Using Ads & the Internet to Find a Job:  Not the Be All and End All

• Research indicates that 12% of jobs that are filled from the outside are filled via want ads.

• However, most job-hunters devote far more than 12% of their time to want ads.
  

A good job-hunting campaign should pay only a small amount of attention to want ads and internet job boards.  Many job-hunters spend long hours patrolling the internet for job ads, which generally only gets them more depressed. 

It can’t hurt to set up agents at the major job boards, and to list your resume on-line as well.  You should also check out the industry-specific sites (such as the Society of Manufacturing Engineers site, if you have a background in that field).  These sites frequently have job boards with positions that would be particularly appropriate for your background.  The key here is to limit your time in this area to no more than 10% of your total job-hunting time.

Post your resume and set up agents on , Indeed Jobs, Monster and Careerbuilder that will notify you when new jobs appear.  Apply for these jobs a week after they're listed, rather than right away. That way, you'll be at the top of the pile, and not mixed in with the initial onslaught of resumes received.  Also, and this may seem counterintuitive, but don't apply for jobs via the company web site when a company of any size runs an ad.  You'll be mixed in with countless responses right away, and your resume will be read first by an in-house screener.  Your best bet is to first find out who the hiring manager is, and then to mail your resume to that person.  Easy?  No.  But far more productive, if the ad looks like a good fit for you.  (ResumeRabbit will automatically post your resume to most of the major free sites and notify you of jobs that meet your specs - if you do that, you can spend your time on other job hunting activities).  

There are now a number of executive job hunting sites (The Ladders, RiteSite, Netshare, Execunet and BlueSteps), for which you'll have to pay a membership fee to use.  Joining one or two of these is something I would do if I was looking for a job, and I would recommend that you do this.  Click here for our article the provides more detailed information on each of these sites: $100,000+ Executive Job Hunting Sites).

The internet is an incredible job hunting research tool, however.  It can help you identify potential companies for direct mail or networking campaigns, and is a good place to research a company before an interview.