Website Review #8 - Savethestudent.org

Hello readers! Welcome to my first review of February! This month I am going to try changing things up in regards to content for the blog as well as providing more affiliate promotions for you! In my last review I did promise to take this blog to new heights so be sure to keep an eye out as I will be updating every few days and weeks of this month via social media and on the blog as well! Anyway let's move on to the review!

Today I will be reviewing Savethestudent.org, another fun website that is dedicated to students but with a different focus. I really enjoy the concept of this site and I am excited to tell you more about it.

Save the Student is a UK-based information service which solely specializes in financial advice for new and graduating students. The website's content stretches from typical money-related topics such as small businesses, banking and taxes to general career advice and housing information. But that's not all, it also features special student discounts which can be redeemed at various retail outlets and even competitions that students can participate in to be in the draw to win some great prizes! Another thing that is great about this site is that the content produced here is condensed and simplified in a way that young students can understand without having to read through unnecessary jargon or complex information. At Save the Student, you can get your financial problems answered without any hassle. There is no need to create an account for this site as it is free for anyone to use, however if you would like to enjoy a helpful bonus in the form of a money cheat sheet, I suggest you go ahead and register you email as you can get a simple step-by-step instructions on how to make and save money right in your inbox! That's right, you basically get the whole package, all of the information here on this site is designed to help you with your money matters and put you back on track. With almost every financial topic under the sun, Save the Student is packed with some of the best advice that money can't buy! (Do you get it?)

When you go into the website, you can see that it is presented in a neat, easy-to-navigate format. Scrolling down the page gives you a deeper insight into the various topics that it represents in regards to finance, not to mention all of the latest deals and competitions under the one roof. For such a small site, there is heaps of exceptional advice at hand for the curious students who are finding their way around the world of money management. This proves that the site strongly believes in teaching students about finance before they become old enough to manage it on their own, which in my opinion, is very important for future reference. Let's be honest, finance is an extremely broad umbrella with hundreds of sub-topics in between, so it may take a while to get your head around it; but with Save the Student, you can find the most relevant financial advice that can guide you during student life and beyond. Obviously, there are many ways that you can make money as a student, be it planning a small business on the side of your studies, searching through various 'side hustles', taking up special cashback offers at the bank or just simply saving up your cash for something special like a new car or house. You can find all of this information right here at Save the Student!

Save the Student Homepage - An excellent display of various finance info, clean
and tidy presentation and exciting design.

Another thing I would like to point out about Save the Student's content is it's interesting introduction into the topic of 'matched betting', which according to the site is the easiest way to make tax-free money by simply taking advantage of bonuses from betting bookmakers and placing opposing bets on a particular sport, keeping in mind that it isn't related to real gambling as you win either way. This was surprisingly one of the first topics that I came across when looking through the website for the first time a while ago. In my study break from university, I was desperately searching for simple ways to make money online as a side hustle during the holidays besides participating in survey programs and somehow stumbled upon this mysterious topic and instantly wanted to learn more about it. I was basically drawn in to the idea of matched betting that I thought I would give it a try later on. Obviously it is not for everyone and takes a bit of practice but with a bit of confidence and patience you could apparently be earning as much as you thought you would. I personally would like to thank Save the Student for their simplified info about matched betting as I have learnt quite a lot about it and can't wait to try it out in the future! Now that's another money-making bonus that I'm sure a lot of you have not heard about but it's a real hidden gem in the never-ending rabbit hole of money making strategies! I would also like to say that I have benefited from the wonderful finance info from Save the Student and have learnt a lot of new things about managing money!

Aside from general financial advice, Save the Student also offers helpful information relating to student employment and accommodation. Its careers section offers advice on various employment-related topics such as graduate programs for recently graduating students, part-time positions complete with a specialized job search engine, employment rights, tax counselling (for UK only) and the usual CV/Cover letter/job interview trifecta. For the accommodation section, there is advice on paying rent, finding student housing, dealing with housemates, home insurance and tenancy rights. This is basically every basic piece of advice handed to you so it would be better to follow it wisely and not get left behind.

This is an excerpt from an article in the Finance category. Easy to read information and quick links
on the side of the page make it a convenient experience.

