Hays

Best job search sites in the UK — the ones people actually use

If you’re job hunting in the UK, don’t rely on just one site. The practical shortlist is: Indeed, LinkedIn, Reed, Totaljobs, CV-Library, plus one or two specialist sites for your sector. The National Careers Service also lists CV-Library, Indeed, Reed and Monster as popular job boards, and recommends LinkedIn-style networking sites as part of a job search. (nationalcareers.service.gov.uk)

Top general-purpose job sites

Best specialist UK job sites by sector

My recommended setup

For most UK jobseekers, I’d do this:

1. Set alerts on Indeed, LinkedIn, Reed and Totaljobs.
2. Upload your CV to CV-Library and Reed so recruiters can find you.
3. Use Glassdoor before interviews to check salary, reviews and interview questions.
4. Apply on the employer’s own careers page when possible — it can reduce duplicate applications and fake/expired listings.
5. Add one specialist board for your field: NHS Jobs, Civil Service Jobs, CharityJob, eFinancialCareers, Prospects, TES, CWJobs, etc.
6. Register with 2–3 relevant recruitment agencies in your sector; the National Careers Service notes agencies can help with roles that may not be advertised online. (nationalcareers.service.gov.uk)

Bottom line:
For a broad UK job search, start with Indeed + LinkedIn + Reed + Totaljobs + CV-Library. Then add NHS Jobs, Civil Service Jobs, CharityJob, Prospects, eFinancialCareers, CWJobs, TES or Caterer.com depending on your sector.

Here are the job search sites that people in the UK actually rely on most, based on current market data and usage:

The Big Players (Start Here)

Indeed is the clear market leader. A 2022 Intelligence Group study pegs its market share at 77.5% among active job seekers (nearly 8 in 10), with 63% usage per Standout CV data and 250 million monthly visitors globally. It's one of the most popular job search engines globally and holds a strong presence in the UK job market, known for its extensive database aggregating job listings from various sources, including company websites and other job boards.

LinkedIn is essential if you're in professional/corporate roles. LinkedIn is a professional networking platform that many employers use for posting job openings, sourcing candidates, and connecting with potential hires.

Reed is a genuine British institution. The top job boards for UK job seekers combine reach, usability, and specialization, with key platforms including Indeed, Monster, Reed, CV-Library, Totaljobs, and Find a Job for general roles.

Totaljobs has huge reach in the UK. Totaljobs is a household name in the UK, with a database of over 21 million registered candidates and over 280,000 live job adverts, making it one of the most powerful and popular platforms for both job seekers and employers.

Other Solid Options

CV-Library – a job site that focuses on connecting job seekers with employers and recruiters, featuring a variety of job listings and allowing you to upload your CV for potential employers to discover.

Monster UK – a pioneer in online recruitment that has maintained a strong foothold in the UK market, with a brand synonymous with job searching that continues to attract a large user base.

Glassdoor – best if you want to research employers before applying. If you're looking for a job in the UK and want more insight than most job sites, you should use Glassdoor – it offers an unparalleled view of a company's advantages and problems.

Niche/Specialist Picks

• Find a Job (GOV.UK) – the government's own free service, good for entry-level and local roles
• CWJobs – if you're interested in IT and technology roles, CWJobs is a specialized job site that caters to the tech industry
• Guardian Jobs – if you're looking for roles in a specific sector or those with a focus on social impact, especially media, charity, and public sector
• Adzuna – great if you want salary benchmarking alongside listings

My Practical Recommendation

For most people in the UK, the winning combo is:

1. Indeed – cast the widest net, set up daily alerts
2. LinkedIn – network + apply, especially for office/corporate/professional roles
3. Reed or Totaljobs – strong UK-specific listings and CV database exposure
4. Glassdoor – before accepting any offer, check company reviews and salary data

If you're in a specific sector (tech, healthcare, charity, etc.), layering in one niche site (CWJobs, Guardian Jobs, NHS Jobs, etc.) on top of the above usually gets the best results.

