to enhance your job search
I’m going to outline 10 tools that you can use to manage your job search, optimize your resume, connect with decision-makers, ace job interviews and negotiate your salary.
Most of these are either free to use, have free-trial periods or have special offers available. Plus, they all come recommended by various job search and career experts.
The top 5 must-have tools
But before we go any further I want to give you my top 5 tools. These are the 5 tools that every job seeker needs to incorporate into their job search for 2023.
The top 5 job search tools at a glance (ad)
Jobscan
Jobscan will optimize your LinkedIn profile, your resume and your cover letter. It will also help you to track your job search. Learn more
Truity
The Truity Career Personality Profiler is a must-try for all job seekers. Before you launch into your job search discover what career is right for you. Learn more
LinkedIn Premium
A free trial of LinkedIn Premium will completely unlock the power of LinkedIn. I recommend that you sign up for the Business package. This will give you more InMails and unlimited searches. Learn more
Sales QL
Sales QL gives you access to the contact information of your LinkedIn network. Send an email or even make a call to the hiring manager in your target organization! Learn more
Hunter
Enter your target company and Hunter will track down the email addresses you need. Networking and making direct contact has never been easier. Learn more
Job search planning tools
Now let’s look at the whole list in more detail. I have broken the list down into key job search stages. Every successful job search begins with a solid plan and some serious self-reflection. These three tools are a great place to begin.
1. Truity Career Personality Profiler
There are lots of reasons why someone might look for a new job. Whilst it may be tempting to take the first opportunity that presents itself, it may not be the best move. At least not in the long run.
Instead, use this opportunity to reflect on your career so far and how you’d like the next 5 years of your career to look.
Truity has a fantastic free career personality profiling tool that will measure both your interests and your personality traits to help you pursue a career path that will keep you motivated and satisfied.
This profiler is based on the powerful Holland Code and Big Five systems, meaning the results are accurate and very useful for narrowing down your target roles.
Get started with Truity here (ad)
2. Jibber Jobber
If you can get past the name, Jibber Jobber will help you to plan your job search and keep an accurate track of the positions that you’ve applied for, responses that you’ve received and people you want to connect with.
If you use Jibber Jobber effectively, you’ll be able to identify areas of your job search plan that are letting you down and need attention. Identifying weak areas and fixing them is an essential part of the job search process.
3. Atlas VPN
A VPN might seem like an odd addition to this list. But when you think about it, almost your entire job search will be conducted online, and that poses a risk to your data.
You’re probably not spending all day every day at home job searching, at least I hope not. Most job seekers stay sane by changing their environments from time to time. Coffee shops are full of job seekers!
Inputting your personal data, uploading your resume, checking your emails and keeping an eye on your bank balance on open WIFI networks is a risky business.
This is where a VPN becomes an essential job search tool. A VPN will help to keep you safe online and there are some great options on the market today.
Atlas is my VPN of choice but you could also check out Nord VPN, Surf Shark, X-VPN or just ask a friend for a recommendation.
Updating your resume & LinkedIn
When it comes to updating your resume, I recommend that you begin by downloading a professional template. Beyond this, there are some amazing tools that will help turn your resume into a sophisticated weapon in your job search armoury.
1. Jobscan
Jobscan tools can increase your interview chances by 50%, now that’s worth investigating!
Recruiters and HR teams use technology – Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to search through thousands of resumes for certain keywords.
Jobscan scans your resume, assesses it against your target job role and identifies the keywords that recruiters are looking for. Incorporating suggested keywords will increase your chances of landing a job interview.
This isn’t about keyword stuffing; it’s about highlighting the most relevant information for the role in your resume. The information that recruiters will be looking for.
Jobscan will also scan your LinkedIn profile, help you with your cover letter and help you to understand ATS.
Click here to unleash the power of Jobscan on your resume (ad)
2. LinkedIn Premium – Keyword insights
LinkedIn Premium is a bit of a no-brainer for job seekers. Why? Well, it’s packed with features designed to help you land a job, plus, you can get a 30-day free trial.
The particular feature that I want to mention here is keyword insights.
Enter your target role, select the nearest match from a dropdown menu and begin to incorporate the suggested keywords into your LinkedIn profile.
Optimizing your LinkedIn profile with suggested keywords will cause you to show up in more searches. It’s step one in getting found when recruiters and hiring managers look for candidates.
After you have completed this exercise, use the who’s viewed my profile tool to check that you are getting more relevant visits to your page. (More on this below).