Just a reminder that the website is primarily based in the UK so you might find some unfamiliar words or slang terms in the articles. Also their discounts and competitions are for UK students only as they use pounds for currency so unfortunately no international students can participate due to being outside of the country. The part-time job search engine mostly services UK jobs so you would not find any luck with looking for jobs in other countries here.

Overall, I think that the Save the Student does an excellent job in providing the necessary financial tools for students which will be extremely helpful in the future. I really enjoy the condensed and simple web design of the site as it runs very smoothly without any bugs or viruses. There is an exceptional amount of content on offer and has great functionality. I would recommend this site to any student who is struggling with money matters and would like to get back on track, because the advice at Save the Student is excellent and deserves some recognition! 


Final Rating: 9/10


That's it everyone! My first review of the month has finished! Catch me again on Wednesday as I serve up another one! Bye!

Website Review #7 - Talent.hubstaff.com

Hi readers! I hope you are ready for another review to finish off the week! It's also the end of January soon, time flies by pretty quickly when your just starting out on a new venture! Anyway let's move on.

Today I will be reviewing talent.hubstaff.com, which is another new website that I have come across during my online job search. So far it has been good to me however there are a few things I would like to discuss. Let me tell you more.

Hubstaff Talent is an online employment platform for freelancers to post jobs/projects and get noticed by clients from across the globe. It is the talent division of the work tracking software Hubstaff. The great thing about this website is that it doesn't have any hidden fees for registering as a freelancer and you don't even need to bid for any projects! Why bother with bidding for particular projects when you can just simply submit your application to the client and let Hubstaff Talent do all the work for you? After all, your skills and experience matter more to the client than bidding amounts and proposals.

Compared to other freelancing platforms, Hubstaff Talent is not as well known but it is quite competent in terms of its features and functionality. There are not as many hidden traps and misleading information as you would find in similar platforms, making it stand out from the competition. If you prefer a freelance site that does not require the hassle of bidding for projects and paying unnecessary fees then Hubstaff Talent might be the better option.

The Hubstaff Talent homepage - Very clean and polished design. I like how the
main claim of the company 'Free way to find remote talent' is placed in the middle of the
page in order to convince users that it is true and believable. (Names of freelancers have been blocked out for privacy reasons).

When you register as a freelancer with Hubstaff Talent, you will be instructed to complete your freelancer profile. This will require the usual contact details, social media links, career summary, portfolio, current skills and even uploading your resume. According to Hubstaff Talent's guidelines, it is important that you have a fully complete profile in order to receive more contacts from potential clients. You also have to make sure that your skills and experience are tailored to the types of jobs you are looking for on the Hubstaff Talent jobs board, be it content writing, marketing, administration, IT, customer service and so on. Even if you can't find the right project to suit your business needs at a particular time, there is no need to worry as the jobs board gets updated frequently and there are always a bunch of jobs available. You can also check who has viewed your profile on the stats/analytics page where you will find information such as the date the profile was viewed, the location and the total amount of views within a month. However the clients on this site are very selective and will only contact the freelancers whose profiles stand out the most with regards to industry experience and skill sets. Your freelancer profile is the first step to getting contacted so you'd better work hard on it if you want to stand out.

My experience on the site has been quite good so far, I am always constantly checking my profile to see if anyone has viewed it and looking for projects that are compatible to my current skill set. Although I haven't been accepted into a project just yet I am still keeping my profile open to all freelancers and clients in case someone does contact me in the future. Before finding out about Hubstaff Talent I was searching for other freelancing platforms that I could sign up for to help me in my online job search since I am very interested in working remotely; and I happened to read some positive comments about Hubstaff Talent so I signed up straight away.

This is Hubstaff Talent's job board, where users can use the filters on the left of the
page to narrow their search. The positions shown here are just some of the examples of business/IT/customer service projects that you will find on the job board. (Business names and locations have been blocked out for privacy reasons).

There are definitely some good things to say about this website, however I would like to point out some small things that can be improved to make it an even better experience.