If you are looking for a new role in the United Kingdom, navigating the sheer volume of job boards can feel overwhelming. To save you time, here is an honest, up-to-date breakdown of the best job search sites that people in the UK actually use, categorised by how they are best utilised.

1. The "Big Two" (Essential for Everyone)

No matter what sector you work in, you will need to be on both of these platforms. They account for the vast majority of hires in the UK.

• Indeed UK (indeed.co.uk): The undisputed king of UK job hunting. Indeed functions as both a massive aggregator (pulling jobs from company websites) and a direct application platform. It is excellent for everything from entry-level hospitality and retail to mid-tier corporate positions. Its "Quick Apply" feature makes applying incredibly fast, though the sheer volume of applicants means competition can be fierce.
• LinkedIn: If you are looking for professional, corporate, office-based, tech, or creative roles, LinkedIn is essential. It is highly valued in the UK for direct networking and "headhunting" by internal company recruiters. Many of the best roles are never advertised on traditional job boards and are only found here.

2. The Traditional UK Job Board Giants

These are the heavyweights that have dominated the UK market for decades. They are particularly useful if you want to upload your CV to a database so that recruitment agencies (which handle a massive portion of UK hiring) can find you.

• Reed (reed.co.uk): Famous for its "Love Mondays" campaigns, Reed is one of the oldest and most trusted job sites in the UK. It has hundreds of thousands of active listings across almost every sector. It is also an excellent place to look for professional training courses and certifications if you are looking to upskill.
• Totaljobs (totaljobs.com): This is a massive job board with a very clean, user-friendly interface. Totaljobs is part of the StepStone Group, meaning jobs posted here are often cross-posted to sister sites like Jobsite and CWJobs (which specializes in IT/Tech). Their email alert system is highly regarded for sending relevant, timely recommendations.
• CV-Library (cv-library.co.uk): While you can apply for jobs directly here, the primary reason to use CV-Library is to upload your CV. It hosts one of the largest talent databases in the country. If you set your profile to "visible," expect your phone to start ringing with calls from recruitment consultants pitching roles to you.

3. The Government Portal

• GOV.UK "Find a Job" (gov.uk/find-a-job): This is the official government job portal (which replaced the old Universal Jobmatch). It is completely free for employers to post on, making it a hotspot for local businesses, warehouses, driving/logistics roles, administration, and care work. Note that there is a different portal specifically for Northern Ireland (JobApplyNI).

4. Niche & Sector-Specific Leaders

If you are looking for specific types of work, generic job boards can feel cluttered. These niche platforms are highly recommended:

• Welcome to the Jungle / formerly Otta (welcometothejungle.com): If you are in the tech, startup, or digital sector (especially in London, Manchester, or Bristol), this is the crowd favorite. It has a brilliant interface, showing you salary bands, remote work flexibility, and the company's funding status upfront.
• Guardian Jobs (jobs.theguardian.com): The absolute gold standard for roles in the public sector, charities/NGOs, education, universities, and creative/media industries.
• Gradcracker (gradcracker.com): If you are a university student or recent graduate looking for graduate schemes in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Maths), this is the definitive UK site.

⚠️ A Quick Note on Monster UK

If you are looking at older job-hunting guides, you will see Monster.co.uk listed as a top-tier site. However, following its parent company's bankruptcy and asset sales, Monster's European operations (including the UK site) went dark. Save your time and skip searching for it.

Top Tips for Job Hunting in the UK

1. The "Two-Page" CV Rule: Unlike in the US where a single-page resume is preferred, a standard UK CV should almost always be exactly two pages long.
2. No Photos or Personal Details: To comply with GDPR and prevent hiring bias, never include your photo, date of birth, gender, or marital status on your CV. Just your name, phone number, email, and location (city/postcode) are enough.
3. Register with Recruitment Agencies: In the UK, agencies (like Hays, Michael Page, Reed Recruitment, or Adecco) play a massive role in the job market. Don't just apply online; find a recruiter who specialises in your industry and send them your CV directly.

The best UK job-search sites are Indeed, LinkedIn, Reed, CV-Library, Totaljobs, and the government’s Find a job service. For most people, using three or four together works better than relying on one.

