Just another job board
Written: Jul 14 '05 (Updated Jul 14 '05)

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| Full Review |
The first thing that I noticed about JobDirect.com is that it has been renamed True Careers. The original link still works.
I finally whittled down all the ads on the traditional sites so I went hunting on this site to see if I could find something interesting. It seemed to me a site with less publicity may give me an advantage.
Searching the job bank
Well. Not the best. I liked how I could enter my zip code and determine how many miles I was willing to drive. That is important with gas prices what they are! The advance search allows you to eliminate staffing agencies and narrow the type of position (such as full-time or temporary) that you want.
What I did not like was how the ads were displayed. After spending a full 8 hours slaving over the job boards my eyes reject the tiny squished together listings with yellow highlighted key words.
I read through the listings despite the poor presentation and was happy to find a position to apply to. When I looked up the address to address the cover letter to I ran it through Mapquest and found that the position was actually 80 miles away rather than 30 which explains why it was not on my search at other job boards.
I found several jobs that I was interested in and actually went and looked them up at Career Builder and found them all there so there was not much use to apply through this site when Career Builder has my other inquiries stored.
Resume Online
The process to register and upload a resume was easy. I uploaded my document and found that it required a lot of maintenance to get the presentation back to normal. After registering you will have the ability to add a cover letter, apply to jobs, and save jobs and searches.
Company Profiles
One thing that I liked was the Employee Directory under the Who is Hiring tab. Not all of the companies are in the area but it jogs my mind of similar companies that I have not thought of yet. If you click the name of the company it gives a full page profile of what the company does and includes the company logo, email address, how many employees they have, and a search box for openings in your area based on zip.
Career Information
The Career Information tab takes you to the section of the website that gives advice on things such as writing resumes, salary information, an education center, and more tips.
I wanted to do the free Career Assessment out of curiosity. I was disgusted with the amount of personal information that they wanted which was required before proceeding so they got a bunch make-believe information. Well, it is a 25 minute question and I did not make it all the way through. Would I rather jump out of an airplane or feed chickens? Anyway, this seems to be handy for people entering the job market for the first time. It is always better to find out what you want to do before you start doing something else. Your answers can be saved and returned to later if you are doing it at work and your boss walks up.
Oh you don't say
This site has won many awards in recent years so it seems that this is a helpful site to many.
Information from the site:
Launched in July 2001, and a Sallie Mae company, TrueCareers serves over 1.3 million registered candidates nationwide, and a variety of leading organizations including Fortune companies, government agencies, associations, and colleges and universities.
Overall
I am judging this site against other job boards that I use based on ease of use, quality of listings, and other job hunting resources. For me, it's fast but the way the listings are displayed gives me a headache.
This seems to be a good site for individuals entering the job market for the first time. The resources in the career section was basic information anyone who already has a job would know but is nicely arranged and to the point for those who need it. Many of the searches returned entry-level positions. Of course results may vary.
The site also features a diversity center which I have not noticed at other sites. It has reading materials and a list of companies who strive for diversity. The site is worth checking out for anyone who falls into that category because it has good information, an e-mail bulletin, and job leads.
There is no fee to post your resume online or to search the job boards. It does have many listings including those by top employers. I have found some brand new listings that weren't posted on the more popular boards. They may post faster, I do not know. Even though some of the same jobs are listed on other sites sometimes a different presentation helps to find them.
Recommended:
Yes
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About the Author
Location: Nashville, TN
Reviews written: 723
Trusted by: 187 members
About Me: DNT TXT & DRV
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