Forgotten Minnesota Job Search Resources

Times are tough and the economy is stalled. Unemployment rates nationwide are as high as they’ve been in decades (Minnesota’s rate is better than the national average but still very high). This is certainly a difficult environment to be looking for work or changing careers. The good news, however, is that there are still job openings and employers looking for qualified applicants. And that, with the power of the internet, job seekers have more resource available to them than ever before.

Many people are familiar and have used the multitude of Job Search Engines (e.g. Monster.com, Careerbuilder, Indeed). We’re not going to discuss those as you are most likely already both are aware of them and using them in your Minneapolis Job Search. We’re going to focus on the next level of resources you can use.

Use Employer Websites: The Twin Cities Metro Area is fortunate to be headquarters for several large Fortune 500 employers, including Target, Best Buy, General Mills, and United Health Group. Though many people are aware of these well-known large companies, the Minneapolis Area is also home to a multitude of other employers ranging from mid to small companies, non-profits, and government.

The single best place to find these jobs is in the employers own websites. These websites offer the most current and accurate job information as they are maintained directly by the employer. Since there is little or no cost to include jobs on their website (rather than placing adds on job search engines) most or all of the available jobs are usually posted, when compared to only the high-profile positions that would warrant paying for placement on Monster or Careerbuilder.

There are a variety of these lists available online. You could also make your own list from where friends, family etc. work, and the places you see when driving around town. Determining the key employers you are interested in and frequently checking their website is a great way to keep current on potential openings.

Use Newspapers: Newspapers used to be the traditional source for job openings. Though not nearly as popular as in the past, they are still an important job search resource for you to use.

The StarTribune is by far the biggest and most popular newspaper in Minnesota. The have a ‘StarTribune Jobs’ area that combines a regional search utility with regional specific career information. They have a search tool and free registration gives you access to several additional features like resume posting and e-mail job notifications.

While small newspaper websites might not have all the positions on some of the more popular sites, they are an very good resource for local or part time work that wouldn’t be cost-effective for the employer placing (and spending money on) an ad in a regional paper or search engine. If you want to find part-time work in Apple Valley, for example, the regional Apple Valley newspaper is a very good place to look.

Use Government Sites and Libraries: The government (Federal, State, and local) creates and maintains a huge amount of valuable job-search information – almost all of it available for free. These websites are often targeted at job-seekers or career-changers and the amount of information presented can be overwhelming. Overall, however, there’s often great (and current) information available for those willing to spend some time looking.

The State of Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development publishes a website called Positively Minnesota. The website has an area specifically targeted at job-seekers, and contains a multitude of information on State provided employment websites, publications, and other resources.

Libraries, as a whole, are a vast often-untapped supply of job search information. Most Twin Cities Metro Area counties and large educational institutions usually have well organized library systems, often with big part the information available on the internet. Hennepin County has an especially large and helpful site.

Adding these three online job search resources can assist your Minneapolis Area Job Search!

Learn more about Minnesota Job Banks or where you can find out all about MN job banks then be sure to check out the Minnesota Job Bank HQ.