NETWORKING JOB

“When I took office, only high energy physicists had ever heard of what is called the Worldwide Web.... Now even my cat has its own page.”
-President Bill Clinton, 1996

The internet and other advances in office technology have greatly facilitated the job application process. As recently as the mid-1990s, there was still a lot of manual effort involved in finding available positions, preparing resumes and cover letters, and delivering your materials to a hiring manager’s desk.

Today, almost everyone has a computer with an internet connection (or at least access to one). Resumes and cover letters can be changed as often as necessary with a few keystrokes, and there are more help wanted ads to be found online than in the newspaper. It is usually possible to submit your resume online--no more stuffing envelopes and waiting in line at the post office. The net result of all these advances is that you can perform most job search activities from your home PC, with little or no human contact.

However, if technology has made it easier for you to submit a large quantity of resumes, it has also made it easier for your competition. Hiring managers routinely report dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of responses for a single online ad. The cost of copying and pasting the contents of one’s resume into an email or web submission form is practically nil. Therefore, many job hunters approach the online job search game with a bulk mail strategy.

This is not to say that you should eschew the online employment mega-sites. But don’t become so dazzled by the technology that you neglect your human network. Many of the best opportunities can still be created through the relationships that you form at your current job, through professional associations, and in evening college.

I know of a man who recently lost his job due a sudden wave of corporate downsizing. He happened to be pursuing his MBA at night, and he drug himself into class the week after the announcement with a glum face. The professor asked the man what was wrong, and he revealed his unexpected misfortune. By the next week, though, two of his fellow classmates had called him about going to work at their companies. Within three weeks, he had accepted a new job in one of these organizations.

What are the actual hiring rates for online job hunters?

- In 2000, Forrester Research reported that only 4% of all job hunters surveyed for a study actually found their jobs through online job sites. 40% of participants in the study found their jobs through personal referrals.

- According to a 2002 study by CareerXRoads, a company that reviews online job sites, the overall hiring success rate for employers on a major job site was less than 1.5%.

Source: Nick Corcodilos, asktheheadhunter.com