With remote working now on the rise, Chamber of Commerce has compiled a list of the best websites to help you recruit a remote workforce for your business
Hubstaff Talent
Hubstaff Talent gives employers the opportunity to post a remote job to their jobs board, but the site is also home to thousands of employee profiles that give an employer the chance to find the candidate they want.
Rather than posting an ad and wait for candidates to apply, an employer can search for the perfect candidate and discuss the job directly – all for free.
For companies that go the traditional route and post a job on the site, Hubstaff Talent will share the listing on their social media channel as well.
Features
Posting a job and connecting with possible employees is free, but the site charges for features that facilitate remote work like time tracking, account activity levels, automatic payroll, and team analytics. All of the features offered are meant to help employers manage a remote team, track activity, and make sure employees are accountable for work assigned.
Pros
- You can select any platform to conduct work. While Hubstaff offers a remote platform to conduct work, an employer doesn’t have to use it. The job listings remain free as does the search for talented employees. The way an employer and employee decide to work isn’t dictated by the platform.
- Browse by skill. The platform gives employers the ability to search for talented people with skills like web development, marketing, or copywriting. The search filters provide an easier way to find the talent you’re looking for.
Cons
- A lot of new talent. A lot of the jobs that are posted on the site have lower pay, which tends to attract new professionals or those just starting out. This could be ideal for a company looking to work with young, fresh talent, but it’s not ideal for a company looking for a seasoned veteran. Consider the type of tasks required and keep in mind that less-experienced workers often require more training and assistance.
- Location is hard for employees to find. The site doesn’t tag job posts by location, so if a freelancer or remote worker is looking for a job close to home it’s hard to find that information. For companies posting an ad, be sure to include the company’s location in the listing.
Search Remotely
Search Remotely is a well-known site for remote job listings. Workers who use this site can “skip the office and work from anywhere, anytime.” While the site isn’t free to post a job, the fee is manageable at $39.
The site is one of the leading online platforms for remote jobs with more than 250,000 remote workers using the platform to find work. The site is used by some big-name companies like Google, Oracle, Shopify, and Zapier, who all encourage remote work.
For $39, a company can post one job ad for 30 days. The ad includes the company logo and Search Remotely will share the job on its social media channels. All applicants reply to the ad via email. A company can pay more for their job to be featured on the website and the company can even receive copywriting help to make sure the ad is tailored to find the best candidates possible.
Features
Search Remotely can connect workers with a coworking space or even a co-living space. The site is meant to support remote workers in ways that go beyond just work and facilitate the lifestyle behind working remotely. There are co-office spaces available in Singapore, London, Tokyo, Bali, and more, as are co-living spaces. The co-living spaces give freelancers a chance to travel, see the world, and work at the same time. The site also offers online classes for people looking to hone their skills and find a remote job to enable a location-independent life.
Pros
- A recognized site. Search Remotely has the name recognition needed to receive many qualified applicants. Since the site is more than a job board, remote workers use it as an all-in-one site to support their remote lifestyle.
- Job listing emailed to qualified applicants. Search Remotely sends your job listing to about 50,000 qualified candidates for you, so you don’t have to spend time searching for candidates or sifting through profiles. The applicants will come to you.
Cons
- The price. It’s not free to post an ad, but as mentioned, it’s a small fee that comes with big benefits. There are job sites that charge hundreds of dollars to post the ad, so in reality, a one-time fee of $39 is a small price to pay to reach 250k remote workers.
- No online workplace. Search Remotely doesn’t offer a platform to manage projects, that’s all done off-site. The site is really geared more towards remote workers, making it an ideal place to find talented people but not the place to set up assignments, workflow, or payment.
LinkedIn Profinder
LinkedIn has grown from a resume-placeholder for professionals to a full-scale social media and employment platform. LinkedIn has a specific tool to help find remote workers or freelancers called LinkedIn Profinder.
It’s free for companies to post an ad, browse through resumes, and receive five free bids from interested freelancers. The bids will include a message, price quote, and the ability to see the freelancer’s entire profile.
Features
LinkedIn Profinder doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles. Its purpose is to help a company find and connect with a freelancer, that’s it.
There aren’t any project management features within LinkedIn Profinder to use and payment isn’t facilitated through the platform. It’s simply a meet-and-greet situation.
LinkedIn Profinder has freelancers that fit many categories, with their most popular categories being: Accounting, writing, marketing, and development.
Pros
- Easy to use. A company can post a job listing within seconds. The form to fill out is simple and only asks for a few basic pieces of information.
- A trusted platform. LinkedIn is a recognizable, trusted name, which means freelancers take the job requests seriously.
- Responses sent right to your email. When a bid comes in, it’s sent to your inbox. You can evaluate it, review the person’s profile, and reach out within the LinkedIn platform or through email.
Cons
- Only 5 responses. A job listing via LinkedIn Profinder will only result in five responses, no more. For some, the limited responses are ideal because it limits the number of resumes and messages to sift through. In addition, freelancers know that the job will close once five bids are sent so if they’re interested they act fast. For some, five responses could be disappointing, especially if they aren’t the right fit or don’t have the requested experience.
