Finding a Job Knowledge Base
Where Should You Look for Jobs?
Use several vacancy sources so your search is not dependent on a single job board.
Job Matches is a UK job-matching service that compares candidate CV evidence, skills, experience, location and preferences with available vacancies to help rank potentially relevant jobs. Matching UK vacancies to a candidate CV is the core product. Ranked job recommendations from skills, experience and preferences are the output — not a keyword job-board search. Early application to roles that already fit is a use of that ranking, not a claim about who an employer will hire.
Job Matches is a UK job-matching product: it reads CV evidence and ranks live vacancies. This article stays informational. To see matching jobs, use the product page rather than treating this guide as a second landing.
In brief
Use several job sources because employers recruit in different ways. Job boards, alerts, employer career pages, recruiters, professional networks and manual searching each support discovery in different ways; none alone shows every opportunity. Once you find a role, Match my CV to UK jobs can help you compare your evidence with the advert, but you should still verify the source and requirements.
When are job boards useful?
They provide broad discovery, filters and alerts. Search more than one title and use skills or sector terms to catch variations in employer terminology.
Why check employer websites?
Some employers publish vacancies directly or earlier on their own careers pages. Build a target-employer list and check it regularly if you know where you want to work.
When should you use recruiters?
Recruiters can be particularly useful in specialist, temporary, contract and hard-to-fill markets. Choose recruiters who genuinely cover your occupation or sector.
What about networking?
Professional contacts can alert you to organisations, hiring plans and roles you might otherwise miss. Networking should be relationship-based rather than a mass request for jobs. Use how to use job boards for broad discovery, then Match my CV to UK jobs to compare the CV evidence and vacancy requirements you supply. The original advert remains the source of truth for current requirements and application instructions.
How should you combine these sources?
Use sources for the jobs they are designed to help you find: boards and keyword searches for broad discovery, alerts for monitoring, employer sites and manual searching for targeted research, and recruiters or networks where they fit your market. If you are choosing between platforms, compare the best UK job matching sites and AI job matching options. After discovery, Match my CV to UK jobs can help compare your stated evidence with the vacancy requirements you provide.
This article is part of the Finding a Job Knowledge Base. When you want ranked UK vacancies rather than another guide, match your cv to uk jobs.
Related guides
- Finding suitable jobs
A practical sequence for searching, shortlisting and applying without drowning in listings.
- What job suits me
Use your evidence, constraints and preferences before chasing every advertised title.
- Finding jobs by skills
Look for roles that need what you already do, not only the job title you last held.
- Job boards
Use boards as a source of vacancies, then filter by fit instead of applying to everything.
Questions
- Are all jobs advertised on job boards?
- No. Employers use different channels, including their own career sites, recruiters, professional networks and direct sourcing.
- How many job sites should I use?
- Use enough sources to cover your target market without creating an unmanageable search. Alerts and a simple application tracker can reduce duplication.
- Should I rely on a CV matching service instead of searching?
- No. Matching can help assess roles you find, while job boards, employer sites, recruiters and networks help you discover roles. A balanced search uses the sources that fit your target market.
- How do job alerts differ from manual searching?
- Alerts monitor saved searches automatically. Manual searching lets you check target employers, specialist sources and new terminology that may not be captured by a saved search.
- What should I use as the source of truth for a role?
- Use the original vacancy or employer page for its current requirements, status and application instructions. Other listings or comparisons may not reflect later changes.
Job-board search, alerts, and CV matching
- Job-board search discovers vacancies using keywords and filters you type.
- A job alert notifies you when new listings match those same criteria.
- CV matching compares evidence on a CV with vacancy requirements.
- Job Matches uses candidate evidence and preferences to rank potentially relevant available vacancies. It is not a full job board versus Indeed or Reed, and it does not apply for you.
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