My favorite job boards

You may have noticed this newsletter looks different. That’s because I’ve moved it to Behiiv from Substack. I’m very happy with Behiiv, but unfortunately the move has caused some deliverability issues. Fortunately, though, you can help by replying to this email!

So, would you mind replying to this email with the emoji that best represents your current job-hunting or career feelings? 🤪

Now, let’s get to it….

Job postings are tricky. In theory the existence of a job post suggests the existence of a job and a person who is hiring for that job. In reality that’s often not the case.

According to a 2022 survey, 50% of hiring managers keep job postings open because they're “always open to new people” and nearly a third of hiring managers said they’ve had jobs open for four months or more without making a hire. 

These numbers suggest a hiring landscape in which the presence of a job description doesn’t always mean a real and immediate job opportunity. 

Take this job posting for Jezebel, a feminist publication that was shut down this week:

This is why I always recommend informational interviewing instead of browsing job boards and filling out job applications. Informational interviewing can help verify the existence of a job opportunity and uncover secret job opportunities that are never even posted to the public. 

That said, job postings and job boards do have value.

You can learn more about the types of roles available by perusing job boards. You might also discover companies you are interested in working for or people you’d like to interview by seeing what’s posted on job boards.

And finally, sometimes a job description really does indicate a job opportunity.  You’re more likely to find these bonafide job opportunities on high quality job boards than aggregator sites that crawl and scrape the web, so today I’m sharing my favorite job boards. 

If you have a favorite niche job board, would you let me know?  I’d love to learn more about the highest quality repositories of job listings. 

Job boards that are actually useful

📈 Startups roles
For startup roles you can try the Y Combinator job board. In actuality, though, almost every VC company has its own recruiter and its own job board (here, for example, is the Andreesen Horowitz job board), so I recommend reaching directly to recruiters at VC companies that specialize in industries or niches that interest you. In general, startup-oriented job boards are more accurate than general job boards.

🌳 Climate tech and energy roles
If you are interested in saving humanity and our planet, you can’t do better than a career in the burgeoning clean energy, climate tech and sustainabilities sector. As you may be aware, the Biden administration plunged a lot of money—$369 billion to be exact—into this space with the Inflation Reduction Act. If ever there were a time to get into ruggedizing infrastructure or turbo-charging the energy transition, this would be it! And if you are looking for a role in this space, I recommend The Energy Transition Show’s job board. They don’t have a ton of postings, but the ones there are very niche and legit. You might also consider joining Work on Climate. They have a pretty engaged community, and hiring managers do post jobs.

📰 Journalism and media opportunities
It’s been a tough week for media professionals, but when is it not a tough week for media professionals? If you’re a working journalist, content creator or media professional and you’re not already a member of Study Hall, get on it! They have a weekly roundup of pitch calls as well as job opportunities across the country. A lot of people also like the Journalism jobs and a photo of my dog newsletter, though you’ll find a lot of overlap between the jobs posted on Study Hall and the jobs posted there. However, Mandy Hofmockel, who writes Journalism jobs and a photo of my dog, also has a google deck with a cornucopia of journalism job hunting resources. Highly recommend.

🥾 Normal-ish corporate jobs at cool outdoorsy companies
If you’re dying to work at a company like Mountain Hardware, Huckberry or the Aspen Institute, basecamp outdoor has got you covered. They’re focused on jobs in the outdoor industry. But lest you begin to imagine frolicking through the rocky mountains with alpacas in tow, they mostly post regular jobs at cool companies. Think “SEO Copywriter” at Huckberry, or “Growth Marketing Associate” at The Aspen Institute.

🎨 Artsy jobs and gigs in New York City or Los Angeles
If you’re in New York City, and you’re looking for an artsy or artist-friendly job, you have two main resources. NYFA is the incumbent. They’ve been around forever, and are a central repository of postings for “Archivist” and “Curator” and Digital Designer” jobs. You can also find listing for studio assistants and other more gig-like roles. While they are predominantly a New York-based organization, they also have opportunities in Los Angeles occasionally. The second resource, which I can’t recommend enough, is The Listings Project. I’m biased because I used to work for the Listings Project. Nevertheless, their growing job section is worth checking out, especially if your looking for an artist or artist-adjacent role.

New to informational interviewing?

Are you new to informational interviewing? Here are a few articles and resource to get your started:

• If you’re wondering why you should even care about informational interviewing, here is an article about all the ways informational interviewing can change your life.

• If you’re ready to start but don’t know what to do, here is a very straightforward step-by-step guide to informational interviewing.

• If you’ve already started but are getting tripped up by all the feelings, here is a guide to riding the emotional rollercoaster of informational interviewing.

That should get you started. For more related and adjacent informational interviewing content, visit the Art of the Informational Interview!