.........................HOW JOB SEEKERS FIND THEIR JOBS..........................

Have you ever met someone who spent countless hours, weeks ... and even months ... applying for published jobs on line? There are many people who still try this, but most experienced seekers realize after a while that this strategy is futile.  From the perspective of a 6 figure job seeker, here is a basic introduction to common fact and fiction.

Fiction: Applying on line for posted jobs is efficient. There are many reasons why this is not true. Here are a few. (1) A typical job posting on a popular web site gets 500-1000 hits and executive jobs in Atlanta can draw 100 or more per day.  (2) Even if you get a callback, there are so many hoops to jump through and such small odds that it doesn’t make sense to play this game. (3) A high percentage of posted jobs are never filled. (4) Many postings are for “phantom” jobs which do not exist. (5) Many postings have internal candidates already selected and they are published for company policy reasons. (6) On average, companies that post 6 figure jobs on line have undesirable company cultures.

Fact: You can learn a lot from reviewing job postings. Yes, reviewing job postings can help you identify industry and professional trends. It can also give you ideas regarding the work content of certain positions, which can be especially helpful when considering a change to a new profession. It can help you identify growing employers to target with tactics which are far more effective than responding to job postings.

Fiction: Resume blasting services are an inexpensive way to get a resume in front of hundreds of decision makers. Survey says: “Nope.” Online resume distribution is the lowly descendant of hard copy resume mailing services (some of which are still in business despite their unproductive results!). Virtually everyone being blasted with resumes has a software front end designed to shuttle the resumes into a database or delete them. This also opens the sender to new sources of spam and solicitations.

Fact: Search engines can help you dig up great research information about potential employers. Yes, the internet is awash with employer information. Volumes of public information and articles can be located. There are blogs, too. There are even sites where interviewees critique what they thought of the interview process of employers.

Fiction: Posting a resume on Monster, CareerBuilder, etc will make me visible to recruiters. This is not a total fiction, but it is largely fiction. Why? Because most recruiters’ experiences tell them that these resume boards have a high percentage of unemployed or unhappy job seekers. Recruiters want to identify employed passive candidates who wouldn’t dare post their resume because they are happy where they are. The majority of high quality recruiters, especially those seeking upper income candidates, use internet sites for posting jobs rather than searching resumes.

Fact: The internet has revolutionized the way companies hire. For less desirable employers, this is true. Why should they pay a recruiter when they can post the job on line and have hundreds of candidates from which to select?

Conclusion: The internet can be a great source of information, but applying for jobs on job boards (including those on employer web sites) is a poor strategic option. If you believe "time is money" and that your time is valuable, then competing for published jobs can be your most expensive option for landing your next position.  Experienced and highly qualified candidates for 6 figure positions don’t chase published jobs on the internet. They get out and find great positions through the #1 source of positions; personal contact networking.