Signup for a free trial of LinkedIn Learning and Premium features (ad)
3. Grammarly
Before you send another email or upload your resume for one more job, get Grammarly. Grammarly is an incredibly powerful spelling and grammar checker that many professional resume writers use to ensure a resume is 100% error-free.
There are loads of features on Grammarly that are perfect for ensuring your resume and cover letter are as professional as they possibly can be.
Grammarly is way better than a standard spell checker that usually misses incorrect word usage. It will offer sentence structure suggestions and grammar improvements and it’s totally free. An absolute must for job seekers!
Follow this link to get started with Grammarly (ad)
4. Canva
Canva is a free tool that has upended the world of graphic design.
What makes Canva a must-have tool for job seekers? Well, it’s probably the best place on the internet for creating a LinkedIn banner image. And you need an eye-catching LinkedIn banner image!
Adding a LinkedIn banner image to your profile instantly communicates what you do, how you do it and why a company should hire you. The great thing about Canva is that it has loads of amazing free templates that make this process easy.
Get started with Canva here (ad)
Networking
This is where the job search process gets really interesting. Some of the best career opportunities come as a result of networking. So with that in mind, here are two online tools that make networking a fine art.
1. Sales QL
Ever wondered how people land incredible roles that never seem to get advertised? It’s usually because they have accessed the hidden job market.
Accessing the hidden job market is as simple as identifying your target companies, finding the decision makers on LinkedIn and sending them a fantastic email.
But how do you get your hands on the email addresses of the people you need to introduce yourself to?
Enter the tool job seekers have been waiting for…Sales QL.
Sales QL sources the email addresses and telephone numbers of your LinkedIn targets. What’s even more impressive is that you don’t even have to be connected with them for this tool to work!
Sales QL will help you to bypass the gatekeeps and get right to the decision-makers. A must-have tool for job seekers in 2023.
2. Hunter
If you know what companies you are targeting, Hunter is a great tool for getting your foot through the door. Hunter sources the email addresses of the people that you need to connect with.
You can set up a free account and get searching right away. The savvy job hunter knows how important it is to go directly to decision-makers. Hunter is the tool that can help you to do just that.
Get started with Hunter here (ad)
3 . LinkedIn Premium – InMails and who’s viewed your profile tool
Up again we have LinkedIn Premium. Remember that 30-day free trial I mentioned? When you sign up you’ll also get access to 5 free InMails, plus you’ll also be able to see exactly who’s viewed your profile.
LinkedIn InMails are a brilliant tool for job seekers. An InMail credit allows you to directly message someone on LinkedIn even if you are not connected with them. This is perfect for job seekers because reaching out to recruiters or HR managers is a big part of the job search journey.
An InMail allows you to send a longer, more meaningful and more compelling message than a simple connection request, which by the way, are often ignored.
Who’s viewed your profile
Your LinkedIn Premium free trial will also allow you to see exactly who has visited your LinkedIn page within the last 90 days.
So what? Well, if someone has viewed your profile they are likely to be interested in you and your skillset and experience. Think of these people as warm leads. They could be recruiters who are looking for candidates like yourself or hiring managers who are interested in what you could bring to the company.
Something on your profile clearly caught their eye and you may just need to reach out with an InMail and tell them a little bit more about what you do.
Job interviews
If interviewing is your least favourite part of the job search process you’re not alone. Most people need all the help they can get when it comes to acing a job interview.
1. Riveter
Riveter is a really great tool that offers virtual video interview preparation. It’s free to sign up and you’ll get access to example answers, feedback from others and educational blogs and videos. Everything on this site is designed to help you succeed in the interview process.
You can learn more about Riveter here
2. LinkedIn Learning
When it comes to interview preparation, LinkedIn is by far one of the most useful tools out there.
Your LinkedIn Premium free trial will give you access to sample interview answers that have been written by experts. This is a fantastic way to prepare for tricky interview questions such as tell me about yourself or why do you want to work here?
You can also record your practice answers and get AI-powered feedback on your interview answers.
Salary negotiation
Salary negotiation is a tricky one. If you’re like most job seekers you won’t have an accurate idea of your market value. So how do you know what to ask for? What salary expectations should you communicate?
PayScale has a free salary calculator that will help you gauge your market value and provide you with a benchmark for when it comes time to negotiate.
It’s worth taking what Payscale says and increasing it by 10-15% as a jumping-off point for negotiations. There are lots of really useful features on Payscale that are well worth your time!
Conclusion
So there you have it, the top online tools that every job seeker can benefit from in some way. Pick the tools that will help you solve your job search pain points and incorporate them into your toolkit.
