This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mike Steinerd from Indeed.com. Indeed is the No. 1 job site worldwide with over 140 million visitors per month. We talked about everything from how fast you should apply for a job to companies you should consider if you’re looking for work-life balance.

The conversation made me think. Often, the current online application process companies use creates barriers for candidates. It often feels like you’re sending your resume into a black hole – never to be seen again. Much of my philosophy is built around helping job seekers get around this difficult online process.

But, on the flip side, Internet technology also opens more doors for us than ever before. There are excellent free resources available for job seekers today that didn’t exist 15 to 20 years ago.

LinkedIn provides a great way to stay connected with your colleagues and grow your network. Where else can you send a connection request to the CEO of your favorite company, even though you’ve never met them? It’s also a good place to showcase recommendations you’ve received for your work.

Indeed.com is a job search engine. It gathers open positions from other websites and shares them with you in one place. You can even create e-mail alerts when a great job opens up that meets your criteria. I use the site almost daily to stay on top of the latest jobs.

If you follow my columns, you know Glassdoor.com is another site I’m a big fan of. My favorite feature is hands down the ability to research salaries. Glassdoor allows employees to anonymously report their salary data, and then shares that data with you. In the past, you had to know someone and have an in to get this sort of important information. In addition, Glassdoor allows candidates to share questions they were asked during interviews. This helps you to prepare for your own interview.

Concerned about corporate culture? Many of these sites allow current employees to provide reviews for their employer. This is similar to providing a restaurant review for your favorite pizza place. But, it allows you to have a sneak peek into a company’s culture.

If you’re considering a move, there are sites to estimate your cost of living increase and the cost to move. There are also sites that will provide the pros and cons of the cities you’re considering.

These sites (and many more) help to level our job search playing field. You no longer have to be in the know at a company to get the inside scoop. Understanding salaries, corporate cultures and interview questions can all help you get a leg up that wasn’t available before. Better yet, these resources are mostly free!

When you’re feeling the frustration of applying online, look for ways to use these free resources to your advantage. And to listen to my entire interview with Mike from Indeed, check out my free podcast on iTunes.

Angela Copeland is CEO/founder of Copeland Coaching, CopelandCoaching.com, and author of “Breaking The Rules & Getting The Job.” She also hosts the Copeland Coaching Podcast on iTunes. You can follow Copeland Coaching on Twitter (@CopelandCoach) and Facebook (facebook.com/CopelandCoaching).