Best Job Search Apps and Where Each One Works

A job app is worth installing only if it carries vacancies in the country where you want to work. Several of the well-known ones serve a single country or region. The sensible set is one app with a wide reach and one that covers your country.

We went through the Google Play and App Store listings of each app, checked Apple’s store in five countries, and opened each company’s own site to see where its jobs are. For Nigeria, we also checked that the local job sites are still running. Every app in the table is free to install.

Job apps compared

The two with the widest reach

LinkedIn is a professional network with a job board inside it. The listing says you can apply with your LinkedIn profile or an uploaded CV in a few taps, and set alerts for new openings. LinkedIn has a public jobs page for Nigeria, and the app is in Nigeria’s App Store as well as on Google Play.

The listing puts job search, alerts and applying among the app’s ordinary features. The in-app purchase is LinkedIn Premium, which it says adds a view of who looked at your profile, InMail messages, courses and salary data. You do not need it to look for work.

Indeed Job Search is the widest net. Its listing says the search includes jobs posted on other job sites, and that you can upload a CV or build one in the app, apply without retyping your details, and see when an employer has read your application. It also holds company reviews and salary figures.

Indeed’s own worldwide page lists its country sites. There are more than 60, and Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, India, Pakistan, the UK and the US are all on it. The iPhone app is in the App Store for Nigeria and India too.

Job apps and sites in Nigeria

Jobberman is the Nigerian one with an app. The Google Play listing says it is powered by Jobberman Nigeria and Ghana, and that you can search vacancies by location, experience and role, upload a CV, apply from your phone and get daily alerts. The app is published under the name ROAM Apps, and Jobberman’s own website links to it.

There is no iPhone version. Jobberman’s site carries a Google Play badge and nothing for the App Store, and a search of the Nigerian App Store finds no Jobberman app. On an iPhone, use jobberman.com in the browser. If you remember Ngcareers, its address now forwards to Jobberman.

Three more Nigerian job sites are running and worth a bookmark. None has an app of its own that we could find on either store, so they are websites you open in the browser:

• MyJobMag sorts vacancies by state, field, industry and level of education, has a section for remote jobs and sends job alerts by email. It runs sister sites for Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and the UK.
• Hot Nigerian Jobs files vacancies by the day they were posted, and also by state, field, role and course of study.
• Jobgurus lists jobs and scholarships and offers free aptitude test practice.

Jobberman plus LinkedIn or Indeed on the phone, and one of these three sites in the browser, is a sensible set for a search in Nigeria.

India, the UK and North America

Naukri describes itself as India’s job search app, covering full-time, remote, part-time and fresher roles in cities across the country. The listing states that it is free for job seekers. The same company, Info Edge, has a separate app called Naukrigulf for jobs in the Gulf.

apna is also for India. Its listing leans towards first jobs and local work: fresher jobs, part-time and work-from-home roles, and jobs for candidates who finished school at 10th or 12th standard. It says the employers on it are vetted.

Reed.co.uk lists jobs across the UK. You search by job title and location, swipe to save or hide jobs, and apply with a stored CV.

ZipRecruiter gathers jobs from many job boards and notifies you when one matches what you asked for. Treat it as an app for North America. Apple lists the iPhone version in its US and Canadian stores, and not in the stores for the UK, India or Nigeria. ZipRecruiter has web addresses for the UK and Ireland as well, but those sites would not load for us, so we cannot say what they carry.

Glassdoor and Upwork

Glassdoor is the app to open before you apply or accept. People who work at a company post anonymous reviews and salaries, so you can see what a job pays and what the place is like. It has job listings too. Its Google Play page is now published by Indeed, Inc. Glassdoor’s own website would not load for us, so we could not confirm which countries its job listings cover. Use it for research, whatever country you are in.

Upwork is not a job board in the usual sense. Clients post pieces of work, freelancers send proposals, and the app handles messages and contracts. It suits someone with a skill that can be delivered online, and it is in Nigeria’s App Store and on Google Play.

How to spot a fake job advert

Indeed publishes guidelines for a safe job search, and Jobberman has a Safe Job Hunting page. They agree on the main points:

• Never pay to apply. Indeed says you should never have to send money to apply for a job, and that fees are often a sign of a scam. Jobberman names the usual excuses: certification fees, background-check fees and set-up fees.
• Look at the email address. Indeed points out that most companies write from an address ending in their own website name. Be careful with free Gmail or Yahoo addresses and with company names that are slightly misspelt.
• Expect an interview. Indeed says real employers want to talk to you first, in person or on video. A job offered with no interview, or by someone who will only talk over a chat app, deserves suspicion.
• Do not move money for anyone. Both warn against receiving money and passing some of it on, and Indeed adds that you should not accept payment before you have done any work.
• Keep bank and card details to yourself. Jobberman says not to give them to a stranger over the phone.
• Check the venue. Jobberman’s advice is to confirm that the interview address matches the official address of the company or its recruiting agency.
• Distrust a rush. Jobberman says scammers push you to act now.

If an advert looks wrong, do not reply to it. Report it to the site it appeared on. Both sites ask for exactly that.

Which to pick

• In Nigeria: Jobberman and LinkedIn on the phone, plus MyJobMag or Hot Nigerian Jobs in the browser.
• In India: Naukri, with apna if you want a first job or local work.
• In the UK: Reed.co.uk and Indeed.
• In the US or Canada: Indeed and ZipRecruiter.
• Anywhere else, or looking abroad: LinkedIn and Indeed.
• You have a skill you can sell online: Upwork.

You will need a CV whichever app you choose. Our guide to word processing apps covers the free ones for writing it, and free video calling apps covers the interview.

What happened to the old list

LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter and Glassdoor are still here. LinkUp, the fourth job-search app in the 2019 version, has changed business: its website now sells job-market data to companies, and no job app under its name turns up on Google Play or the App Store.

The other six entries were not job-search apps. They were a CV builder, interview practice, a speech coach, a note-taking app, a personality test and a paragraph on gig work. Most had names too general to match to a listing today, so we replaced them with apps that list jobs.

Quick answers

Which job app works in Nigeria?

Jobberman, on Android, is the Nigerian one. LinkedIn and Indeed both carry Nigerian jobs and are on Android and iPhone.

Is there a Jobberman app for iPhone?

No. Jobberman’s site links only to Google Play, and the App Store has no Jobberman app. Use jobberman.com in Safari.

Which is the best job search app in India?

Naukri for most people. It covers the whole country and its listing says it is free for job seekers. apna leans towards freshers and local jobs.

Are job search apps free?

Every app here is free to install. LinkedIn sells a Premium subscription, and Google Play marks LinkedIn, Indeed and Jobberman as containing ads.

Should I pay to apply for a job?

No. Indeed’s safety guidelines say you should never have to send money to apply, and Jobberman calls requests for certification, background-check or set-up fees a big red flag.