• Indeed — Best overall starting point for the widest range of UK vacancies, including office, retail, hospitality, driving, healthcare, and graduate roles. It is widely used by UK jobseekers and aggregates listings from multiple sources.
• LinkedIn Jobs — Best for professional, graduate, technology, marketing, finance, and hybrid/remote roles. Its advantage is combining vacancies with recruiter contact, networking, company research, and an online professional profile.
• Reed — One of the strongest UK-focused options, particularly for office administration, education, accountancy, HR, sales, and public-sector-related roles. It also connects candidates with recruitment agencies.
• CV-Library — A major UK-specific job board with a large number of vacancies and thousands of employers, making it especially useful for commercial, technical, logistics, construction, and professional roles.
• Totaljobs — A good broad UK job board for mainstream full-time, part-time, entry-level, and regional vacancies.
• Find a job — The official GOV.UK service and a useful free option for vacancies across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, including many practical and public-sector roles.
• Glassdoor — Best used alongside another job board when salary information, company reviews, interview experiences, and employer reputation matter.
• Gumtree Jobs — Useful for local and practical work, including hospitality, cleaning, trades, delivery, childcare, and temporary jobs; apply normal scam precautions.
• Specialist sites — Use sector-specific platforms for better results: NHS Jobs for NHS roles, Civil Service Jobs for central government, jobs.ac.uk for universities and research, eFinancialCareers for finance, and The Guardian Jobs for media, charity, arts, and public-interest work.

Recommended combination

1. Indeed for broad coverage.
2. LinkedIn for professional roles and recruiter visibility.
3. Reed or CV-Library for UK recruitment-agency listings.
4. Find a job for official and practical vacancies.
5. Add one specialist site relevant to your industry.

Set up alerts on several sites, but apply through the employer’s own careers page when possible. Never pay a recruiter for access to a vacancy, and be cautious of jobs requesting bank details or identity documents before a formal offer.

Right, if you’re job-hunting in the UK, there’s no single “best” site — most people use a mix of 2–3 general boards, LinkedIn, and one sector-specific board. The ones with real UK traffic and recruiter presence are:

The main UK generalists

• Indeed UK — biggest by volume. Best for retail, hospitality, admin, care, warehouse, office, trades. Great for alerts and Easy Apply. Downside: agency spam, duplicate/stale ads.
• LinkedIn Jobs — best for professional, corporate, tech, finance, marketing, management. Not just applying — recruiters search you. Set “Open to Work” if you want to be found.
• Reed.co.uk — major UK-specific board. Strong across admin, sales, education, healthcare, office. Good filters, salary info, and agency listings.
• Totaljobs — one of the biggest UK boards. Good for generalist, corporate, and trades roles. Lots of recruitment agency ads.
• CV-Library — big independent UK board. Particularly strong in engineering, logistics, construction, office, and trades. Upload your CV so recruiters can find you.
• GOV.UK Find a job — government-run and free. Useful for public sector, entry-level, and some private roles. Also used by Jobcentre Plus.
• Glassdoor — not a primary search site, but essential for company reviews, salary checks, and interview questions.
• Adzuna — aggregator. Good for comparing salaries and searching across multiple boards at once.

Legacy sites like Monster UK and Fish4jobs still exist, but they’re much less central now. Jobsite is now part of Totaljobs.

Sector-specific — often better than the big boards

• NHS Jobs — all NHS clinical and non-clinical roles.
• Civil Service Jobs — UK civil service.
• Jobs.ac.uk — universities, research, academic.
• CharityJob — charity and non-profit.
• Guardian Jobs — charity, media, education, public sector, arts.
• TES — teaching.
• BMJ Careers / HealthJobsUK — medical and health.
• eFinancialCareers — finance.
• Otta / Welcome to the Jungle — tech and startups.
• Prospects, Gradcracker, TargetJobs, Milkround — graduates and internships.
• Timewise, FlexJobs, WorkingMums — flexible, part-time, remote.
• Caterer.com — hospitality.
• Drapers Jobs — fashion.
• EngineeringJobs — engineering.

