WEB 2.0 AND RECRUITING

Most of my blogs have focused on employer strategies for finding applicants. I want to jump on the other side of the desk and talk briefly about job search strategies from the job hunter’s perspective.

I’ve interviewed over 5,000 people over the past 20+ years and realize some job search strategies are more productive than others. According to Richard Bolles, author of What Color is Your Parachute (1970), a job seeker has a 4% chance of finding a job by looking on Monster or directly at an employer’s website. These are pretty low odds. The reason is simple. I recently posted an outside sales rep position in Atlanta on CareerBuilder. Within a few weeks my resume pool had grown to several hundred. Within 6 weeks I had 1500 resumes. Now you know why that HR guy never calls you back. You and 1500 other people are bugging him to death. The internet is a great tool; use it, but don’t count on it.

Richard Bolles explains that 40% of all hires come from employee referrals. As an HR Manager it’s good to have a referral from someone who knows the applicant. It takes a little of the “unknown” variable out of the equation. Calling previous employers for a reference check is fruitless due to the concern of legal action for giving out a bad reference.

What does this mean for the job seeker? You MUST work your contacts. The more people you know the better the chance of getting a job. The more you network, the better chance you have of finding a job. You must not be embarrassed to ask for help and let people know you are looking for a job.

References: What Color is Your Parachute, Richard Bolles, 1970.

Video Link: Richard Bolles Interview

Marty Brack
E-mail: mdbrack@crimson.ua.edu
Cell: 205-837-4098