Craigslist.org has quickly become one of the most worthwhile resources for those who are in the market for a new job. There are many online resources for job seekers but Craigslist is one of the most extensive. Those who know how to use Craigslist properly can make their search for a new job as narrow or as broad as they wish. This makes it possible for job seekers to enjoy a wide variety of search options which can help them to find the job of their dreams. The advantages Craigslist offers to members of its community is a secure search environment, the ability to narrow the search down to a specific location, a variety of employment options offering flexibility and a large community featuring employers of all sizes. Trust the Security Craigslist Offers One of the major benefits of searching for a new job through Craigslist is the ability to contact potential employers through a secure environment. Most individuals who post a job listing through Craigslist supply an anonymous email address for job candidates to respond to with pertinent information. This email address is supplied through Craigslist which gives job seekers the security of knowing their response will go through the secure Craigslist email system. The downside to this system is employers may not know the name of the employer before they make their initial contact. This can be troublesome especially for potential employees who are concerned about their present employer finding out they are seeking a new job. Craigslist also offers security to job seekers by carefully reviewing job advertisements for content. Craigslist even urges members of the community to report questionable job advertisements. Users are able to flag these advertisements for further review by Craigslist staff. Craigslist then reviews the advertisement carefully to determine whether or not the advertisement may remain or should be deleted. Examples of advertisements which may be deleted are those which appear to be scams. Such advertisements often promise users a great deal of money for very little work in a short period of time. Although there is still the potential for misleading or false advertisements to appear on Craigslist the precautions they take help to minimize the number of these advertisements circulating within the community. Find the Right Job in the Right Location Another advantage to searching for a new job through Craigslist is the ability to narrow down a search to a specific region. Craigslist not only allows users to search for available positions by state but allows users to further refine this search by selecting major cities within the state to include in the search. This is significant because users who live in a particular area may only be interested in jobs within a certain radius. Even job seekers who are considering relocating to a particular state may only be willing to relocate to certain parts of the state. Find Flexibility through Craigslist Another advantage Craigslist offers to the job seeking community is flexibility in employment options. There are an increasing number of employees who are seeking more flexible employment options. Options such as telecommuting and contract employment appeal to many potential employees. Most job search websites do not include options for telecommute positions, contract employment or other flexibility options. However, on Craigslist these are prominent parts of the search feature. Both employers and employees realize Craigslist is the place to go when you are either an employer looking for employees capable of working offsite or you are an employee looking for telecommute, contract or other flex options. Who is using Craigslist? Everyone One final advantage to searching for a new job through Craigslist is an impressive amount of available positions. More and more employers are beginning to realize how widely Craigslist is being used and are also beginning to realize they cannot afford not to place their available positions on Craigslist. Available jobs positions appear on Craigslist communities from small Mom and Pop companies to multi billion dollar corporations. Companies of all sizes realize they cannot afford to miss out on the wealth of potential employees who are flocking to Craigslist in search of exciting new job opportunities. PPPPP Word count 692

Craigslist is an extensive community offering a variety of products and services as well as forums for likeminded individuals to discuss issues of importance to them and those who share opposing viewpoints to express their opinions as well. Craigslist also receives approximately four billion page views per month making it clear that there are many people who already realize the value of Craigslist. However, there are many who dont quite understand Craigslist yet. This article will focus on answering three important questions related to Craigslist for those who do not fully understand what Craigslist is and how they can use it. What Is Craigslist? One of the most elementary questions many people have regarding Craigslist, is what is it? Craigslist is essentially akin to a combination of a newspapers classified section combined with the editorial page and a job seekers website all offered online for easy access. Craigslist is an online community which features an extensive classified section including sections for sales of a variety of products and services, sections for job advertisements and even a personals section. Additionally, Craigslist offers locations for individuals to post resumes and a discussion forum where a variety of subjects can be debated and information can be shared. Sound confusing? It really isnt. A quick visit to the Craigslist.org website will make it immediately clear how much useful this online community really is to people seeking all types of information, products and services. Not only does Craigslist offer such a wealth of information but it also conveniently divides this information into geographical regions making it simple to search for products and services offered in a specific area. How Can Craigslist Help You? Now that you understand what Craigslist is, you may still wonder how it can help you specifically. There is no one simple answer to this question. The benefits you can gain from Craigslist will depend on what you are looking for from this community. In this section we will discuss some of the relevant uses of Craigslist for those who are seeking to purchase products or services, find a job or meet friends or romantic partners and in the following section we will discuss how Craigslist can be beneficial to a business. There is a section on Craigslist specifically for those who are looking to purchase or sell an item. Here those who have items for sale can post an advertisement in an appropriate category and receive responses from those who are interested in this item. Additionally, there is a section for individuals who are seeking a specific item to post an advertisement specifying