Recruitment agencies people actually use Hays, Michael Page, Robert Walters, Robert Half, Adecco, Randstad, Manpower, Pertemps, Reed Specialist Recruitment, Office Angels, Blue Arrow for temp work, Brook Street. Register with 2–3 that cover your sector. Don’t sign exclusivity unless you really trust them.

My practical UK job-search stack

1. LinkedIn — profile, Open to Work, follow target companies.
2. Indeed — broad alerts for your keywords.
3. Reed or Totaljobs — UK-specific generalist.
4. CV-Library — upload CV and set alerts if your sector uses it.
5. One sector-specific board — NHS Jobs, Civil Service Jobs, Jobs.ac.uk, CharityJob, Otta, TES, etc.
6. Glassdoor/Adzuna — research salary and company before applying/interview.
7. Apply directly on company careers pages where possible.

Watch out for

• Duplicate, stale, or ghost ads on aggregators.
• Gumtree/Facebook can be useful for local/temp work, but higher scam risk.
• Never pay for a job, training, DBS check upfront, or “guaranteed” interviews.
• For contracts, check IR35 status. For permanent roles, check Right to Work requirements.
• Verify employers via Companies House, LinkedIn, and Glassdoor.

If you tell me your sector and level — e.g. graduate, retail, NHS, tech, finance, trades — I can narrow it to the 3–4 sites actually worth your time.

The top job search sites in the UK that people actually use are Indeed, Reed, Totaljobs, CV-Library, LinkedIn, and Glassdoor, with gov.uk’s Find a Job service as a strong free option.

There’s no single “best” site—most people combine 2–3 for better coverage, as job listings don’t fully overlap across platforms. Indeed dominates for volume and is often the default starting point, while Reed and Totaljobs are trusted UK-focused brands, LinkedIn excels for professional networking, and specialists suit particular sectors.

Here are the leading ones based on traffic, usage data, employer hiring results, and consistent recommendations in 2026:

• Indeed — The biggest by far for sheer volume across all sectors (retail, hospitality, admin, warehouse, logistics, etc.). It aggregates listings from employers and other sites, has massive UK traffic, and generates the highest number of applications for many roles. Free to use with easy quick-apply options and job alerts. Great first stop for most searches.

• Reed.co.uk — A long-standing UK favourite (since 1995) with strong coverage of professional, office, finance, healthcare, and public-sector roles. It includes a useful CV database (for recruiters) and tools like salary checkers. Many view it as more curated than pure aggregators.

• Totaljobs — A solid all-rounder with good reach in engineering, trades, healthcare, and general roles. It often performs well in hiring conversion data and has high monthly traffic. Part of a network that can extend visibility.

• CV-Library — Strong for entry-level, industrial, trades, driving, and volume roles. It has a large CV database and partners with many other sites for wider distribution. Popular for quick applications and alerts.

• LinkedIn — Essential for professional, tech, marketing, finance, senior, and graduate roles. It combines job listings with networking, recruiter outreach, and company insights. Many UK professionals keep an updated profile here even if not actively job hunting.

• Glassdoor — Useful alongside the others for company reviews, salary data, and interview insights, plus job listings. Helps you research employers before applying.

Other notable mentions:

• gov.uk Find a Job (findajob.dwp.gov.uk) — Completely free government service with solid volume, especially for certain roles like care, warehouse, or drivers. Worth checking if you’re on Universal Credit or want no-cost options.
• Sector-specific ones like NHS Jobs (healthcare), Adzuna (aggregator with salary tools), or CharityJob (non-profits) if they match your field.

Practical tips for job hunting in the UK:

• Set up daily/weekly email alerts on 2–3 main sites with your keywords and location (or “remote”/“hybrid”).
• Upload a strong CV and create profiles on the main platforms—many allow one-click applications.
• Use LinkedIn actively: optimise your profile, connect with recruiters, and follow target companies.
• Check listings on multiple sites, as the same role can appear in different places, and verify employers to avoid scams.
• Tailor applications where possible—volume works on Indeed-style sites, but quality and networking matter more on Reed or LinkedIn.
• For government-related support, the Find a Job service integrates with Jobcentre Plus help.

