Flex Jobs

Site's statement

Jobboard Finder’s opinion

Summary: “Not All Job Sites Are Created Equal: Why FlexJobs Is Better”. A step ahead of the rest, or at least, FlexJobs likes to think so, this freelance job board is indeed quite different to other job sites out there. Created in 2007, FlexJobs promotes the advantages of flexible work and offers jobseekers the chance to find work that fit into their timetable (and not the other way around). The website publishes interesting reports based on surveys and data to further support their idea and, from the hundreds of pages of positive reviews, it would seem users agree. FlexJobs also has a number of followers on social mediai: 19 500 on Twitter, 147 618 on Facebook, 1 985 on Youtube and 22 595 Linkedin members (in their group). However, the services come at a cost so even if you can read about how amazing it is, you can’t actually use FlexJobs without subscribing (jobseekers) or being invited (recruiters). That hasn't detered people from using the site:  1.95 million views are recorded a month on SimilarWeb (70% of those come from the US).

Design: The homepage promotes the idea of flexible working first and foremost (even if there is a search engine for keywords and the location at the top of the page). A video made up of people explaining the burden of non-flexible hours and how to use FlexJobs allows users to hear first-hand what it’s like to use FlexJobs. There is a big emphasis on family and flexibility. There is also a big emphasis on the success stories and the unusual job offers. Once you access the job listing, there is useful information included for each job offer (date Posted, the category, the location, the job type, the hours per week, the career level, the flexibility, the level of telecommuting, the travel required, the accolades, the salary and benefits,, the start date) but no company name or contact information. To refine the search, jobseekers have filters (the job type, the schedule, the job category, the remote work level, the accolades, the career level, the title, the travel required). There are company pages, where you will find the awards, any success stories and blog articles relating to it.

The job board objective: FlexJobs wants people to work to live and not live to work. By adapting your working hours to your life, jobseekers can have more time to spend on other things.

Recruiter observations: To use FlexJobs, you need to request an invitation. Not all companies are eligible to advertise on this job board. In the words of FlexJobs, “If your organization is a well-suited match, you will receive an invitation to use FlexJobs’ free services including unlimited job postings and candidate sourcing”. The good news is, you can post for free if you are accepted.

Jobseeker observations: Jobseeker pay for a year, three months or a month subscription. Even if there is a fee, jobseekers are raving about it (there are many testimonials recounting personal experiences with FlexJobs). Some of the previous users have even written an entire article on their experience for the website.

The job offers: Currently, there are 31 276 job offers.

Reactivity: --

Special features: The press page (with many links to articles); the blog (many articles); the Youtube videos; Quarterly Flexible Jobs Trend Report (information about the top job categories and how they have evolved over the year); 100 of the Most Surprising Flexible Jobs, Past and Present; skills tests; employer blog; company accolades; success story of the week; the 2017 State of Telecommuting in the U.S. Employee Workforce.

Verdict: FlexJobs looks at work differently. Jobseekers pay instead of recruiters, employees set their hours instead of the bosses. From the looks of things, this could be the way of the future. If you are looking for more autonomy in work, give FlexJobs a go.

Written by Ali Neill

As the job board tester and blog editor for the Jobboard Finder, Ali works on job boards from all around the world and keeps a close eye on the recruitment trends thanks to a number of sources, including the website's social media pages.