by Aman
on 29th of August, 2024
In this blog, we have compiled a list of 15 sites for Free Resume Search that will help you decide where to look for talent.
| Platform | Pros | Cons |
| Indeed Resume | Large database and free browsing with powerful filters. | Contacting candidates requires a paid subscription. |
| Strong reputation and detailed profiles. | Contacting candidates requires Premium or Recruiter subscriptions. | |
| Jobvertise | Affordable paid plans. | Smaller resume database compared to competitors. |
| The Ladders | Focuses on high-income professionals. | Limited to $100k+ salary roles. |
| MightyRecruiter | AI-powered matching and easy to use. | Basic features compared to higher-end platforms. |
| PostJobFree | Completely free for job postings and resume searches with a simple interface. | Small database and can attract low-quality resumes. |
| JobSpider | Basic yet functional. | Small database, fewer filtering options. |
| WellFound (AngelList Talent) | Focuses on tech and startup candidates. | A smaller pool of candidates outside of tech. |
| Jora | Aggregates from various job boards. | Smaller, less targeted resume database. |
| SimplyHired | Free job postings and aggregates resume from other job sites. | Paid plans are required for advanced search features. |
| Hound | Aggregates resume from niche job boards. | May not be relevant for all industries. |
| StartWire | Application tracking included. | Lacks advanced search features. |
| Recruit.net | Aggregates job postings and resumes from multiple sources. | Lacks advanced search filters. |
| Craigslist | Affordable local job postings. | Risk of low-quality or irrelevant resumes. |
| Lusha | Provides direct contact information. | High pricing for extended access. |
This blog discusses the features, drawbacks, pricing, as well as reviews provided by recruiters for multiple free resume search sites. Our goal is not only to find the best free resume search platform but also to find the platform that works best for you.
Free Resume Search sites are platforms that allow employers and recruiters to search for a candidate’s resumes and CVs in a database at no cost. These platforms allow you to view, browse, and search through a candidate’s resume. They use the criteria needed by the recruiters to generate a smaller demographic of candidate resumes that match the given criteria. These filters can be job titles, experience, skills, etc. Basic searches on these sites are absolutely free. However, contacting candidates or using any advanced features might require a paid subscription.
We used the following criteria to choose these top 15 sites for free resume search –
Database size
A resume database of a good size is important. A large candidate pool means a diverse range of candidates with various levels of skills, experience, qualifications, and industries. This increases the chance of finding the right candidate for the role you are hiring for. A big database also reduces the competition as you can find candidates that the other recruiters have yet to reach.
Advanced Search Filters
Platforms that have detailed advanced filters such as location, experience, education, skillset, etc. can save huge time and simplify the task for recruiters. Good search filters narrow down the candidate pool to the relevant candidates that match your requirements for education, skillset, experience level, etc. It also helps to identify the passive candidates who might not be looking for a job but meet all the qualifications.
Candidate Quality
The quality of resumes on a platform matters in the industry where experience and skillset are everything. Platforms with good candidate quality have candidates with good skills and experience. When you hire good talent it saves time in training the candidate, boosts team morale, results in better job satisfaction, higher retention rates, reduces turnover, and also builds the company’s reputation.
Ease of Use
A user-friendly interface is always important for any platform. A good interface invites more users and can make the resume search process smoother, easier, and faster. The platform becomes easier to navigate, hence allowing recruiters to find candidates quickly without the need to learn a new complex system.
Indeed Resume is a resume search platform provided by one of the largest job boards globally, Indeed. It allows recruiters access to millions of candidates’ resumes stored in the database. Recruiters can filter out the search based on skills, location, experience, job titles, and other criteria. Indeed Resume also gives alerts for new resumes and provides a saved searches feature, making the process seamless for employers and recruiters. Resume views, searches, and browsing are free, however, contacting candidates requires a subscription. Job seekers can be contacted directly via email as well. It is known for its ease of use, which makes it popular for companies of all sizes looking for candidates across diverse industries.
Best for companies of all sizes, from small to mid-sized to large enterprises. It is also preferable for general recruitment for industries like healthcare, sales, etc.
Reviews provided by the masses are positive but the site is often criticized for high costs after free limits.
G2 Rating for Indeed Resume: 4.3 out of 5.
Capterra Score for Indeed Resume: 4.5 out of 5.
Pricing
The platform is free for searching and browsing but contacting candidates requires a paid plan that starts at $120/month for 30 contacts.
Drawbacks
Free access is limited. Recruiters have to pay to contact the candidates.
LinkedIn is the world’s largest networking platform, boasting over 900 million members across various industries and job levels. Employers and recruiters can search for potential candidates, view their whole profiles, and connect with them globally. It provides powerful search filters based on skills, experience, location, and education. Though searching and profile browsing is free like Indeed Resume, advanced features like contacting candidates, candidate recommendations, and job posting are available only through LinkedIn Premium or other Recruiter subscription. Premium or Recruiters account provides the feature “InMail” for messaging the potential candidates, while public profile access is free.
Best for white-collar jobs and professional recruitment, and for companies needing mid to senior-level professionals in various roles.