- Freelancers limited to geographic areas. A job listing is only shown to freelancers in your immediate area. The idea is to help companies find freelancers or remote workers who can join a monthly meeting or catch up over coffee once in a while. Of course, this limits the number of freelancers significantly, so if you want to cast a wider net this might not be the best job site for you.
Guru
Guru is a great place to find remote freelancers with a variety of talents. Like other freelance platforms, the system gives an employer the chance to post a job, hire a freelancer, finish work on the platform, and pay freelancers all from one location.
The site appeals to high-quality freelancers who want to work on their own terms, so companies have a selection of candidates for various jobs.
Posting an ad is free, but to use the additional features, the platform has several different plans to choose from.
Features
This freelancer platform has several features that mimic others in the industry like WorkRooms, time tracking, status reports, and the ability to pay freelancers through the platform.
The platform can support the work of teams too, so if several freelancers are working on a project together management is smooth.
Guru offers something called SafePay, which means companies only pay for work that they’re 100% satisfied with.
Pros
- Freelancers are vetted. Guru verifies all freelancers and provides statistics on their performance with previous employers. With this kind of information, a company can select the best candidate for the job.
- Security. The platform gives employers the chance to pay freelancers through its site and has taken steps to enhance security measures to provide peace of mind. The platform offers several payment methods and provides SafePay payment protection.
Cons
- Support. Guru isn’t known for its customer support. If an employer or an employee has a question that pertains to the platform, support is supposed to be available 24/7 no matter where you’re located, but that’s not always the case.
- Confusing pricing structure. Guru has a fairly complex pricing structure for freelancers, which tends to keep some people away. There are three pricing plans and additional fees that are taken out for every payment received from an employer. A company should be aware of this structure too, to know exactly how much the freelancer receives and how much Guru takes as a cut.
Freelancermap
Freelancermap is the ideal spot to advertise IT jobs. The site specializes in development, IT infrastructure, and consulting.
A company can create and post a job listing for free and find “the most talented freelancers and consultants worldwide.”
The site says 35,000 companies have trusted Freelancermap to find an expert.
Features
One of the best features Freelancermap offers is its freelancer match. Once your job is posted, the system will provide a list of the best candidates to browse through. In addition, the job posting is sent to specific candidates to encourage them to apply.
An employer can look through the database of professionals on the site, all of whom have a personal profile as well. This gives a company a more proactive approach to find a candidate that matches the skills and personality required.
The site doesn’t provide any project management services as others do, so this is more of a site to source talent only.
Pros
- Freelancers from various countries. Freelancermap has many, many freelancers from various parts of the world. For companies looking for someone with a specific skill and language, it provides a thorough list of choices.
- Focused purpose. Unlike other freelance sites that have freelancers that fit within dozens of categories, Freelancermap focuses on the IT industry. With this kind of narrowed purpose, companies feel as though they can find a real expert without weeding through unqualified applicants.
- No commission fees. The site advertises no commission fees, which is rare in this industry.
Cons
- A lot of jobs posted. At any one point, there could be hundreds of jobs posted. While freelancers can filter through some of the jobs, there’s a lot of competition on the site. With so many jobs available, a company may need to take an active approach in finding candidates and encouraging them to apply.
- Limited information on the website. Freelancermap only provides basic information on its website, so it’s hard to learn about specific details like pricing, for example, without creating a full profile or posting a job.
- Limited reviews online. Most websites like this have a host of reviews from users, but there are very few about Freelancermap.com. This could suggest the platform is fairly new.
Stack Overflow
Stack Overflow is another site designed specifically for IT needs, more specifically for developers. The site lists hundreds of jobs for developers both in-office jobs and remote jobs. To find remote jobs, workers simply add that filter to the search.
Companies create a profile and post jobs to the site. A lot of big-name companies use this site to source developers.
Stack Overflow is designed to support IT teams within a company, so its purpose goes beyond a job board. For companies looking to find talented people and a platform to support IT employees, this could be a great choice.
Features
The job board has several features that professionals can use to filter jobs and find the right fit. Beyond that, features are aimed at larger companies looking for a shared space for IT teams to work, exchange advice, and collaborate.
The jobs listed on the site aren’t just listed on Stack Overflow either, they’re curated into other listings on other sites.
Pros
- A niche audience. A company looking to hire developers won’t be disappointed with the audience here. The job listed is sure to be seen by professionals that can handle anything from a small coding problem to a full-time need as a data security specialist.
- Large reach. Stack Overflow says it has the ability to reach millions of job seekers and gets a lot of traffic to its site, with 50+ million visitors a month. With that kind of reach and traffic, a job is sure to be noticed.
Cons
- Cost. There is a cost to post a job on this site, but the pricing information isn’t readily available. To learn more, a company must reach out to Stack Overflow.
- The job board looks a bit dated. In terms of appearance, the job board looks a bit outdated. While its functionality works perfectly fine, it doesn’t command attention in a way that makes you believe they’re connected to millions of remote workers.
For a list of the best free job posting websites in 2020, go to chamberofcommerce.org/best-free-job-posting-sites
