For business owners in the U.S. looking to fill a job––and fast, the best solution is often just a few clicks away. Searching for qualified job candidates online is a smooth, effective process that typically yields much better results than traditional newspaper ads or job centers. Best of all, some of the best platforms for searching for resumes are completely free.
If you are looking for resume search platforms in the U.S. that cater to employers, for you to streamline your hiring process and start bringing in great people for interviews, you are in luck because we have found the best in the country.
In this article, we will show you the best free resume search platforms in the US––what they have to offer, and the benefits and drawbacks of each.
The Benefits of Using Online Resume Search Platforms
A resume search platform is an online database that houses resumes from job seekers across various industries and locations. Good databases allow employers to search and filter these resumes to find the most qualified people and reach out to them to learn more about how they might fit within the role.
There are several advantages to using resume databases. The biggest advantage is the size and caliber of talent on offer. Unlike traditional job advertising, online platforms offer the highest volume of potential candidates at your disposal. All of these jobseekers exist in one dedicated space, so you are always getting the most diverse group of talent.
Another advantage is the amount of time and money you can save by using advanced search features to narrow down your results so that you are not sifting through thousands (or, depending on the database, millions!) of resumes.
The 10 Best Free Online Resume Search Platforms for Employers in the U.S.
There are plenty of resources available across the continent for helping qualified (and even beginner) jobseekers find employment in the U.S. Whatever your level of education, skills, training, or availability, there is a job site to help place you where you need to be.
Overall: GrabJobs is the best option for hiring quality job candidates in the U.S. It is a cost-effective resume database and recruitment platform that automates sourcing, screening, and interviewing of candidates (over 5 million online). GrabJobs features over 5,000 companies; auto-generated job seeker profiles mean that users can begin applying for new jobs in under a minute, making it great for employers looking to hire quickly and easily.
The cost: There are both FREE and paid options for employers using GrabJobs’ resume search platform. There is a Starter model, a Growth model, a Business model, and a Corporate model––the prices of which can all be requested. There is a 14-day free trial available––no credit card is required.
The benefits: Seamless platform navigation; exceptional customer service; useful features, including instant chat interview, email updates, and job candidate recommendations. Tracking job applicants is incredibly easy and the quality and relevance of job candidates available are premium.
The drawbacks: The costs associated with paid subscription model can be high, but a generous 14-day free trial offer is available.
Overall: One of the planet’s most popular job search engines for job seekers and employers alike, LinkedIn is a ubiquitous tool for finding full and part-time employees based on trusted connections. It also features numerous tools and subscription-based add-ons that make hiring so simple. As a LinkedIn user, you can either advertise a vacancy with your company for free in your newsfeed or pay to have it reach more users.
The cost: There are several cost options available with LinkedIn, the most basic model being completely free. However, the Premium Essentials, Recruiter Lite, and Premium Pro options come with monthly and annual fees.
The benefits: It is, without question, the largest professional network database. LinkedIn shares targeted job postings with relevant job candidates; it uses showcase pages to promote employers and their businesses; LinkedIn Business pages help employers improve their SEO rankings.
The drawbacks: The fee structure of the additional features can be cost-prohibitive; the basic (free) version of LinkedIn limits some of the platform’s other features and does not often support others, often limiting its reliability. And licenses for the platform can get quite expensive.
Overall: Another popular global (and free) job search site, Indeed not only places qualified candidates in roles suited to their skills and experience––but also provide crucial tools for jobseekers like salary guides and company reviews. Simply upload your resume to Indeed’s platform and companies reach out to YOU, making the stress of finding work that much simpler.
The cost: There are both FREE and paid options for Indeed employers––posting a job is FREE and it will always appear in general search results. Products like Mobile Recruiting, Indeed Resume, and Featured Employer are available for additional fees.
The benefits: Given the size and scope of Indeed’s global reach and presence, employers looking to fill one-off jobs often receive a great number of candidates. The job posting feature is easy and seamless, and many of the free tools are a great advantage to first-time posters.
The drawbacks: One of the consistent drawbacks to using Indeed for hiring is that the candidate pool is so heavy that oftentimes talent is too saturated and not always suited to the relevant position. Value is another key issue as many have felt that the resume search option is not a worthwhile investment.
Overall: Resume-Library is one of the leading job boards and free resume search sites in the U.S. Founded in the U.S. in 2013 as a companion site to the U.K.’s CV-Library, Resume-Library lets employers search resumes and create job posts to be shared on dozens of sites, including social media.
The cost: Creating an account on Resume-Library is completely free, but choosing a plan is required. A 30-day job post is US $79, while 30-day resume search access is US $199 per month. There is a free trial that users can access without providing credit card information.
The benefits: All job posts on Resume-Library include free company branding––employers can choose to pay per job post OR on an ongoing performance basis. Convenient 24/7 customer service is available.
The drawbacks: Unlimited resume access is priced separately, and their pay-per-posting plan is restricted to up to 10 jobs only.