Reviews are highly rated for the networking but the paid recruiting tool is too expensive.
G2 Score for LinkedIn: 4.3 out of 5.
Capterra Score for LinkedIn: 4.6 out of 5.
Pricing
Free basic browsing, searching, and viewing are available. LinkedIn also offers two paid subscriptions after a 30-day free trial. Premium starts at $29.99/month and Recruiter Lite at $140/month.
Drawbacks
Jobvertise provides recruiters with access to over a million resumes. The website offers both free and paid options for searching and contacting candidates across various industries. Employers can browse and view the resumes with the free plan, but contacting potential candidates is only possible through a paid subscription. It allows recruiters to post jobs for candidates and to search the database by location, industry, job title, skills, experience, etc.
Jobvertise too like others in the list, offers a free resume search option, but the contact information is only provided to upgraded subscriptions.
Best for small to mid-sized businesses that are on a limited budget for recruitment and that are looking for a cost-effective way to access resumes and post job listings.
Reviews indicate that the users appreciate the free resume search. However, the free version has limited features and outdated resumes which is often inconvenient to the users.
G2 Score for Jobvertise: No score available.
Capterra Score for Jobvertise: No score available.
Pricing
The free plan offers limited browsing of resumes without any contact information to contact potential candidates. To view the contact details and contact a candidate, recruiters have to upgrade their subscription to a paid plan which is available at $29.99/month.
Drawbacks
Ladders is a specialized resume search website as its platform is focused on high-income professionals and candidates who are seeking positions with $100,000 salaries or more. It allows recruiters to search resumes and post jobs targeted at senior-level roles and executives. Filters provided in the search option are based on location, skills, level of experience as well as salary expectations. The potential candidates are pre-screened for qualification and salary range. The basic free plan offered has limited access but a subscription unlocks the full functionality of The Ladders.
Best for executives and senior-level positions, especially for high-income roles.
Reviews show that the users are satisfied with the high-quality resumes and experienced professionals. On the other hand, it is expensive when compared to general resume search platforms because it is limited to only high-level roles.
G2 Score for Ladders: 3.8 out of 5.
Capterra Score for Ladders: No score available.
Pricing
The free plan has limited access to files with the contact information only being available to the subscribers.
The paid plan starts at $199/month and provides the contact information as well.
Drawbacks
MightyRecruiter is a user-friendly recruitment platform that uses AI to match candidates with recruiters and efficiently guides them to find suitable candidates quickly by resume parsing. The features allow easy management of applications and candidate communication which makes it beneficial for small to mid-sized businesses seeking to enhance their recruitment process without expanding their recruitment budget.
Best for small to medium-sized companies and startups.
Reviews praise the site for its ease-of-use dashboards but criticize it for its limited search features.
G2 Score for MightyRecruiter: 4.1 out of 5.
Capterra Score for MightyRecruiter: 4.1 of 5.
Pricing
The free plan offers free job postings, and resume search and view.
Paid plans have add-ons like contact information and premium features, they start around $99/month but it can vary based on the services and features included.
Drawbacks
PostJobFree is a 100% free job posting and resume search platform with an easy-to-use interface for posting jobs and managing applicants. The platform prioritizes simplicity and makes resume searching a straightforward affair. All the features are completely free, including browsing resumes and posting resumes. It has a smaller candidate pool as compared to the other sites, but the cost-effectiveness makes it a great option for recruiters looking to reach candidates without financial constraints.
Best for small businesses seeking a simple and cost-free solution.
Reviews appreciate the free job posting and resume search. However, the site is criticized for low traffic and inconsistent candidate quality.
G2 Score for PostJobFree: No score available.
Capterra Score for PostJobFree: No score available.
Pricing
All the core features are free but PostJobFree does offer premium features like enhanced visibility for a fee. It has various subscriptions that range from $29/month to $399/month.
Drawbacks
JobSpider is designed to simplify the hiring process, it allows free job posting and resume search through its vast database at no cost. It emphasizes accessibility which results in budget-friendly employer solutions for small to mid-size businesses. Though it does not have the wide reach of other, bigger job boards, JobSpider offers a very straightforward way for employers and recruiters to find candidates based on location, experience, skillset, etc. across diverse fields.
Best for small businesses and employers that have a tight budget.
Reviews are appreciative of the site being completely free but fault its smaller resume pool.
G2 Score for JobSpider: No score available.
Capterra Score for JobSpider: No score available.
Pricing
JobSpider is a fully free service. Employers and recruiters can post the jobs and search for resumes free of cost.
Drawbacks
Wellfound (formerly known as AngelList Talent) is designed for startup recruitment. The goal is to connect startups with skilled candidates, especially in the tech industry. It offers free access to tech and startup job seekers’ resumes and filters the search based on locations, skills, equity preferences, etc. Wellfound provides salary information and equity details in the job listing which helps candidates make informed decisions. The transparency of Wellfound is appreciated by many. The platform is user-friendly and tailored for startups, helping them build strong teams by catering to a diverse range of roles such as engineering, product management, and design.
