Looking for the best job boards in the UK to advertise on?
From social networking sites to niches, there are plenty of ways to advertise jobs at little or no cost.
Depending on the recruitment type, there are four job boards to post job openings for the candidates: Generalists, Specialists, News and classifieds, and Employment offices.
The UK has many job boards for recruiters that can be used to get your job ads in front of the right audience—whether on a niche IT job board UK or one of the social network job boards.
Job boards work incredibly well in collaboration with a smart candidate outreach messaging strategy.
To help you find the right mix of job boards to allocate your hiring budget, here are 9 top UK job boards to be used in 2024.
GoHire can post to the top job boards for you. Try it FREE here.
Check Out the List of 9 Best UK job boards
Here are 9 best job sites in the UK to post your job ads:
1. Indeed
"With Indeed we can reach the jobseekers we need for roles right across the UK" (McDonalds).
Indeed is the most popular and perhaps simplest of UK job boards.
This general job board collates thousands of different job advertisements from company career pages and other job boards, as well as allowing businesses to post on Indeed directly.
For job alerts on current vacancies, you can create a profile on Indeed, where candidates upload CVs with impactful cover letters. Using this one of the best job sites, you can send email alerts for the interview process of different startup jobs, and remote jobs.
You can also scroll career advice articles on indeed.
Why post free job advertisements on Indeed?
250 million people visit Indeed every month as part of their job hunt, giving you access to the most talent in every field (Google Analytics) and enabling you to gain more quality hires.
70% of job searches are from mobile devices (Indeed). You can utilise Indeed to provide the best job search experience anywhere and engage with more candidates.
Indeed enables potential employers like you to hunt the best candidates for entry-level jobs by checking the education, experience, job title and more using Indeed CV. Use this to start a conversation with your next great hire.
You can also claim and update your Indeed company page to attract the most invested candidates. Then maximise your exposure by becoming a Featured Employer - your results are at the top of every list.
It is free to post a new job or many jobs at once on Indeed, with paid and sponsored options available to attract more candidates and boost visibility. With a vast database of jobs added daily, it helps you choose how much you want to spend to make your new jobs appear higher in the search results.
You can now post jobs to Indeed with free and paid options via GoHire. Our users get the most applications from Indeed - with nearly 784,000 applications in 2021!
Cons of Indeed job portal
The job posting process has become very tedious on Indeed with additional information that you must fill out and is not even posted on the job posting itself.
You cannot erase the message you sent to the applicant.
To find out more about posting jobs on Indeed with GoHire, check out this article.
You can also maximise your candidate's reach with our GoHire and Indeed sponsored integration!
2. LinkedIn
LinkedIn's mission is simple: connect the world's professionals to make them more productive and successful.
With a professional network of over 690 million users, LinkedIn is an excellent resource for employers and employees to network, regardless of their hiring status, making this one of the top UK job boards.
A hire is made every 10 seconds using LinkedIn, and 9/10 members are interested in hearing about new opportunities (LinkedIn Talent Solutions). LinkedIn is an excellent platform for attracting both active and passive job seekers.
See also 7 Top Candidate Outreach Messages for LinkedIn [+ FREE LinkedIn Recruiter Message Templates]
Why LinkedIn for the Job Listings?
Advertise your jobs in minutes and receive:
- Targeted job promotion - LinkedIn shows your job to candidates with the right skills, both via emails and across the website.
- Recommended matches - LinkedIn's candidate recommendations get smarter over time, providing personalised results.
- Candidate management - Track candidates in a straightforward dashboard, from application to hiring.
Pay only when candidates view your job post.
The amount you're charged depends on your daily budget and the number of job posting views from candidates.
Give LinkedIn your budget, and they will estimate how many applicants you will receive.
You can also post free jobs on LinkedIn via GoHire (the LinkedIn job posting cost is included in our subscription fee). LinkedIn has our second-highest shortlist application rate at 11%!
Cons of posting jobs on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is specific for particular job types only.
You need a large audience in terms of followers to reach out to the perfect ones.
Time investment is significant on LinkedIn.
Premium subscriptions can be costly, and there are special discounts or offers for long-term users.
3. Reed
84% of businesses use Reed to find their next hires (Market Measures).
Reed is committed to driving the most relevant candidates to your vacancies by growing their audience and building their brand.
Their explosive TV advertising campaigns have helped them to become the UK's best-known recruitment brand and, therefore, one of the top job boards UK.
In their blog they have lots of advice from how to upload your cv to interview questions, relevant jobs to top employers, cv tips and cover letter help. You can also check out the email alerts to find jobs directly and receive day-to-day updates.
