Quintessential Careers Press:
Job Search 2.0: Advancing Your Career Through Online Social Media
Introduction: The New Job Search Is All About Relationships
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At QuintCareers, we've heard from job-seekers who spend eight or more hours a day sitting at their computers. A recent survey by Kelton Research, commissioned by RiseSmart, shows that a majority of online jobseekers are spending an average of 50 hours per month searching the Web for work. Internet job-hunting can be effective, but you've also got to get out there and actually talk to people. Many job-seekers still choose to plop themselves down at their computers and submit resumes because, let's face it, networking is hard; posting resumes on job boards and interacting with social media is relatively easy.Today's successful job search must be diversified -- with a mix of high-tech Web-based approaches and traditional low-tech job-hunting techniques. A large percentage of job-seekers still get their jobs through networking. (A reader of Nick Corcodilos's "Ask the Headhunter" feature noted, "In my years of being on both sides of the hiring fence, I have yet to see one person fail to get a job when they had a personal referral.") You can do a great deal of networking through the Social Web, but you've still got to do some networking with warm bodies. Because networking is still the best way to find a job, a diversified job search is key. Don't place all your hopes on the Internet and be strategic about the time you spend online. Be especially careful not to throw away hours on end searching for Web-based job-postings and submitting your resume. But also balance your online social-media time with your in-person networking time. Relegate the biggest chunk of your job-hunting time to shoring up your contacts and seeking referrals.
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