Best for startups and tech recruitments.
Review is positive for its high-quality of candidates but it is limited to only tech and startups.
G2 Score for WellFound: 4.2 out of 5.
Capterra Score for WellFound: 4.7 out of 5.
Pricing
Wellfound is free for the core features but also provides paid plans for additional hiring tools.
Paid plans start at $149/month.
Drawbacks
Jora makes the recruitment process easier by aggregating job listings from various sources across the web. The platform allows you to post job openings and access a broad pool of candidates from various industries and with various experience levels. The free access makes it an attractive option for businesses of small sizes looking to enhance their hiring process. The platform also ensures maximum visibility to candidates.
Best for small businesses and general recruitment for diverse roles, globally.
Review: The platform lacks advanced search options but is very cost-effective.
G2 Score for Jora: No score available.
Capterra Score for Jora: No score available.
Pricing
It is a fully free platform for employers to search and view potential candidates.
Drawbacks
SimplyHired aggregates job listings from thousands of sources from various job boards, making it easier for you to find qualified applicants for your needed roles. You can post job openings directly on the platform while job seekers can search for them based on locations, job titles, and other criteria. Likewise, you can filter your search based on the same criteria. The platform offers a user-friendly interface and a large resume database, effectively attracting talent and streamlining the hiring process for you.
Best for general recruitment for entry to mid-level positions. SimplyHired is favorable for businesses looking for cost-effective solutions in retail, hospitality, and administrative roles that need to fill positions quickly.
Review: SimplyHired is easy to use but has limited free features.
G2 Score for SimplyHired: 3.4 out of 5
Capterra Score for SImplyHired: No score available.
Pricing
Job posting, searching, browsing, and viewing resumes is free but the contact details are not included in the free plan. To do so you require a paid plan, which starts from $99/month.
Drawbacks
Hound provides access to a wide range of resumes which are aggregated from various job boards and general sources. Recruiters can browse through a wide selection of candidate profiles to find the candidate they are looking for. This is also made easier by the search filters offered by the platform, these can filter the search based on various criteria such as experience, skillset, etc.
Best for small to medium-sized businesses that need access to quality candidates without too much cost.
Review: Positive for niche job focus, but it lacks overall usability.
G2 Score for Hound: No score available.
Capterra Score for Hound: No score available.
Pricing
It offers a free plan with limited features. For advanced features free trial is available for 14 days and then the pricing starts at $199/month.
Drawbacks
StartWire enhances the hiring experience by offering unique features like automatic applicant tracking. It allows recruiters to manage applications efficiently and provides insights into candidate engagement. StartWire prioritizes transparency and communication above everything else by enabling recruiters to keep candidates informed throughout the whole hiring process, resulting in a user-friendly site for both recruiters and candidates.
Best for small to mid-sized businesses and recruiters in industries like administrative support, sales, and operations.
Review: Recruiters appreciate the automated status updates for applicants and ease of use.
G2 Score for StartWire: No score available.
Capterra Score for StartWire: No score available.
Pricing
StartWire is free for core features but it does not disclose pricing on the website.
Drawbacks
Recruit.net offers a platform to post job openings and reach a wide range of candidates worldwide. Recruit.net offers visibility around the globe making it a useful tool for companies with international hiring needs. The platform has limited features for free resume search but its straightforward interface makes it valuable for businesses.
Best for recruiters and employers targeting international job seekers.
Review: Recruit.net is great for global search but it has a limited set of search filters.
G2 Score for Recruit.net: No score available.
Capterra Score for Recruit.net: No score available.
Pricing
Recruit.net is free for limited features, but for advanced features, employers need to contact Recruit.net for their pricing.
Drawbacks
Craigslist is a well-known platform where users can post ads for a variety of categories, these also include job listings. For recruiters, the platform offers an affordable way to post jobs and connect with local candidates. It has a simple interface and job posting is quick and easy. It is especially useful for small businesses and startups since it provides budget-friendly hiring solutions.
Craigslist has a broad reach but lacks recruitment tools, which makes it less suitable for companies seeking highly specialized candidates.
Best for local hiring and for small businesses, especially in retail, and service.
Review: Craigslist has mixed reviews where on one hand it is praised for the local hires but on the other hand, faces criticism for inconsistent resume quality.
G2 Score for Craigslist: No score available.
Capterra Score for Craigslist: No score available.
Pricing
Browsing resumes is completely free but job posting can cost from $10 to $75 depending on the location.
Drawbacks
Lusha is a B2B platform and an ideal tool for recruiters looking to connect with candidates or leads directly. Lusha simplifies the hiring process by not only offering browsing and searching for resumes but also providing direct contact information of candidates (phone number, emails).
Best when direct contact with candidates is needed, especially in marketing and sales.
Review: Provides accurate contact information but has limited free access.
G2 Score for Craigslist: 4.3 out of 5.
Capterra Score for Lusha: 4.0 out of 5.
Pricing
The free plan has limited credits that offer 5 free contact searches per month.
The paid plan starts at $36/month/user, Lusha also offers custom pricing for teams of any size.
Drawbacks
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