Monster

Monster has been around since 1999, and it’s one of the most well-known names in the world of employment websites. It’s undoubtedly one of the biggest, too, with millions of listings on the site at any one time.

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This site doesn’t tend to specialize in start-ups, remote working, or any other niche, though, which certainly goes some way into explaining its huge number of listings. You can find everything on Monster, from entry-level and part-time positions to jobs right at the top of the corporate food chain.

Monster shows a wider selection of jobs from different industries than its competitors (Image credit: Monster)

Unusually for job sites, Monster also lists blue-collar work right alongside the white-collar positions, so you’ll be able to find jobs in a far wider selection of industries than on most sites.

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Monster's job listings appear on the left with details about each position on the right (Image credit: Monster)

Features

The site’s homepage looks like a search engine, so you just put your desired position and location into a huge box and click a button. You then receive a column of results on the left and in-depth job information on the right-hand side. It’s an impressive, effective design.

Monster's filtering options could certainly do with an upgrade (Image credit: Monster)

Monster’s approach to searching and filtering is a little different than most other sites. When you get to your results you can only sort them by how far they are from your location, or if they’re remote positions. Most other job websites allow search result filtering by salary range, experience level required and several other factors.

Instead of taking that approach, you’ll have to put these factors into the search box at the start of the process – you’ll need to search specifically for part-time jobs or the position you need, for instance.

That is not necessarily a great method. You’ll have to know what you want before you search, to some extent, and you might not find ideal jobs if their adverts don’t hit your keywords. It also means you can’t easily search by salary levels or by your level of experience, which is something that’s pretty easy to do on plenty of other sites.

Monster’s sheer size also means that the site suffers from many redundant listings, spam job adverts and scam positions, so that’s something you’ll need to remember as you’re browsing.

You don’t get a huge amount of information on the site’s job listings, either. You’ll get the job description, basic information about the position and some headline figures about the company, but that’s it.

Monster's salary tools allow you to see how much different positions pay in a variety of locations (Image credit: Monster)

Elsewhere, Monster’s features are unsurprising. You can sign up to email alerts and use the site’s salary comparison tool to run the numbers if you’re unsure about what sort of money you should be earning. The site has a career advice hub that’s crammed with helpful articles about all sorts of employment issues. Monster’s user profiles allow you to add your work and education history, but that’s it – in terms of building a resume, plenty of other sites are more extensive.

Instead, you can upload your resume to Monster, and the site does support uploads from Google Drive, Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive alongside your own PC or laptop. Handily, Monster also has an option to block your resume from certain companies, so you can make sure that your current employer doesn’t find out that you’re job-hunting.

Plans and pricing

Monster is free to use, at least, and you’ll only have to pay extra if you want to use some of the firm’s optional extra services.

While Monster doesn't offer paid plans, you can have the company write your resume, cover letter or both for you (Image credit: Monster)

Monster offers resume and cover letter writing services, for instance. The entry-level $129 option delivers a professionally written resume in five business days, and the $189 package adds a cover letter. If you shell out a whopping $349, you'll get those two documents alongside a LinkedIn profile makeover and faster delivery.

Finding new staff for your business on Monster will cost you a premium (Image credit: Monster)

Aside from this, you’ll only have to pay for services or access on Monster if you’re a recruiter rather than a job-seeker.

Final verdict

Monster certainly doesn’t have any surprising features – or, indeed, the biggest range of features at all. It does have one of the biggest jobs databases going, though, which means you’ll be able to find roles in any industry and at any level. Most other sites can’t boast a database that’s this extensive.

It’s easy to use: search for your desired job and location and you’re instantly confronted with a lot of leads. And it’s free, unless you want to pay for the resume or cover letter services.

We’ll be blunt about it: Monster has its issues thanks to a lack of detail and extra features. But the sheer number of jobs on the site makes it worthwhile, especially if you already know what you’re looking for.

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