On some occasions, applying for a project on Hubstaff Talent isn't always easy and you may or may not hear back from the client; which is a shame because after spending all your time and effort into perfecting your application for a particular projects you would think that a client would respond and provide you with an outcome. It is understandable that you are competing against other freelancers to land the top job so it would be nice if the reply rate for the clients could be risen a bit more in order to provide quicker responses to the applicants and not leave them hanging. Another thing I would like to point out is there is a small lack of interaction between freelancers on the site. If there was a feature for sending messages to freelancers without hiring them for a project first that would be helpful. It is usually best to communicate with freelancers about their skills and experience first before inviting them to a job straight away (much like in a job interview where you would ask an applicant about previous experiences and future prospects).

Above all of this, Hubstaff Talent is definitely the better choice for entering the world of freelancing. It is completely free of charge and anyone who has previous business experience can join. Very clean web design and good functionality. It could have some improvement on existing features as mentioned above but otherwise a great website with the potential to go further.

Final Rating - 6/10

Thanks again for reading! That's my last review for the month! I hope that you can stick around in February as I have some big plans to take this blog to new heights! In the meantime, I'll see you next Monday!

Website Review #3 - Monster.com

Hello again! Just a quick heads-up from yesterday that I am feeling much better now and I would like to thank my readers for their patience as I cook up another website review! 

Today I will be reviewing Monster.com, which is completely different to the last two websites as it focuses on a more serious topic rather than leisure activities. Don't be fooled by the name, it is not as scary as you think! I am also relatively new to this site so I may be a bit slow in recognizing some of its features but I can work my way through it without any issues. Anyway, lets move on:

Monster is an American job search and career advice website that has lasted for more than 20 years. It is one the more popular and recognizable employment sites on the web and is a global leader in connecting job seeking candidates to potential career opportunities. Just like any other job search website, Monster has it's own jobs board which houses several jobs in various categories that candidates can apply for depending on their skill level, experience and compatibility.

Monster.com Homepage - Very clean and spacious presentation, shows off a professional image
that is appealing to job seekers.

Now you might be thinking, does this website do more than just match candidates with jobs? What other features are available to enhance the job search? What makes this website better than the others? Well if you delve a little bit further into Monster, you will find separate pages dedicated to career advice, resources, resume tips and salary tools; so there is always a wealth of information available on the site to assist you with your job search. You are also welcome to create a job seeker account and fill in the necessary details about your employment history, education, skills and more to add to your profile. It just goes to show that Monster isn't just about the job search at hand and that there is definitely more to discover if you dig deeper.

Another really great takeaway is that when you create a job seeker profile with Monster and upload your latest resume on their site, you are automatically eligible to have your resume assessed by a professional resume team hired by Monster. This is an excellent hidden feature that isn't easy to find on other employment websites. When I sent my resume through to the team at Monster for a professional resume assessment I was given some thorough, much needed advice on how my resume should be presented and what I should include. I trust that Monster's professional resume team is extremely knowledgeable in knowing about resume presentation and encourage all job seekers to try it out for themselves! And guess what, there's more to come! The next fantastic Easter egg in this site is that once you edit your resume and profile, you can choose whether or not you would like your account to be public and seen by recruiters! Yes, that's right! Recruiters can search through hundreds of profiles on Monster and they might get the opportunity to view yours and potentially contact you! My resume has been viewed 2 times so far, I know it is a slow start to begin with as there are a lot of profiles for them to skim through but once you tailor your profile and resume to the right standards then it will be deemed as satisfactory to the recruiter's eyes!

This is Monster's jobs board, where you type in the preferred job and location and it will automatically find similar jobs that could be the 'right fit' for the candidate.

Another thing I would like to add is all of the jobs on Monster are located in the US, as it is an American-based website. So if you are someone who is looking for work in other countries (or remote/work from home jobs within your country), there is a separate section dedicated to international jobs so you can find the right career in your preferred location.

From what I have seen so far, it looks like Monster is designed to actually help you with your job search and not leave you behind like some other casual job search sites. With it's built in features, impeccable web design and key functions, it gives off a very strong-willed demeanor and professional presentation that is inviting to the user. Their career resources are legitimate and the use of personal anecdotes in their advice section is a great source of inspiration for job seeker candidates.
Everything about this site is real. It is not trying to deceive you in any way. In conclusion, I think that Monster has the potential to go even further and add more helpful features for today's job seeker candidates.

Final Rating: 8/10

Thanks for reading my review! Unfortunately that is it for this week as I have missed out on Monday's review, but I will definitely be back on schedule next Monday so I will see you then!