Start with Indeed for breadth, add Reed or Totaljobs for UK focus, and keep LinkedIn active for professional opportunities. Results vary by your industry, experience level, and location (London and big cities have more options overall), so experiment and track what generates interviews for you. Good luck with your search!

For job seekers in the UK, top platforms like Indeed, LinkedIn, Reed, CV-Library, Totaljobs, Adzuna, and sector-specific boards such as NHS Jobs and Civil Service Jobs are widely used and highly effective depending on your role and industry.

General Job Boards

Indeed UK: The largest volume aggregator in the UK with millions of listings across all sectors. Ideal for broad searches and saving frequent job alerts. Best used alongside sector-specific boards to catch unique listings. LinkedIn Jobs: Dominates professional and white-collar roles, particularly for positions above £45k. Offers networking, recruiter outreach, and “Easy Apply” features. Premium is optional but useful for targeted senior roles. Reed: Suitable for mid-market roles in admin, finance, and customer service. Provides course and training links to improve employability. Totaljobs: Strong mid-management and administrative role coverage, with effective filtering and commute-time search options. CV-Library: Large recruiter database, useful for getting proactively discovered by employers in trades, healthcare, and finance. Adzuna: Focuses on salary benchmarking and targeted job recommendations. Its ValueMyCV tool estimates potential salary and career paths. Glassdoor: Mainly for company research, salary info, and interview preparation rather than direct applications.

Sector-Specific Platforms

NHS Jobs: Essential for healthcare-related roles (clinical and administrative). Many NHS roles are listed only here. Civil Service Jobs: Critical for government roles; applications require detailed competency statements and adhere to the Success Profiles framework. CWJobs: UK’s leading technology job board, best for software, data, cybersecurity, and cloud roles. Guardian Jobs: Focused on public sector, charity, NGO, creative, and education roles with high-quality listings. Prospects: Leading graduate careers portal, useful for students or early-career candidates seeking first professional roles in the UK.

Remote and Startup Boards

FlexJobs: Paid, hand-screened platform for professional remote positions across 50+ categories. Reduces scams and increases interview rates. We Work Remotely: Free, widely used for tech, design, and marketing remote roles with global listings. Remote.co: Covers healthcare, education, legal, finance, and other professional remote roles. Free access. Remote OK: Tech- and startup-focused remote jobs with transparent salary listings and quick updates. WorkInStartups: UK-specific startup job community for early-career or entry-level roles.

Recommended Approach

Combine one general aggregator (Indeed or CV-Library), one professional network (LinkedIn), and one sector-specific board for targeted roles. Use saved searches with filters for job title variations, location radius, salary expectations, and most recent postings to optimize your time. For senior or specialist roles, consider recruitment agencies like Hays, Michael Page, or Robert Half, which operate at no cost to candidates.

By focusing on these platforms, UK job seekers can efficiently identify relevant opportunities, research employers, and manage a targeted application strategy.

Indeed, LinkedIn, Reed, and CV-Library are the top job search platforms in the United Kingdom, balancing massive overall reach with targeted industry features.

IndeedBest for: High-volume searching across all industries, retail, and logistics.Why people use it: It is the most popular job board in the UK, aggregating millions of local and remote listings from company career pages and smaller boards into a single feed.

LinkedInBest for: Professional networking, white-collar roles, tech, and direct recruiter outreach.Why people use it: It functions as both a searchable job board and a live professional profile where hiring managers can source candidates directly.

ReedBest for: Office, finance, public sector, and career-focused job alerts.Why people use it: It is one of the UK’s oldest and most trusted domestic boards, featuring extensive training courses alongside active job listings.

CV-LibraryBest for: Passive job hunting and engineering or construction roles.Why people use it: Job seekers upload their CVs to a massive national database where employers and recruiters search for and approach candidates directly.

AdzunaBest for: Market insights, salary transparency, and comprehensive visibility.Why people use it: It indexes nearly every job online and includes built-in data tools to compare average salaries and local competition.

