Only 1.3% of hires happen through Monster.com, although many job seekers spend a lot more than 1.3% of their job search time there.
I came across this interesting fact on the JibberJobber Blog. (JibberJobber is a contact management software designed for job seekers). The article is a few months old, but I doubt the facts have changed a bit.
I’m not picking on Monster in particular. I’m making a point about job boards and their role in job search.
Many sources estimate that only a fraction of jobs are obtained by people who aren’t in any way known to the employer – maybe 20% of hires. That’s the category you’re in when you apply to a job online without any networking or referral involved. So why spend more than 20% of your job search time doing this?
Also, be efficient in your online searches by using aggregator sites – my favorite is Indeed – to search thousands of job boards at once. Save a search, or a few searches with different keywords, to see which work best. Have the results emailed to you regularly. To search company career pages in addition to job boards, add LinkUp. Statistically, more jobs are found through companies’ own websites than through job boards.
Plan a multi-pronged job search strategy with a strong emphasis on talking to people. If that thought makes you shudder, coaching can help to build good networking skills and habits that make it a lot easier. Search smart – and get a great job, sooner!