the item they are looking for and the price they are willing to pay for this item. Craigslist can also be an excellent place to find a job. Craigslist offers a section for job seekers to review job advertisements as well as a section for job seekers to post their resume. One of the major advantages to searching for a job on Craigslist is it offers a variety of flexible options such as telecommute positions and contract positions as well as full time and part time employment. Craigslist can also help individuals meet platonic or romantic friends. There is a personals section on Craigslist where individuals can post advertisements or view advertisements in search of a friend or date. As with any online dating situation, care should be taken to ensure meetings with these potential friends or dates are safe. Arranging initial meetings in public locations or bringing a trusted friend along can help to make these meetings safer. How Can Craigslist Help Your Business? Business owners can benefit from using Craigslist. As previously mentioned, Craigslist receives approximately four billion page views per month so advertising on Craigslist makes it easy to reach a large audience with minimal effort. Business owners can use Craigslist in a number of ways. The most obvious use is to post advertisements touting products and services offered. Another way business owners can use Craigslist is to check out competitors on Craigslist and learn more about how they are reaching potential customers. PPPPP Word count 684

Believe it or not, it is entirely possible for savvy individuals to earn their living through Craigslist. More and more individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit are realizing there are a host of opportunities for those who are willing to work hard to earn a living through hard work, learning about online communities such as Craigslist and effectively marketing themselves and their skills or products to those who might be in the market to invest in services or products the individual has to offer. Unlike conventional jobs where there is a set salary for services rendered and an unofficial cap on the earning potential those who offer their services online as an independent contractor have no such cap on their earning potential. However, there are also no guarantees on the amount which will be earned. In general there are two ways to make a living with Craigslist. This may include offering services as an independent contractor on a contract basis or offering products or services as a small business owner. Alternately, individuals can utilize Craigslist to secure a permanent full time job through the job posting section on Craigslist. However, for the purposes of this article we will discuss the possibilities open to independent contractors and small business owners on Craigslist. Craigslist for Independent Contractors Those who offer their services as independent contractors on a contract basis are finding Craigslist to be an excellent location to offer their services or respond to advertisements from those seeking services. An increase in the amount of work being outsourced by both small businesses and large corporations has prompted many savvy individuals to realize there is a market for them to take advantage of these outsourcing opportunities. They can use Craigslist in their effort to do this by placing advertisements for services offered as well as by responding to advertisements seeking contract employees. There is a section on Craigslist specifically for services offered. Under the topic of services offered there are a number of different categories. The contractor can place a posting under the most appropriate category to reach their target audience. There is also a category for small business advertisements which may be used if there are no appropriate categories for the type of services offered. However, it might be more difficult to reach a target audience by placing an advertisement in such a general category. Independent contractors can also gain business opportunities by responding to advertisements seeking contract employees. In searching for a job on Craigslist individuals can begin with a location and then browse through different types of job by category. The easiest way to find a contract position is to use the search feature and check the contract box to include this term as a part of the search criteria. This will ensure the search results returned include only contract positions. Craigslist for Small Business Owners Small business owners can utilize Craigslist to reach a larger audience and grow their business. Those who have a small business have a couple of opportunities to use Craigslist to their advantage. The most obvious way to promote a business on Craigslist is by posting an advertisement in the appropriate category under the for sale or services sections of the community. This can be very effective because Craigslist receives more than four billion page views per month meaning there is a large potential audience using Craigslist. Small business owners can also use the discussion forums portion of the Craigslist community to generate greater profit for their business. However, small business owners should use a great deal of caution to ensure their promotional postings are not viewed as spam. There is a distinct difference between posting information related to your business in a way that is informative to the reader and spamming the boards with useless posts intended solely to promote your business. Spamming is not only likely to be overlooked by readers but also runs the risk that the Craigslist moderators will delete your posts or take more severe actions against you. PPPPP Word count 672

Craigslist can be a very valuable online community for those who are looking for a variety of options including jobs, products, services, personal connections or housing opportunities. Users of this community can find all of the above listed opportunities and can also meet others and network or discuss important issues. However, because Craigslist is an online community there is always the opportunity for scammers and predators to be lurking on Craigslist. Craigslist has approximately four billion page views per month and approximately ten million visitors each month. The majority of these visitors likely have no harmful intentions but there is a small percentage, as on any online community, who may be seeking to harm others either physically or financially. There are, however, a number of very worthwhile reasons to use the Craigslist community for finding more information on career possibilities, meeting platonic friends or romantic partners or purchasing products or services. This article will take a look at why Craigslist is so useful but will also offer sage advice on how to protect yourself while using Craigslist. Why Choose Craigslist for Online Searches Many might wonder why Craigslist is so appealing. While there are other