Why is Reed one of the most popular job boards in UK?
- Advertising - clear, bright job details pages designed to sell your opportunity and attract the best applicants.
- Targeting - adding skills encourages the right candidates to apply for your vacancy and helps you target the best-matching applicants.
- Filtering - filter applications to ensure you focus on only the most relevant candidates by adding screening questions to your job
- Rating - rate applicants within the management dashboard for a faster way to create and share your shortlist
- Communication - save time by managing all applicant communications from within the dashboard.
Cons of Reed Job Portal
- Poor systems administration leads to vast amounts of Jobs being advertised, which were posted weeks ago.
- Some criticise their customer support.
Prices range from £150 to £250, with offers available for new customers.
To find out more about posting jobs on Reed, check out their website.
4. Monster
From the web to mobile, to social, Monster helps companies find candidates with customised solutions.
Using advanced technology and cutting-edge tools, general job board Monster, matches the right people to the right job. Allowing candidates of intelligence groups to list out their skills tests, cover letters, and experience in remote jobs, Monster has become one of the popular job posting sites in the UK.
Whatever your company's needs, Monster has the products and techniques to build a bespoke solution to help you find candidates better, making this a top UK job board.
Why is Monster one of the best job boards for advertising solutions?
Monster is undoubtedly the best job site. Like other sites, it makes the hiring process simple by giving you searches from all over the web to find you the right talent for your open positions - delivering a quicker, easier way to post a job and find qualified candidates. Having a large database of job-seeking candidates, Monster is the number one choice for many hiring professionals.
Check out our guide for listing vacancies on one of the most popular UK job sites:
- Ensure candidates can discover and further research your company before they apply with a free company profile.
- With company reviews, ratings, descriptions, and messaging, a profile boosts your brand — helping you stand out from your competitors.
- Monster lets you capture candidates' attention for a new job with the easy-to-use Monster Studios.
- Easily record, edit and post engaging videos from your phone, all from one simple app to post your next job.
- Update your company profile and improve your employer branding.
- Mention the salary ranges, skill tests, salary estimate lists, and graduate schemes on this best job site.
Cons of Monster UK
- The biggest downside of Monster is the presence of spam and redundancy.
- No free job posting is available for first-time users.
- There is no salary or experience-level search filter available on Monster UK.
- The user experience sometimes frustrates people who regularly visit the site.
- Prices start from £130 for 30 days, with a new customer offer of £89.
To find out more about posting jobs on Monster, check out their website.
5. TotalJobs
TotalJobs aims to help British Job Seekers find a job they love and to connect employers with the talent they need for their business to flourish.
Their parent company, StepStone, is the most successful UK job search or boarding business.
Why post job adverts on TotalJobs?
- Greater exposure: list job alerts for longer with a six-week posting on both TotalJobs and Jobsite
- More choice: you can now access almost half of the UK working population in one place with our combined CV database
- Increased productivity: manage your vacancies and applications from one single place
TotalJobs delivers:
- 36% more applications
- 10% more interviews
- 2x more hires than any other job board
(TNS Global Research, 2017)
Cons of TotalJobs
- No free job posting option.
- It is costlier than other general sites with international reach, such as Indeed and Adzuna.
Prices range from £149 to £290, with offers available to new customers.
To find out more about posting jobs on TotalJobs, check out their website.
Niche Boards in the UK
6. CV-Library
Voted the Most Popular Job Board at the Global Recruiter Awards 2019 for the fifth year running! 🏆
CV-Library's versatile hiring products and straightforward solutions are designed to benefit businesses of all sizes, making this one of the top UK job boards.
CV-Library is ideal for recruitment agencies, direct employers, advertising agencies and corporate businesses.
Why post job ads on CV-Library?
- 3 million monthly job hunting applications - candidates visiting CV-Library generate an average of 16 applications per vacancy.
- Access to 14.5 million CVs - 316,000 new and updated CVs registered every month from candidates in all sectors nationwide.
- Dedicated account management - benefit from the supportive CV-Library team throughout your hiring campaign.
What are the reasons to avoid CV-Library?
- Sending irrelevant job matches
- No security or protection of data
- No quick response
- spam emails
Prices range from £75 to £399, depending on your company's needs.
To find out more about posting jobs on CV-Library, check out their website.
7. Glassdoor
Access over 67 million job seekers on Glassdoor, plus millions more on over 100 of the best job sites in the UK.
Glassdoor allows employees to leave reviews and insights about companies, helping others to make better decisions about where to work, making this one of the best UK job boards to post your job ads on.
That means better candidates and better hires for employers.
With a versatile, customisable platform and different from any other job posting tool, Glassdoor is already used by companies such as Facebook, Gap and Walmart.
