subject: Least And Most Successful Ways To Look For A Job [print this page] While different job search methods work for different people, there are some methods that provide greater success than others. The unfortunate thing is that many job seekers tend to spend too much time/effort on the less productive ways.
Below is a list of the least successful ways to look for a job. These percentages refer to the number of people out of every 100, who find a job using only that method.
1) Internet job postings: 4 to 10%
2) Mailing out resumes to companies: 7%
3) Answering ads in professional/trade journals: 7%
As you can see, many of the methods people commonly turn to, do not produce the best results. Using a combination of approaches would obviously increase the success rate; however, the increase would not be very substantial. Therefore, it is important to realise that your time spent searching for a job in these ways should be limited.
Companies are always hiring, even during a recession. However, there will be fewer jobs during a bear market and the competition for these positions will be more intense. In such a scenario, it is only sensible to use job search tactics which provide the maximum success rate. This is especially so, if you have limited amount of time and resources at your disposal.
So what are the most effective ways for conducting a job search? They are mentioned below. These percentages refer to the number of people out of every 100, who find a job using only that method.
1) Job leads from friends, colleagues and other contacts: 33%
2) Directly approaching an employer (hiring manager) that interests you in-person or over the phone: 47-60%
These methods are certainly more successful as compared to some of the tactics we listed in the article "Least successful ways to look for a job". However, the real benefit comes from using an integrated approach, which is by far the most effective way to look for a job. The success rate improves dramatically to ~85% by using this approach:
Step 1: Career discovery
Step 2: Prepare a personal marketing plan
Step 3: Use proactive job search tactics, personal contactsand networking to reach people who have the power to hire you