websites which focus exclusively on job searches, product purchases or meeting potential platonic friends or partners, Craigslist is unique in that it provides one convenient location for all of these types of searches and more. Craigslist might have started as a small operation focusing exclusively on the events going on in the San Francisco Bay Area but has since mushroomed into a much larger community with websites specific to different geographic regions. The different websites focusing on specific geographic regions makes Craigslist an excellent resource because the users can communicate with those in their area directly instead of having to search through a larger database to find information on people, products and events in their area. How to Protect Yourself on Craigslist Craigslist is not anymore dangerous than other online communities. As with an Internet gathering place, the biggest problem is the ease in which individuals can disguise themselves and trick others into believing they are trustworthy when they are not. This applies both to individuals who seek to physically harm others as well as those who have intentions to scam others out of money or tangible items. One of the best ways to protect yourself on Craigslist, or any online community, is to safeguard your personal information. This means information such as credit card numbers, bank account numbers, social security numbers and other similar numbers should not be given out unless the individual is positive who will be receiving the information and that it is being transmitted over a secure server. This is important because this information can be used for identity theft or other fraudulent purposes. Care should also be taken to avoid giving out personal information such as full name, address and phone number. This is especially important because such information could be used by someone with malicious intent to locate an individual. While name, address and phone number are obvious pieces of information which should be safeguarded, it is important to note other pieces of information could be used to find a person. For example a person can be identified and located by supplying seemingly harmless information such as a first name, where high school was attended and year of graduation. Determined criminals can use this information to deduce the last name of the person which could lead to finding their address and using this information to harm or harass the individual. PPPPP Word count 593

If you havent already learned about the wealth of information and opportunities available on Craigslist it is time to start learning more about this exciting online community. The Craigslist fact sheet defines Craigslist as, Local community classifieds and forums - a place to find jobs, housing, goods & services, social activities, a girlfriend or boyfriend, advice, community information, and just about anything else -- all for free, and in a relatively non-commercial environment. This definition is certainly worthy of all that Craigslist has to offer to visitors. The fact sheet also points out that Craigslist receives approximately four billion page views per month and is visited by approximately ten million visitors each month. This article will provide a brief history of Craigslist and will discuss two of the most commonly used sections of Craigslist. This includes the for sale section and the jobs section. The History of Craigslist Craigslist begin in 1995, essentially as an email list run by Craig Newmark for the purpose of keeping his friends informed of interesting events occurring in the San Francisco Bay Area. This system spread through word of mouth and the list grew. After sometime others began using the list to respond to the entire list with information about other events or as a way to make requests or exchange information. Those who began responding on Craigslist began posting items such as jobs, for sale items, apartment openings and other pieces of information. Newmark wrote software to enable participants to post this information onto the website which became known as Craigslist.org. Although Newmark was approached in 1997 about the possibility of running banner advertisements on his website, he declined this opportunity. Finding Items for Sale on Craigslist The for sale section of Craigslist is the place to find items which are for sale. This section is divided into a variety of different categories. Users can browse through appropriate categories to find other users offering items for sale which may be of interest to them. Those who cannot find an item they are seeking can take advantage of the wanted section to post an advertisement seeking a particular item as well as the price they are willing to pay for this item. When purchasing an item on Craigslist there is always the potential for receiving an item that is not in the condition described in the advertisement. Asking many questions is the best way to avoid this type of problem when making a purchase. Finding Jobs on Craigslist One of the most popular sections of Craigslist is the jobs section. Job seekers prefer Craigslist over other websites designed specifically for finding jobs because Craigslist offers those posting the job the opportunity to include information such as whether telecommuting is an option or the position is a contract position in addition to whether it is full time or part time. This is significant because many other websites do not include this information and job seekers who rely on the Internet are likely to be more interested in these options that offer greater flexibility. Browsing through Craigslist for potential jobs is surprisingly easy. Job seekers simply enter the Craigslist website for the desired geographical region and select a category from the jobs section that describes their desired field of employment. Alternately job seekers can use the search feature to find their dream job. PPPPP Word count 560

