Job search websites and tips to help you scale your small business or freelance career
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When I first started to find potential clients and jobs for my small business, it seemed so daunting. It still is daunting, but it helps to know where to look for leads and inspiration.
My first job was found through Facebook when I started my small business. Not having freelanced much in the past, I found looking for potential #jobopp tags to be scary and stimulating.
I quickly found out that you needed to be one of the first people who commented on these types of threads to get recruited for their projects. There is usually a high supply of creative freelancers and small businesses and a limited demand for their services when posted to Facebook groups.
In comparison, I usually find more success from a few different job search websites, whether for part-time work or contract work.
Each job search site has its pros and cons, as does every site. When looking for work to sustain your freelance career or small business, these job search websites can help you in more ways than finding possible jobs, despite that being the main course of action.
I typically search for jobs on Indeed.com; however, I’ve found UpWork, Facebook, and Glassdoor as great resources to network and further understand my industry.
Indeed.com
Indeed is probably my favorite job search site for freelance and contract work. The jobs can be reasonably competitive, but they can also show me what I need to offer to appeal to various companies in one chain.
I can also quickly apply to various jobs. Your resume and cover letter are all in one place, and you can promptly send out applications.
It would help if you catered to your job search materials to each job and position that you apply for, however, keeping a consistent and accessible resume can help you manage your job experience and contact information easily.
You might have to perform a bit of keyword research to find your ideal job search terms, but the offerings Indeed give you great benefits when competing for a new job.
UpWork
Mostly known for its freelance work, UpWork is an excellent job resource when learning about your industry or just starting your small business. Jobs can be highly competitive and are always uploaded quickly.
Most creatives can find UpWork challenging to work within, especially when you have job experience and expect a higher pay rate than someone with less experience. That’s not to say it’s impossible to find good, quality jobs on UpWork, but you might have to work harder for them.
If you want to land more jobs on UpWork, I’d consider learning how to pitch ideas or concepts to other business owners. This skill will help you learn how to appeal to others about your work and seem like the best candidate for the job.
I would also suggest you narrow down your search parameters when looking at UpWork as well. It will be easier to get hired for a job when you are focused on one specialty, such as Facebook Group Management, rather than a social media manager. Specifying will show you have expertise in one area, compared to a broad generalization.
Facebook is a newer job search resource for me. It doesn’t typically have a lot of jobs listed that aren’t full-time but sometimes can offer significant contract or freelance work opportunities.
Using Facebook’s job search also keeps your options on a local level, rather than on a national or international one. Narrowing down your search radius can be good and bad for many freelancers or small business owners who want to seek employment outside of their region.
If you aren’t a fan of their job-seeking feature, you might try joining groups with your ideal clients and offer your services within a group or replying to #jobopps that pop up. These can be hard to secure as well, both because of the irregularity of posts and the number of commenters wanting the job.
I’ve acquired a few jobs from Facebook, but they have been hard to earn, and many of my comments remained unanswered.
Local Chamber of Commerce
Referencing your local Chamber of Commerce might not directly get you a job, but it could help you determine various small businesses you could help and provide your services to.
Finding out more about how your freelance or small business can impact the other small businesses in your town or city can help you support yourself and support local businesses. Usually, you can work with local businesses on the ground floor and have more flexibility to try new things that a more substantial company wouldn’t consider.
Networking events are also typically a regular occurrence with your local Chamber of Commerce. If you feel like your making too much of a cold pitch to a business owner, see about attending a networking event and connecting with some of the other small businesses at the event. At the least, you’ll be able to pick their brain as a business owner and see how you can manage your own small business in a more impactful way with your community.
I don’t typically refer to LinkedIn as the first point of contact with any contract-, temporary, or part-time work, but they are home to the most extensive collaboration of businesses.
I have found a few referrals for my own business and enhanced my skills when I’ve looked for work on LinkedIn, but it is not my first choice. I would recommend, instead, trying to fill out your work history and skills as much as possible on your profile. Many employers still look at LinkedIn profiles as well as your portfolio and services website.
While LinkedIn is a great resource, it might require some keyword-research attempts to get what you want as you search for suitable work. If anything, you can research the companies you want to work with and improve your profile.
Glassdoor
I’m also not a big fan of Glassdoor when it comes to finding reliable work opportunities, but it is a great resource when researching pay and reviews about specific companies.
Like LinkedIn, Glassdoor does have a few posts for part-time and contractual work. Some are great, and just what someone might be looking for, but they are more likely to be for larger companies. If you are starting your small business or as a freelancer, Glassdoor will help you see where you should aim your services towards in terms of companies and price-point.
Glassdoor has been a great resource when researching potential job markets and industries that I’ve wanted to know about, especially when taking a more in-depth look into my niche and ideal client. See what type of industry your small business or freelance work would help the most and go from there. If you find a job, even better!
Every job search website has tools that are unique to its platform, but you need to continually interact with each platform to gain some understanding of how they can positively impact your job search.
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