What do you think about using Craigslist for seeking jobs?

I have used Craigslist for my employment search in the past and I ended staying in that position for over a year. I said that to say this - Yes, there are many legitimate job opportunities listed on Craigslist however there are also some that are no so legitimate and some for which you must tread lightly. When applying, always look for a company name and conduct the necessary research before applying and sending any personal information. Also beware of postings that request money upfront in order to work. No legitimate job opportunity will require you to pay for it. Best of luck!

I personally have used Craigslist to find Job Leads but not so much in jobs themselves. I have looked to see if there were leads listed on there that actually give the name and contact person for a position however not so much in sending my personal information such as resume to someone over craigslist. I did actually get a great position with a Home Health Company that way as the lead was listed with the contact person. I would say using the site for that purpose is a great idea however otherwise no. It is too sketchy especially these days.

I think a lot depends on the field of work, and your location. I have seen a fair amount of reputable positions for nonprofits, and attorneys, on Craigslist. Any site can have shady postings - Craigslist of course has more than its share. So the key is to be suspicious. If anything whatsoever just doesn't sound right, be very cautious, or simply skip that job altogether. And any time you get an uneasy feeling, even if you can't explain it, skip that job too! The human body is incredibly capable of sensing danger - we just need to stop over-riding our defense mechanisms!

LinkedIn and Indeed are probably the two best job sites out there right now. You can create searches and receive job alerts like you mentioned on both sites. LinkedIn is a great resource for connecting; maybe you're just not sure how to use it to connect? Here's a good article on that from LinkedIn: https://university.linkedin.com/content/dam/university/global/en_US/site/pdf/TipSheet_NetworkingonLinkedIn.pdf

Honestly, I would never search for a job on Craigslist. I would be very concerned about opportunities on there being legit and safe. Just my .02.

As a matter of fact, I've had some very good experiences with Craiglist both in finding jobs and in finding employees. I got an early job as an instructor with a company that had used Craigslist as a "low cost" "last resort", and it turned out to be very effective, not only in getting me involved, but also for me to get others involved.

Later on, in addition to the general job boards, like Monster and Linkedin and such, we used Craigslist to populate some teams for an engineering project.

From my own perspective as an employer, I've found that folks on Craigslist seem to be resourceful and flexible. Otherwise, I suspect they'd be less likely to use a somewhat "non-standard" approach to looking.