Although Craigslist has been around in one form or another since 1995, there are still some who have no idea how to use Craigslist. These individuals are missing out on a wonderful opportunity to be a part of a growing and continually evolving online community. This community is an excellent resource for finding information, finding jobs, finding friends or dates, making purchases, selling items or discussing important issues. This article will provide a brief introduction to each of the major sections on Craigslist. Community Section The community section of Craigslist is very useful for finding a great deal of local information. This may include activities, events, activities and lost and found just to name a few. This is definitely the section to check out if you are looking for things to do or see in a particular area. Personals Section The Personals section is where individuals can meet platonic friends or romantic partners. This section is set up with a number of different categories making it possible for both heterosexuals and homosexuals to find potential dates. The personals section is restricted to users over 18 years of age. Discussion Forums The discussion forums provide a location for individuals to voice their opinions, answer questions or otherwise exchange information. This section is divided into a number of different categories to make it easier for users to find others who share their interests. Certain categories allow users to post without logging in while other sections require users to log in before posting. Housing Section Craigslists housing section offers a variety of options related to lodging. Users of this section can find apartments or homes available for rent, sublet opportunities, potential roommate situations, house or apartment swaps, real estate sales, vacation rentals and even storage, parking and office space for rent or sale. For Sale Section The for sale section of Craigslist is largely self explanatory. Like most sections, it is divided into a number of different categories. Each of these categories describes the types of items which are offered for sale within the category. Additionally, there is a wanted section where users may post advertisements seeking to purchase particular items. Not all of the items listed in the for sale section require a fee to be paid to receive the item. Some of these items are available for free or in barter situation. Services Sections In the services section, service providers may place advertisements for the types of services they offer. Advertisements should be placed in appropriate categories but if there is no appropriate category the advertisement may be placed in the generic small business section. Jobs Section The job section is by far the most extensive section on Craigslist. This section is broken down into a number of different categories to make it easier for users to search for potential career matches. Users may find full time as well as part time opportunities in this section as well as telecommute positions and contract positions. Gigs Section The gigs section is similar to the jobs section but advertisements in the gigs section are supposed to refer to one time only opportunities as opposed to ongoing work. For example advertisements for volunteer staff needed for a one day event should be placed in the gigs section while advertisements for full time staff positions should be placed in jobs. Resumes Section The resumes section enables job seekers to post their resumes. The key to getting noticed in this section is to use a catchy headline for the resume. The resumes are not divided into different categories making it difficult for users to search through these resumes. PPPPP Word count 605

As outsourcing becomes a more and more popular options for both small business and large corporations, Craigslist is leading the way for employers and contract employees to connect. Craigslist is an expansive community and those who advertise on Craigslist are fully aware of the large audience reached by Craigslist. Potential employees are equally aware of the size of the Craigslist community and often turn to Craigslist first in their job search especially when they are looking for work to be completed on a contract basis. Finding a Contract Position on Craigslist The number of employees seeking work on a contract basis is increasing in leaps and bounds. More and more employees are making a move toward self employment where they are able to determine when and where they work, their fees, the types of projects they accept as well as their project deadlines. This movement is a reaction to the ever increasing propensity of corporate America to make outrageous demands on employees to generate a greater profit for the company. It is also linked to the increasing occurrence of outsourcing by corporations. Individuals see work being outsourced and realize there is an opportunity for them to work independently and accept these outsourced projects. So, where does Craigslist fit into this picture? The simple answer is Craigslist is making it easier for employers looking to outsource and independent contractors to come into contact. Those who place a job advertisement on Craigslist are required to answer a series of questions. One of these questions is whether the position is a full time position, a part time position or a temporary contract position. Employers respond to this question and as a result the job advertisement is automatically searchable by the term of employment. Job seekers on Craigslist can enter the term, contract into the search to receive results which were listed as contract type employment. The ability to search by whether or not a position is a contract position on Craigslist provides an advantage over other websites designed specifically for job seekers. This is significant because it not only helps job seekers who are looking for this type of work to find potential matches more quickly but it also helps employers as well because they are less likely to receive applications from employees looking for contract work when they have an advertisement for a full time position and likewise they are less likely to receive applications from employees looking for full time employment when they are seeking to fill a contract position. This can help to make the process of finding an employee through Craigslist quicker and more efficient. Why Contract Positions are So Appealing There are a number of reasons why contract positions are so appealing to members of the Craigslist community. Many of these employees are drawn to contract type work because of the flexibility it offers them. Employees who are seeking contract employment may be doing so for a couple of reasons. This may include wanting to earn extra income around the confines of a traditional job or wanting to support oneself without committing to a regular nine to five job. One of the main advantages to contract employment is it usually includes a higher hourly rate than similar positions offered on a full time basis. This is because companies are often required to offer additional benefits to full time employee such as medical coverage, social security and workers compensation but they are not required to offer these benefits to contract employees. Therefore the company often compensates the contract employee for the lack of benefits with an increased hourly rate. Employees are also willing to offer a higher hourly rate because they realize they are in need of the special skills the contractor can bring to the company. This is especially true in the case of industries where there is a need to hire experts with highly specialized skills. In these cases it is much more economical for the company to pay these fees to a contractor than to hire, train and retain a full time employee with the same capabilities. Most companies are becoming aware that Craigslist is the best place to find the qualified individuals they are seeking. PPPPP Word count 705