Craigslist remains one of the largest and most successful job boards in the world.
(In fact, Craigslist received over 1 million job postings every month).
Despite this success, the site has mostly remained unchanged since its launch in 1995.
With an interface as old as that, it’s no wonder that getting your job listing onto Craigslist can be a confusing process.
To solve this problem, we designed Proven, where you can simply click one button and have your job show up on Craigslist.
However, if you prefer the old fashion way, we have created this visual, step-by-step guide to posting your job opening on Craigslist. We first walk you through how to create a Craigslist account and then how to post a job.
Let’s dive right in…
Steps to Creating a Craigslist Account
There are 5 major steps to creating a Craigslist account. I am going to walk you through each step. If you already have an account, skip ahead to the steps to posting a job on Craigslist.
Please note that it is necessary to have a Craigslist account for posting jobs in paid areas of a Craigslist. How much it is to post a job on Craigslist varies based on the geo-location, but you can use this guide to find out how much it is in your area.
Step 1: Go to Craigslist.org
Open your browser and type in “craigslist.org” into the URL toolbar or go directly to Craigslist by clicking here. Craigslist will automatically detect your geo-location and redirect you to a sub-location based on your geo. As you can see in the image below, I am automatically redirected to sfbay.craigslist.org.
Navigating to Craigslist.org – Skip this step with Proven
If Craigslist cannot figure out your geo-location, you will see a page that looks like the one below. Just find your city and click on the link to get started.
Craigslist.org with no geo selected – Skip this step with Proven
Step 2: Click on My Account
On the top-left-hand-side of Craigslist homepage, click the My Account link.
Starting the create account process – Skip this step with Proven
Step 3: Create an Account
If you do not have an account, enter your email address under “Create a craigslist account” and click the “Create Account” button.
Enter your email here – Skip this step with Proven
Craigslist will send you an email like the one below. Click the link in the email.
Email from Craigslist – Skip this step with Proven
Step 4: Choose a Password
Enter a password for your account and click “Submit Password and Log In”. Your password needs to be at least 8 characters in length.
Choose a password – Skip this step with Proven
Step 5: Continue to your account
You password has been saved and now click on “Continue to your account”.
Password successfully set – Skip this step with Proven
You will be asked to accept Craigslist’s Terms of Service. Click on the “I ACCEPT” button to continue.
Congratulations! You are now ready to post your first job.
Scroll down to follow our step-by-step guide to post your first job on Craigslist.
Steps to Posting a Job to Craigslist Careers
If you skipped ahead to this section because you already have a Craigslist account, make sure you login first.
There are 11 major steps to posting your first job on Craigslist. Don’t worry, I lay out every step in detail below and most of these steps will only take you seconds to complete.
Let’s get started with making your first post to Craigslist jobs.
Step 1: Choose new posting
In your account homepage, on the right-hand-side, find the “new posting in:” area as shown in the image below. Select the geo you wish to post in and then click the “go” button.
Pick your geo and click “go” – Skip this step with Proven
Step 2: Pick “job offered”
You will be presented with a list of different Craigslist-supported posts. Click the “job offered” option (first in the list) as shown below.
Click “job offered” to start your listing – Skip this step with Proven
Step 3: Pick a Job Category
Next you need to choose an appropriate job category. From the list presented below, pick the category that best matches the type of position you are hiring for.
The pricing information may vary depending on which geo you are posting. Craigslist in the San Francisco Bay Area is the most expensive location and it is $75 for a standard listing, but most areas are around $25.
Pick the right category for your job – Skip this step with Proven
Step 4: Choose Specific Areas to Post
This step may not be required for your particular geo-location. If you do not see a screen similar to the one below, skip ahead to Step 5: Job Post Details.
Some of the major areas of Craigslist like San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and a few others require you to select a more specific sub-location and optionally a neighborhood to target.
If these options are available, you should try to be specific so that people applying to your job will know approximately where you are located.
Pick a sub-location – Skip this step with Proven
Pick a neighborhood – Skip this step with Proven
Step 5: Job Post Details
This is where you fill in the job title, description, compensation, employment type and so on for your job.
The first choice you need to make is whether to use Craigslist’s email relay, display your actual email or hide your email all together (these choices are boxed in red in the below image).
Unless you require your applicants to fill out an application through an ATS (Applicant Tracking System), I strongly recommend sticking with Craigslist’s recommended option of using their email relay. This will create a unique Craigslist email for this posting and applicants can send their resumes directly to that address. All the information will be forwarded to you.
This helps protect your email address from being spammed or known to scammers. Also, email is the simplest way to guarantee the least amount of friction for people applying to your job, helping you secure more applications.
Choose the best email option for you – Skip this step with Proven
Now fill in the rest of the job details. Write an informative job description in the posting body, choose the employment type (ie. full-time, part-time or salaried) and describe compensation. In today’s ultra competitive market, compensation can be a huge deciding factor for applicants! Keep that in mind!
If you are struggling with creating a good job description, check out our definitive guide for free job description templates.
Once you are satifisfied, click the “continue” button.
Fill in the required job fields – Skip this step with Proven
Step 6: Map Options
In this step, Craigslist will ask if you wish to display your location on a map. You also have the option to modify the location if it’s not exactly the way you want it.
Unless you really do not want this information known, it’s a good idea to display the map so that candidate’s know where you are a located.
Choose the right map display option – Skip this step with Proven
Step 7: Add Images
This step is optional, but it’s a good idea to add images if you can. It helps make your job description more appealing and gives you an opportunity to show off your work space, culture or anything else that you are proud of.
It’s important to remember when you are trying to attract great candidates that you want your job post to show off your brand and company. You want to attract the best and part of the recipe to doing this successfully starts with creating a compelling job post that people feel inspired to apply to.
Choose whether to add images – Skip this step with Proven
Step 8: Review the Post
In this step, Craigslist shows you what your job posting will look like. Make sure the information is correct before continuing.
If everything looks great, then click the “publish” button on the lower right-hand-side.
Review your posting – Skip this step with Proven
Step 9: Verify through Email
If this is your first ever post on Craigslist with this account, you will be presented with the message below. Otherwise, skip ahead to Step 10: Pricing Confirmation.
Go to your email and click the link provided.
Important action required – Skip this step with Proven
Step 10: Pricing Confirmation
Craigslist will ask you confirm that you understand that you will need to pay for this listing.
Assuming everything looks good here, click the “Continue” button.
Confirm the price – Skip this step with Proven
Step 11: Pay for the Job Post
Fill in all the green required fields with your payment information.
Once you have all your information entered correctly, click the “Purchase” button on the lower left-hand-side.
Craigslist will send a confirmation email with your receipt and a link to edit, remove or re-post the listing.
Enter your payment information – Skip this step with Proven
AND THAT’S A WRAP!
Your job posting will remain live for 30 days or until you pull it from the system!
There’s a lot of steps involved with posting a job on Craigslist and the exact steps can vary slightly depending on whether you login first, are posting in a free area, or it’s your first time posting versus your 20th.
Unfortunately, Craigslist does not store your credit card information or any default settings, so you have to enter a lot of the same information every time. Despite these limitations, the Craigslist employement section is still one of the best resources available for hiring and you can always skip the headache of these steps by posting your job through Proven.
FAQ About Posting Jobs To Craigslist:
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