Best job search websites

File photo - A sign marks the entrance to a job fair in New York October 24, 2011. (REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton)

The job market isn't as dire as it was six or seven years ago, yet finding employment still feels like work in and of itself. As more and more college degrees are issued each year, the prospective pool of employables -- your competition, that is -- grows proportionally. To stay ahead of the curve and give yourself a fighting chance to get hired, you'll need to exploit every resource available to you (including the web).

Thankfully, there are scores of job search sites and social networking platforms available at your disposal online, whether you're a part-time student looking to supplement your income or a former CEO on the hunt for the next big startup. From dog-walking gigs to jobs here at Digital Trends, you can find a position that fits your needs somewhere on the web.

It's a dog-eat-dog world out there, so touch up those resumes and start clicking.

Indeed is the most-trafficked job search engine on the planet. With more than a billion job searches a month and hundreds of thousands of new postings each week, the site doesn't need a fancy design. You can create a free, tailored profile; upload a resume; and search job postings aggregated from company pages, associations, and various listings from across the web. The results are as vast as they are thorough, whether you filter your search by category, location, or even starting salary.

The site's accompanying mobile app, detailed email alerts, and a host of search plugins are just a few of the added perks. The website is relatively simple, but sometimes that's all you need. Indeed is also a useful resource for employers, who can browse resumes and get in touch with potential candidates. Just be sure to let Tom from Jiffy Lube know that you're not interested right now.

Glassdoor isn't a traditional job search engine -- it's more like Yelp, but for employees instead of consumers. Found a listing for a job that sounds great, but don't know anything about the company in question? Look it up on Glassdoor, and all will become transparent. The site collects user reviews and aggregates them into a star rating (out of five), with salary information, CEO approval ratings, and employee recommendation levels to boot. The site also features a rather robust job search database that allows users to filter queries by location, job type, and rating.

LinkedIn is the premiere social networking site for professionals, but it's also a great free tool for crowdsourcing and landing jobs. You can create a personalized, resume-like profile touting your work experience and various skills, and send requests to other LinkedIn users to join their network. Once you're connected with another user, you can peruse their network and create valuable contacts to further your connections with other users. The website also features an online job board where employers can post available openings and LinkedIn users can apply.

Craigslist isn't just used for landing a free sofa or renting out a spare bedroom in your house. Although the website is harder to navigate than some of the other options on our list -- it's not specifically built for job hunting, after all -- it's still is a fantastic resource for checking out the current job landscape. Just pick your desired location and one of the numerous categories (i.e. education, government, hospitality) to begin. Try to keep in mind that some of the categories can be overly broad, scammers are abundant, and employers are typically bombarded with applicants.

Monster was once the king of online job boards. Although that may no longer be the case, the website still serves a great alternative, one that touts more than a million available listings. The site allows you to upload your resume for greater customization, as well as browse listings based on wage, time, category, and a slew of other basic metrics. The website offers career advice, too, including resume and salary negotiation tips, potential job interview questions, and other tips that might help you land your next gig. It even features a rating section similar to that of Glassdoor -- but it's not very comprehensive, and few employees have taken the time to submit reviews.

CareerBuilder offers a basic set of features, allowing you to browse and search job postings by skillset, company, and location, among other categories. A free account gives you options for uploading your resume, managing your job history, and accessing the site's comprehensive salary calculator. The site even offers a free job competition report so you can get a glimpse of the competition for any job you're considering. CareerBuilder features plenty of written content with advice and information about the current job market, though as you might expect, much of it is a little uninspired.

College students and prospective employees with thin resumes should sign up with Looksharp immediately. The site -- which previously operated under the name InternMatch -- includes detailed information about various jobs, posted by employers who hope to find applicants who are a perfect fit for their openings. The site features a ton of tools to help you find the job you're dreaming of, from location-based listings to templates for resumes and cover letters. In 2014, Looksharp acquired ReadyForce, a job site focused on computer science and engineering, so it's an excellent option if you're interested in those fields.

USAJobs is the U.S. government's official site for federal jobs and their accompanying information (i.e. eligibility, benefits, salary). Although the site is a bit limited -- and like most government sites, the design is awful -- there are still thousands of jobs to comb through, and the site boasts a deep pool of search filters. USAJobs is frequently updated, too, and often features government positions that other job sites may have missed. You can even apply for jobs directly through the site, allowing you to streamline the entire application process.

Internships.com -- a site operated by textbook-resale hub Chegg -- is a great option if you're a student looking to gain some valuable work experience, or if you're not looking for a full-fledged job. The website represents one of the largest internship aggregators to date, and features more than 180,000 positions at more than 100,000 companies peppered throughout the country. You can search by paid or unpaid internships, full or part-time positions, and a slew of other options including category, company, and location. Plus the site offers a free mobile app and a string of resume templates if you're just beginning your hunt.