Overall: Founded in 1997, Jobvertise is a job board and search database that caters to North American users looking to host free and paid job posting plans across every industry.
The cost: While there is a dedicated FREE plan, employers using Jobvertise can choose from different monthly plans: Starter, Standard, and Pro––each have their benefits for long-time use. If you are only posting for one job, the free plan should suffice.
The benefits: Jobvertise offers international resumes for employers looking to hire remotely; employers can view resumes posted within 30 days while receiving alerts filtered by category, industry, and title. Featured jobs are promoted and are the first posts seen by candidates.
The drawbacks: The costs associated with the paid subscription plans can be high, and there isn’t much difference between each tier.
Overall: One of the most well-known resume search databases in the U.S., Monster’s global job board and career platform helps employers to advertise vacancies while connecting with a range of professionals both locally and abroad.
The cost: There are both FREE and paid options for Monster employers––but for US $10/a day, users can post jobs that receive social media promotion, candidate matching, job ad syndication, and access to the resume database. There is also a 4-day free trial available.
The benefits: Monster features an expansive resume database for employers to search through; employers can start and stop job postings at any time; Monster will even assign a dedicated representative to employers looking to fulfill niche recruitment needs.
The drawbacks: Employer branding and increased job post visibility come with extra charges; total resume views are limited to varying degrees on all paid plans.
Overall: Founded in 2007, this free online job posting site and resume search platform are designed to help employers connect with new employees. Using Hound, employers can post their open positions on multiple job sites. Users then browse an unlimited number of resumes and pay for only the ones they wish to download.
The cost: Hound’s basic plan is completely free. But they also have a Recruit plan (US $199 per month); a Professional plan (US $499 per month); a Partner plan (US $699 per month); and a Master plan (US $1249 per month)
The benefits: Hound offers a host of convenient tools and services for even basic plan users, including sharing posts with other job boards and over 500 other sites (including social media), candidate management tools, and job posting tips. The site is ad-free and comes with a free trial + a basic plan that is free for up to 20 job posts.
The drawbacks: Paid memberships renew automatically and can only be canceled over the phone.
Overall: This educational resource hub and teaching job board allows businesses and recruiters to post their job vacancies within an expansive, categorized job search page. Learn4Good advertises listings in over 20 countries and receives over 10 million unique site visits each year.
The cost: There are both FREE and paid options for employers using Learn4Good––the Basic plan, the Professional plan, and the Ultra plan.
The benefits: All Learn4Good job posts are advertised for 6 months, and there is a FREE renewable 20-credit job listing function. There is a dedicated section that focuses on jobs within public schools, private schools, and universities.
The drawbacks: Despite the large database of users across multiple regions, this site is only designed for employers looking to hire within the education industry.
Overall: Founded in 2010 in the U.S., and formerly known as AngelList Talent, Wellfound is a global search platform that lets employers post jobs and search resumes. There is a range of tools and features that simplify the hiring process, including advanced search filters, candidate messaging tools, and an applicant tracking function.
The cost: There are both FREE and paid options for employers using Wellfound. While the most basic plan costs nothing––and comes with many valuable tools––there is a Recruit Pro plan for US $249 per month, and a Recruit Team plan (pricing available upon request).
The benefits: Wellfound employers looking to hire can connect with qualified candidates within the platform’s network of over 8 million users. There are unlimited free and paid global job posting plans––due to the wide availability of candidates from around the world, it’s perfect for companies looking to hire remote workers.
The drawbacks: There is a strong emphasis on remote and tech-based industries; there is no social media promotion.
Overall: Since 2007, this FREE online database, based in Florida, distributes resumes all over its global network of employers and candidates. PostJobFree is a popular database option for employers who favor simplicity and prefer to get talented jobseekers hired quickly and easily.
The cost: PostJobFree offers both FREE and premium services (which includes advertising job postings on other job boards); Premium Membership costs are broken down as follows: $29/month: 2 jobs promoted + 30 resume contacts; $59/month: 6 jobs promoted + 100 resume contacts; $99/month: 15 jobs promoted + 200 resume contacts, and so on.
The benefits: No fuss, no muss. PostJobFree is a very basic program that gets results without a lot of the flash and supporting sourcing tools––although it does offer assistance for Premium subscribers. For employers, simply post a job ad and qualified candidates will reach out.
The drawbacks: It features a very basic user interface that does not seem to have been updated in years––likely since it’s founding back in 2007. If you don’t care about UX/UI or seamless functionality, this shouldn’t be an issue.
The 10 Best Free Online Resume Search Platforms for Employers in the U.S.
There you have it! The best free online resume search platforms in the U.S. As a business owner looking to hire quality job candidates, now that you know the best places to search––including the perks of using search platforms online, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of each––you should be fully equipped to expedite your sourcing and hiring process. Not in the U.S.? Visit GrabJobs and check out online resume search platforms available in your country.
