The verdict is in: Networking alone won't cut it anymore.
For decades the job-hunting consultants and gurus told us that the way to find a job was to network, network, network. But that paradigm has changed, and those who rely solely on networking will be at a disadvantage.
Some people are slow to accept paradigm changes. In the 1890s, many a newspaper article talked about how no man would ever give up his horse. Those horseless contraptions were only a fad. You could not get gasoline when you needed it. Parts were hard to find. The tires were not reliable. Only a horse could be dependable.
Of course, by the end of World War I, very few people were still riding horses. And I am quite certain that no one reading this article rode a horse to work!
The same thing has happened with the way we find jobs. Up until about 1998, 90% of the jobs were found using networking. But that has all changed during this last recession. The Internet has given companies a much larger reach in finding candidates. And the Internet has given candidates a better understanding of the jobs that are available in their marketplace and what they are truly worth as employees.
Here are some basic facts:
A recent Booz Allen Hamilton hiring study covering 2005 found that over 50% of the jobs filled in the U.S. at all levels were from the Internet.
A Weddles's study of over 3,000 candidates who had recently obtained jobs found that candidates were finding jobs using Internet job boards, especially niche sites, 3:1 over any other source. That study found that 34% of respondents said they found their last position on an Internet job board. The second best source of finding a job was through a headhunter (10%). Networking came in a close third at 9.3%, down from 90%. What kind of networking worked best? According to the respondents, networking at a business event was twice as effective as networking at a social event. Fourth on the list was a referral by an employee of the company at 8.7%. While this could be considered a form of networking, it was set apart in order to gauge the effectiveness of current employee referral programs. Newspapers came in at fifth place, which garnered the votes of 8% of the respondents.
The respondents identified the following as the least helpful ways to connect a candidate with a job: an ad posted on a company's Web site (2.6%), and an ad in the publication of their professional association was cited by an almost invisible 0.6% of respondents.
Equally as important, job seekers seem to be learning from their experience. When asked where they expect to find their next job, they overwhelmingly gave the nod to advertisements posted on an Internet job board (69.7%). Another study of 3,900 recruiters and human resource managers found that 82% got their best candidates from Internet job boards. The paradigm shift in terms of how to find a job is complete.
Helping to drive this change has been new requirements for tracking candidates laid on companies by the United States Department of Labor. The use of the Internet by companies makes it easier to comply with the Department of Labor's requirements. That is why many companies insist that a candidate register at a company site before anyone from that company will talk to you.
But there are still some who will argue that the only way to find a job is through networking. They remind me of those who used to argue that no man will ever give up his horse. The world in terms of finding a job has changed, and those who do not change will be left behind.
So if you are in the job market, learn how to use job boards. Keep in mind that when you respond to a job, you have to meet all of the posted requirements in order to be considered. Just sending in your résumé and hoping for the best doesn't work anymore.
Remember to use all of the tools in your job search toolbox. You still have to check the newspaper, make efficient use of recruiters and, yes, network. But the world of job searching has changed. And the successful candidates are those who change with the times. PCD&M
Ted Daywalt is CEO and president of VetJobs, the largest military-related job board on the Internet. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
