The Specialist

www.dice.com

Tired of sifting through jobs that have nothing to do with the career you want? Dice.com, “the career hub for tech insiders,” is here to help. Dice is a job search engine devoted entirely to openings in the technology field.

Benefits—Obviously, the specialization of Dice gives it up a leg up on the competition. It saves user’s time, energy and patience. It also offers advice boards geared specifically to technological job seekers.

Weaknesses—No frills here. For a Web site teeming with technological wizards, the site is pretty basic in design and features, with the exception of DicePlay, which features games and videos. Still, the interface could use some sprucing up.

Best Feature—Users can not only narrow their search by the typical location and keyword, but also by skill set. There are categories for Java, Software Development, C++ and others.

The Job Facebook

www.monster.com

“Your calling is calling.” Or so says Monster.com. The premiere job search site, Monster allows users to personalize and customize their experience. Users create profiles where they can build résumés, post cover letters and list career goals. All those hours spent on social networking sites will come in handy as Monster utilizes community boards and forums.

Benefits—You can narrow your search by location, employer and other key words. In addition, Monster leads the way with extra features and interactivity. It’s very much a job search community.

Weaknesses—All those widgets can be overwhelming. On any given page, the special features are fighting for your attention. It can be hard to navigate the pages when you have to choose between featured jobs, career advice, recommendations and a plethora of other gadgets.

Best Feature—Career tools like career snapshots, career benchmarking and career mapping enable users to explore all the options. With these tools, you can compare yourself with peers as far as skills, goals, salaries and benefits, research different career paths and examine trends within different industries.

The Little Engine That Could

www.simplyhired.com

Easily the cutest of all job search engines, Simply Hired takes pride in its unassuming nature with the motto “job search made simple.” While still relatively new, the site packs a punch with an easy to use search function and employment trends and salary tracking.

Benefits—Simply put, it’s the sheer simplicity of Simply Hired that makes it accessible to job searchers. It’s user-friendly to the core.

Weaknesses—If you like extras and special features, you’ll be disappointed. Simply Hired performs the basic functions of a search engine, but lacks some in the gadget department.

Best Feature—Employment Trends function. With clear graphs, this feature shows the percentage of jobs of any given search term in the database. You can look at the percentage changes in certain industries and, if the need arises, maybe reevaluate your chosen career path.

The Behemoth

www.careerbuilder.com

With arguably one of the most entertaining 2009 Super Bowl commercials, Career Builder promised to help those who thought about punching small animals. It proves just as helpful for college students looking for their first job. And the company is making it easier than ever to access. Their Facebook page offers featured employers, targeted to our age group, and their iPhone application allows users to find jobs closest to the city they’re in.

Benefits— Career Builder is massive. With more than 1 million jobs posted, the site sees more than 23 million unique visitors each month. It’s a large and extensive resource for students struggling to gain employment.

Weaknesses—Career Builder is a bit behind the competition in personalization and user interaction. The site lacks the extras of Monster.com. Users can post résumés, but do little else.

Best Feature—The detailed search. Job seekers can define their search by keyword, location, industry, job category, degree required and salary.

Old Faithful

www.hotjobs.yahoo.com

The standard search engine gets the Yahoo touch with this customizable and personalized Web site. If you’re signed into your Yahoo account, you’re automatically signed into this job search engine. Why not check your e-mail and your job prospects at the same time?

Benefits—The biggest thing going for Yahoo’s Hot Jobs is the convenience factor. Linked to your Yahoo ID, it’s accessible and right at your fingertips.

Weaknesses—Hot Jobs doesn’t exactly stand out from the pack. The drawback to the site is that it’s just OK, which is not a bad problem to have.

Best Feature—The Yahoo name and connection. Hot Jobs fits seamlessly into the Yahoo system and can be incorporated on your personal home page. Being backed by one of the most popular and comprehensive search engines doesn’t hurt.