Given Australia’s relatively high cost of living rate––about $5,500 per month for a family of 4, not including rent––the need for having steady employment while living on the world’s largest island is becoming more prevalent in the country’s workforce of nearly 14 million people.
For business owners 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 databases in Australia that cater to employers, so that you can 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 databases in Australia––what they have to offer, and the benefits and drawbacks of each.
Guide for Finding Free Online Resume Databases in Australia
Why Employers Should Use Online Resume Databases
As a business owner, finding qualified job candidates to fill your vacancies can be a challenge. Oftentimes, it’s not as simple as just uploading a job posting or advertising within your social network of colleagues. You need specific tools and findings to help streamline the sourcing process. And that’s why many business owners would benefit from using online resume databases.
A resume database is an online platform that houses resumes from job seekers across various industries and locations. Good databases allow employers to search and filter these resumes in order to find the most qualified people and reach out to them to learn more about how they might fit within the role.
The Benefits of Using Online Resume Databases
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 databases 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.
One of the most unique advantages to using a resume database is that, as an employer, you can even reach out to passive candidates who may not have applied for your post, but, upon review of their experiences, training, and qualifications, you might decide that YOU want THEM. And this is your opportunity to connect with them and offer value propositions and incentives, thus further eliminating unnecessary search times.
Qualities to Look For in a Great Employee
When using an online database, it can be tricky to gauge a job candidate’s personality traits until you’ve connected face-to-face. While browsing through resumes, look for the following job qualities within their experiences that will likely demonstrate what your potential employee can bring to your company:
- Strong communication
- Leadership skills
- Conflict management abilities
- Teamwork
- Problem-solving skills
- Confidence
- Interpersonal skills
- Dedication
Tips for Using Online Resume Databases
The best tip for using online resume databases is to find the one that works best for you and your particular business––no two databases are alike and many feature bells and whistles that you might not find relevant. Once you’ve selected a database and uploaded your job posting, or engaged with candidates that you like, the next step is opening the lines of communication.
Engage with your potential hires: research their backgrounds, achievements, milestones, goals (long and short-term), and, ultimately, what they hope to get out of their job search. Once you’ve established a connection, and you think that they are the right one for the role, start some effective sourcing:
- Communicate to the candidate that you have thoroughly researched their background (this demonstrates to the candidate that you care)
- Use an approachable tone that reflects the culture of your business––don’t approach using corporate-speak
- Demonstrate intrigue and enthusiasm while encouraging them to ask questions and offer feedback
- Don’t assert any pressure or give ultimatums if making a job offer––let them take it away and consider all options
- Insist that you are available to answer any follow-up questions once the first connection has ended
The 6 Best Free Online Resume Databases in Australia
Overall: GrabJobs is the best option for hiring Australians. It is a cost-effective resume database and recruitment solution 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 the GrabJobs’ recruitment platform, the Starter model is AUD $125 per month; the Growth model is AUD $200 per month; and the Business model is AUD $250 per month. 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––in fact, about 1 in 4 Australians are registered users––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: A market leader in online employment marketplaces, SEEK’s influential presence spans 10 countries in Latin America and Asia Pacific––including Australia and New Zealand. Interestingly, SEEK has been ranked one of the Ten Best Places to Work in Tech in Australia.
The cost: There are both FREE and paid options for SEEK employers––Classic, which uses a basic, 30-day ad listing; StandOut, which lets you promote your brand to the most relevant candidates; and Premium, which gives your ads full visibility thanks to a featured listing. Prices are available upon request.
The benefits: SEEK offers quick results, quality candidates, a simple sourcing process, and helpful support tools. For every job that you post as an employer, you can download complete CVs, follow up with personalized messages, and invite candidates to apply using the SEEK Talent Search. There is even a Concierge option that offers professional ad writing options to employers.
The drawbacks: Some users have noted that there is not a major difference between services offered per platform tier, except pricing. If you aren’t in it for the long run, SEEK might not be the best value for you.
Overall: This service is job seeker-centric, which means that the emphasis is on candidates looking to find work. CareerOne provides services for employers looking to hire and even curates your job description into an immersive experience to help them make the right choice when applying.
The cost: There are both FREE and paid options for CareerOne employers––FREE TO POST ads stay up for 21 days and include all standard ad features. The Standard model is AUD $185; the Premium model is AUD $255, and the Enterprise option is available for larger needs (pricing upon request)
The benefits: With CareerOne, employers only pay for quality candidates––employers have the flexibility to post jobs and preview applicants for free…and then decide if/how they want to spend money to get the most out of their sourcing experience. CareerOne also transforms job descriptions into more professional-sounding write-ups in order to attract the best candidates possible.
The drawbacks: For non-paying accounts, additional features (like “unlock all candidates who apply for a job” and “download a candidate’s resume”) live behind a paywall that can only be accessed if you buy credits.
Overall: Another popular global (and free) job search site, Indeed Australia 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: 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 Australians 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––like since its founding back in 2007. If you don’t care about UX/UI or seamless functionality, this shouldn’t be an issue.
How To: Finding Free Online Resume Databases in Australia
There you have it! The best online resume databases in Australia. As a business owner looking to hire quality job candidates, now that you know the best places to search––including the perks of using databases, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of each––you should be fully equipped to expedite your sourcing and hiring process. Consider starting with GrabJobs. Not in Australia? Visit GrabJobs and check out online resume database search options in your country.