Top Niche & Public Sector Job Sites

NHS JobsBest for: Healthcare, clinical, and National Health Service support roles.Why people use it: It is the official, mandatory portal for nearly all NHS recruitment across the UK.

GOV.UK Find a JobBest for: Free, zero-fee job searching across all sectors without commercial clutter.Why people use it: Operated directly by the UK government's Department for Work and Pensions, it requires no employer fees, which attracts direct local employers.

GlassdoorBest for: Researching company culture, interview questions, and real employee salary data.Why people use it: Job seekers use it in tandem with Indeed or LinkedIn to vet management styles and pay scales before applying.

Quick Comparison

Platform | Primary Strength | Best For Indeed | Massive volume & aggregation | General day-to-day job hunting LinkedIn | Professional branding & networking | Career growth, tech, and corporate roles Reed | Localized UK market focus & training | Office, finance, and public sector CV-Library | Proactive recruiter searching | Letting employers find your CV NHS Jobs | Dedicated public healthcare board | Working in the National Health Service

If you share your target industry or desired location in the UK, I can recommend the most effective specialist boards or strategy for your search.

The most effective job search sites in the United Kingdom vary depending on your industry and career level, but Indeed, LinkedIn, Reed, and CV-Library are the absolute market leaders that the vast majority of British job seekers actually use.

Because navigating the UK job market requires a mix of general aggregators and specialised platforms, the top job search products are broken down by category below.

These platforms are essential for any job search in the UK due to their massive volume of listings across almost every sector.

Indeed UK: The most popular job site in the UK, capturing a massive share of the British job-seeking market. It aggregates listings from across the web, making it highly effective for entry-level, retail, logistics, and hospitality roles. Reed.co.uk: One of the UK’s longest-running and most recognizable recruitment brands. It is heavily used for commercial office work, administration, finance, and human resources, featuring thousands of new daily openings. CV-Library: Famous for having one of the largest CV databases in the UK. It is an essential platform if you want recruiters to find you directly, and it performs incredibly well for sectors like construction, engineering, and manufacturing. Totaljobs: Another massive generalist platform that integrates closely with Jobsite. It covers all hiring types—including temporary, remote, and permanent contract positions—and is heavily utilized by corporate recruiters.

If you are looking for corporate, tech, creative, or executive roles, these platforms focus heavily on networking and company culture.

LinkedIn UK: The gold standard for white-collar professionals, tech, and corporate management. It relies heavily on your personal profile, making it a hotbed for headhunters looking to fill unadvertised roles in the "hidden" job market. Welcome to the Jungle (formerly Otta): Highly popular among the tech and startup crowd in London and major UK tech hubs. It matches candidates with progressive companies based on preferences like remote flexibility, salary transparency, and company values. Glassdoor UK: While it lists open positions, its true value lies in letting you research anonymous employee reviews, interview insights, and salary benchmarks before submitting an application.

In the UK, certain massive industries do not use commercial job boards and rely almost entirely on specialized portals.

NHS Jobs: The official, mandatory site for the National Health Service. If you want a job as a nurse, doctor, clinical assistant, or administrative worker within the UK's healthcare system, you must use this portal. GOV.UK Find a Job: The official government portal (which replaced the old Jobcentre Plus network). It is excellent for local council vacancies, civil service positions, and diverse public sector roles. CharityJob: The absolute market leader for non-profit, charity, and NGO work in the United Kingdom. It handles everything from frontline charity fundraising to administrative leadership positions.

Local job seekers frequently emphasize that applying to hundreds of positions on general job boards can lead to "application fatigue" due to the volume of cross-postings. Many find that structuring their week by industry type yields better results:

Experts generally suggest a "3–5 platform mix": monitor one large aggregator like Indeed UK, track one industry-specific board (like NHS Jobs or CWJobs for tech), and routinely apply directly on company career pages.

To help narrow this down, could you tell me:With those details, I can point you toward the exact platform or specialist recruitment agencies that fit your career path. What industry or type of role are you looking for? Are you looking for remote, hybrid, or on-site work? Which region or city in the UK are you targeting?