How effective is your job search strategy?

With the Internet and Web 2.0 coming of age, there are new job search strategies available for the job seeker. There is not enough data available to determine the effectiveness of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networking sites, but we do know about other more traditional strategies.

According to Dan Miller in his book 48 Days to the Work You Love, here are the results of more traditional strategies:

• Answering local newspaper ads -- leads to jobs for about 8 out of 100. (The higher the level of job you seek, the less effective this method is.) You do not find brain surgeon or senior management positions posted.
• Private employment agencies and Head Hunters-- leads to jobs for 4-22 out of 100. (Again, depending on the level sought.) No one can present you as well as you can or cares about your situation as much as you do.
• Answering ads in trade journals -- leads to jobs for 7 out of 100. (Too much time delay, etc. By the time the publication is printed, the job has been filled.)
• Mass response to Internet ads. The ads at CareerBuilder.com, Monster.com or HotJobs.com look so perfect to you. Just keep in mind that whatever you see, thousands of other great candidates see as well. While there are exceptions to everything, the results here are pretty dismal. Fewer than 1% of job seekers actually get a position from responding to an Internet ad. (Most people using the Internet as their primary job search tool are simply hiding out, avoiding real contact, and wasting time.)

Here are some other methods that are even better:

• Applying directly to an employer without doing any homework – leads to a job for 47 out of 100. Just walking in the door, unannounced, works almost half the time. Notice, this is the second most effective method but works best for lower level positions.
• Asking friends for job leads -- leads to a job for 34 out of 100 who try it. Don’t be hesitant about letting others know what you are looking for.
• Asking relatives for job leads -- this leads to a job for about 27 out of 100 who use it.
• Using the placement office at the school or college that you once attended --leads to a job for 21 out of 100 who try it.

The most effective job-hunting method is this: know your skills, research the potential companies that use those skills, arrange to see the person who has the power to hire you, and request the interview. This method, faithfully followed, leads to a job for 86 out of every 100 job-hunters who use it.

With the recent recession, pink-slip parties for those who have lost their jobs have also popped up. Many of these are advertised on social networking sites and should be utilized as well. We know that networking with others can be an effective strategy. You just need to be prepared with your elevator speech, which I will discuss in my next article.

The bottom line is, don't rely on just one type of search strategy. Utilizing all of the strategies above greatly increases the chances of your success and shortens the time spent looking. Your search needs to be your full-time job, taking up 35 hours a week if you want to get back to work. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, two-thirds of all job-hunters spend 5 hours or less on their job hunt each week. You cannot afford this lack of effort if you are going to be successful in your search.