To make matters worse? Everyone who is posting seems to be a "Founder," "Owner," or "CEO" who wants you to know they have the secret to success in life. And for the low low price of a follow or a mention, you can get those secrets too. So what is the problem? The problem is that LinkedIn now has more grifters speaking up than people with actual industry knowledge.

I know you read the title and thought, “ugh, another step I have to do on this never-ending job search.” And I get it. As someone who has been on the job hunt before, having to leave the job board I am on, go find the role on the company's own site, and fill out what might be an even lengthier application feels like wasting time.

And it gets noisy quick. When I was job searching, I remember seeing an email and thinking, “Oh, I need to remember to apply to that!” Cut to eight different alert emails from job boards later, and I’d completely forgotten that first role I was looking at. And because time is of the essence with so many of these jobs, I killed my chances by forgetting to apply right then and there.

LinkedIn and Indeed are some of the worst offenders here. You type “product manager, remote,” and half the results are onsite roles, sponsored posts you did not ask for, or listings only loosely related to your query. A lot of that comes down to how these platforms rank and inject results, where engagement and promoted content often outrank plain relevance. (For the broader picture on using AI in your search without getting burned by it, see our guide.)

If you are trying to find different ways to find jobs that aren't staring at LinkedIn or Indeed day in and day out, then allow me to introduce you to a job board of a different kind: Welcome to the Jungle.

When I was just getting into the swing of my job search (so about 50 applications in), I started having real trouble keeping track of what I'd applied to and whether I was still waiting to hear back from each company. Did I apply for this one already, or did I just look at it? Didn't I apply for this same job months ago? I know I applied for a role with this exact title somewhere, but now I can't remember which company it was.

But it might not just be that you don't want the emotional whiplash of seeing your former employer showing up in your search results constantly. Maybe you are currently in a role that you would rather not be in, and are quietly starting your job search for new opportunities. That brings up a whole new layer of anxiety in your search. Can my current company see? Will they see my "Open to Work" banner? Should I use other job boards that they can't track easily?

If you are on this article, you probably know about it already and are furiously trying to get back to the "normal" search. I was right there with you when I was doing my job search. At some point, my Jobs option was changed to the AI version that gives matches of relevant jobs (and we are using the word "matches" very loosely here) and would not allow me to filter by job options anymore.

You are ready to start making moves toward the next part of your career, so you do what anyone would do (update your resume). You spend the time to ensure that your resume showcases measurable results you have achieved, highlights your current accolades, and can pass through ATS systems. You think you’re good to get started, right?