Glassdoor candidates have a 30% better retention rate, meaning Glassdoor hires stay longer. (Glassdoor research, 2017)
Why post ads for Job Seekers on Glassdoor?
With Glassdoor job hunting adverts, you can:
- Post targeted job ads aimed at specific occupations.
- Openly respond to past employees' company reviews, showing job seekers you care.
- Build your company brand by integrating social media posts, videos, and featured photos.
- Attract job candidates who are already enthusiastic about your company, its culture, and its growth opportunities.
Glassdoor offers a free seven-day trial followed by a basic (free) account and a paid account.
Cons of Glassdoor Job Board
- Premium Consulting / Integration Services
- Non-authenticated reviews
- Incomplete information available about companies or business organisations
You can also post free jobs to Glassdoor via GoHire.
To find out more about posting jobs on Glassdoor, check out their website.
8. Gumtree
Gumtree is one of the largest online classified sites in the UK, which provides an excellent platform for people to connect for different kinds of job needs.
Why is Gumtree the best site for job seekers?
Gumtree has 9.2 million unique visitors every month, and 2.2 million live listings across the entire site per month, creating the best opportunities for new employees and experienced ones.
With Gumtree, your jobs will be distributed across a vast network of national and local verticals to find the best candidates.
With this one of the best job posting sites, you get access to a large and diverse audience of candidates, and Gumtree's intelligent matching technology to ensures the job hunt is easy for the right people.
- Get 35 job categories to advertise on a single platform.
- Cut the hiring hassle and make it simple to shortlist the candidates easily.
- Search the UK's most extensive collection to filter jobs and find out what salary you should offer to your next big hire.
- With around 24% of adults in the UK looking for a second job, there’s a massive pool of talent to choose from one of the best job sites, which has an extensive database.
Gumtree allows employers to post a small number of job ads every month!
There are no hidden charges, but if you do want to guarantee the response your adverts get, then you can choose to sponsor your jobs on this job site.
If you are a job seeker, then opt for email alerts to know about career advice and to get a dream job today. Upload your cv and check the latest job advertisement now!
Cons of Gumtree
- Spam messages
- Non-supportive customer services
- You can also post free jobs to Gumtree via GoHire.
To find out more about posting jobs on Gumtree, check out the website.
9. The Guardian Jobs
It is potentially one of the best UK job boards to post job ads on. In fact, The Guardian Jobs has our highest applicant shortlist rate.
Being the market leader in recruitment for almost 20 years, The Guardian Jobs has a wide range of audience comprising high-quality job seekers from all around the world.
It is the best platform to list the highest calibre vacancies in sectors that include NHS, Media, Education, Government, Charities, Marketing, Graduate, Secretarial, Social Care and Arts.
Potential employees can learn more about your business and the job opportunity before applying, ensuring that you get informed job applicants.
How has The Guardian Jobs come out as one of the Best UK Job Boards?
- Take advantage of a broad applicant pool - your job post will appear in the jobs bookmark and on Guardian Jobs.
- Review and respond to applications on the go - candidates can apply via desktop or mobile, and you can track and review applications, contact applicants and schedule interviews through messages.
- Reach qualified people by promoting your job post - like regular posts; you can boost your job post from your Business Page to reach a larger or more targeted audience.
Cons of The Guardian Jobs
- Limited ability to cast across a wide network
- Sorting through junk listings takes time
- Posting job advertisements UK on The Guardian Jobs is available in three subscription plans.
- You can only choose a plan to reach a wide range of audiences looking for jobs in the leading business organisation.
Conclusion
Hiring for the exact match through the best job sites in the UK (free and premium job sites) becomes easy and time-saving as it allows you to target the right audience for job roles and responsibilities.
With many options to filter job posts, search and job seekers, you can definitely meet your business goals optimally.
The top advantages of opting for the best UK Job Boards include the following:
- No out-of-pocket costs
- Exposure to new audiences
- Lower cost-per-hire
However, evaluating the effectiveness of these free job postings for your business is crucial.
It's essential to consider the time spent listing, managing and tracking success, the size of the audience and the type of job seekers and potential candidates the job postings attract.
It can be extremely helpful to a business to have jobs promoted, yet exposure to the wrong talent pool can result in more time wasted on unqualified CVs.
How GoHire Can Help in Job Advertising?
You can post your job ads for free to the best job boards in the UK using GoHire.
And......you get 700+ free job templates, improving the candidate experience and attracting top candidate applications. Try the amazing offers from these job posting sites in the UK and get the maximum benefit of a job search engine today.
Frequently Asked Questions:
