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Idealist Job Search Site Review


ConsumersAdvocate.org Rating: 4 / 5 (Excellent)
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Idealist is a job search site focused solely on non-profits. Launched in 1996, Idealist lists jobs from over 100,000 organizations, including governmental and non-governmental organizations, social enterprises, and charities. Its parent company, Action Without Borders, is based in New York and is not affiliated with any religion or political ideology. It has created Spanish and French versions of the site in order to expand their reach around the world.

How is Idealist rated?

Breakdown

3.8/5
Ease of Navigation
4.0/5
Job Alerts
4.5/5
Additional Services

Overall Rating: 4 / 5 (Excellent)

For those interested in the non-profit world, Idealist is truly the place to go. Its search filters are easy to use, versatile, and practical. People seeking jobs in the non-profit sector often look for a specific social issue to work with, their filters provide a way to search that way (for example, being able to choose homelessness, equal rights, or even water and sanitation). It also subdivides its listing into jobs, internships, and volunteer opportunities, among others. Since it features volunteer positions, which often attract young people, Idealist carefully screens organizations before letting them post on the site, asking them to provide 501(c)(3) registration (nonprofit registration information), a donation page, their programs, a mission statement, their board of directors, staff info, and more. Idealist does not, however, offer the ability to upload a resume or receive notifications when a position that matches the user's qualifications is posted, which is one drawback of an otherwise great resource.

Idealist Website Features

Ease of Navigation - 3.8 / 5

Idealist features many ways to search for jobs, internships, and volunteer opportunities. The site lets users search by social issue, as well as by level of career experience, level of education, and more. They allow the user to search telecommuting options as well. However, they do not have a way to upload resumes and do not have resume-building options, something which would greatly help the younger candidates that are most likely to seek internship opportunities.
Industry Focus
Non-profits
Search Filters
Company Name
Job Type
Job Function
Location
Industry
Experience Level
Skills Required
Result Relevance
Although Idealist offers a variety of ways to search, the relevance of the results when searching by keywords is hit or miss when compared to other sites. However, this might be due to the fact that Idealist has a more limited database of jobs due to their narrow industry focus.
Company Information
Company Profiles
Job Recommendations
No
Career Advice
Yes
Social Media Integration
Yes

Idealist Notifications

Job Alerts - 4 / 5

Applicants are able to mark organizations they're interested. They will receive alerts when positions open up with them.
Customizable Job Alerts
Yes
Notification Method
Email

Idealist Customer Experience

Additional Services - 4.5 / 5

Idealist is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau and gets a B grade due to 2 complaints, one of which was resolved. It has a 7.4 score on TrustPilot, but this is based on only one review. They offer support in a variety of ways - online form, email or phone - and have several different avenues for users to provide feedback or report jobs that are deemed questionable.
Year Founded
1995
Free Service
Yes
BBB Rating
B
Number of BBB Positive Reviews
0
Number of BBB Negative Reviews
2
Trustpilot Rating
7.4 out of 10
Date Collected
2018-04-25
Mobile App
Yes
Contact Method
Email
Phone
Online Form

Company Profile

Full Name
Idealist Job Search Site
Company Website
Headquarters
389 5th Ave, 9th Floor, New York, NY, 10016

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