What are some of the most effective places to look for an internship/a job? Least effective? I know FB groups and Kalibrr are really good places to start, but what about Jobstreet for example?

This is in the order of most to least obvious places to look. I can't quantify how easy or effective it is to find a job on these platforms, because it differs from industry to industry and person to person. No matter what there'll be a lot of searching and tracking on your behalf.

But what I will do is share with you the pros and cons I see from every platform. From there, I hope you figure out which cons you can live with and which pros you can leverage.

Again, this is all based on me going through those websites after I got this question. And on my past experience with the websites during my job hunt. None of this is based on factual studies, in case you're looking for that.

List of places online where you can search for jobs:

Jobstreet
LinkedIn Jobs
Kalibrr
FB Groups (like UP / ADMU / DLSU Jobs and Internships)
Word-of-mouth (your existing friend network)

Jobstreet

Jobstreet's amazing, mainly because everyone's been using it since the dawn of time. It's the one with the most options, but not necessarily the top options. Countless friends have used it though to find hidden gem jobs. From a Coca-Cola Femsa internship to an Accenture analyst opening (that came with a lot of travel abroad exposure), Jobstreet has a lot of potential, IF you have patience.

I personally have never used it though because I lack said patience.

These are my cons aka random gripes about using the site. It's an overload of info. I don't think the website's UX is good. There's a lot to sift through, and it's difficult to stand out from the sheer number of people applying.

Last note, this is better to use on desktop, not on mobile.

LinkedIn Jobs

There's a LinkedIn app for social networking. But there's a second app too, purely dedicated to jobs and applying for jobs.

It's easier to apply for jobs there (using their aptly named feature "Easy Apply"), only if you've got a fully filled out LinkedIn profile that's ready for recruiters to look at. And if you have your resume + cover letter combo ready for the moment they give you an email to apply through.

Big companies and foreign companies usually post their openings there. It's good to follow those companies' profile pages and get notified whenever they post anything knew.

Also you can use LinkedIn Jobs to figure out their Taleo website (or whatever talent recruitment software they're using) so you can cross apply there as well. Gives you better chances if you slowly start applying to every avenue they're using, especially if they're a big company. HR there is usually bogged down by how much they have to do.

Main cons about LI Jobs is if your profile isn't good, you don't have as strong a chance as you could. And there's not many small local companies posting through them. That's about it.

Kalibrr

The best feature about Kalibrr for me is something that helps the companies more than it helps the job seeker. It's the tests they give in the beginning to see what's your level at certain skills.

When you sign up for Kalibrr, they ask you to take a bunch of tests in the beginning to rate your current ability at a wide range of skills. If you do well on the tests, that puts you a little ahead of the curve. I did not take them very seriously, so the scores I have on mine are all middling.

Another pro for job hunters is that they place the salary range of all the jobs they list on their site. Plus, they have the verified symbol, meaning verified companies are Kalibrr approved partners and need to keep up with their standards. One of those is the need to respond to all applicants within a certain time frame to keep an excellent rating.

Not many cons about Kalibrr. Most problems would come from the user end aka the job hunter not doing due diligence. They've tried to give as excellent a user experience as possible for their site.

Have not tried it out on mobile at all though.

Word of Mouth

Easily the most powerful, also the most forgettable. I'm also looping in FB groups here since technically you can only join one if you know someone in your network already in it. Else, how would you know it exists?

Word of mouth, for me, is telling your existing network (friends, professors, parents, relatives, etc.) that you're looking for a job in the 2 following fields (don't say too many, it'll confuse everyone) and that you would appreciate any leads. Or them already coming to you with a job that they think would be a good match for you, without you asking them to.

That's it.

If you want to get more leads, and prove that you're a good hire, attach a link to your existing work. Even if you're in marketing, you can prepare a sample of the kind of work you want to do with a note on your work ethic. Be creative in how you present yourself! You want to give the best first impression always, and that link can change a lot of people's minds.

(If you want me to write how to make a portfolio work for marketing, finance, or other functions with no tangible output, let me know somehow someway because if I don't see a need a for it, I don't bother writing it.)

If you haven't done this yet, I made a quick template down below on how to tell your network that you're looking for a job. I vote either Facebook or email to do so. If email, please add in extra pleasantries. I made the template short and sweet for social media.

Also, if you do use an email, do not ever send an email to everyone where they can see each other's emails. BCC everyone involved. Don't be the ignorant fool who mass emails everyone, and breaks privacy issues by sharing their email with a bunch of strangers.

Cons of this method, everyone will know you're looking for a job. Some might talk snidely behind your back. Worse, some might talk about your parents snidely behind their backs or within their earshot.

If you and your parents have a thick skin though, you'll be perfectly ok. Other cons is if your network sucks, then the jobs they'll turn up will suck too.

If you want to post to your social networks that you're looking for a job, but you don't know how to phrase it, here's a short template I made for you! Hope you get to use it, and if you did, let me know through a quick DM on any of my social media~

Template for Posting that You're Looking for a Job

Hey guys,
Writing a quick post to let you all know that I’m currently searching for a new career opportunity in [desired industry]. With my background in [specific skill set] from my time at [former employer], I’m ideally looking for a [type of position or department] role with an employer who [describe your ideal employer in 3 traits, or in what you wish their mission is].
If you need to look over my past experience and qualifications or forward them to anyone else, let me know over chat so I can send it to you there // you can find my resume attached to this email.
If you see any opportunity in your network that you think I'd be interested in, please feel free to send it over! I appreciate any and all leads since I'm open to exploring opportunities today.
Thanks in advance for reading this and for your help! Let me know if I can ever help you all out in any way too. I’d be more than happy to return the favor.

Hi! I’m Justine.

I’m the founder and writer of all things in The Bumpy Career and welcome to Job Hunting, a slot where I share the life hacks and life facts I’ve learned over the course of my internships and job hunt. I hate that all the advice is either archaic, rude, or pretentious; job hunting’s hard enough as it is, older people don’t have to be rude about it. So that you guys don’t have to go through the terror of trial and erroring this stuff like I did, I made a whole category about it for you.

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Where to find jobs in Manila?