According to a recent article, Job Seekers: Personal Connections Still Matter, most people are likely to rely on personal connections and their own experiences with potential hiring organizations when searching for a job. A survey of those who were unemployed and searching for work, as well as those who were recently employed, (within six months), showed that 74% relied on friends and family and 70% relied on referrals from current employees at a company as resources when searching for work. Online job databases were used by 62%, specific organizations’ web sites were used by 56% and 39% used search engines such as Google and Yahoo.
More interesting than the resources used by job seekers, were the responses regarding the resources that were the most effective. Referrals and personal interactions were rated as the most effective, but only one-third considered organizations’ Web sites to be effective and only one-quarter said that online job databases were effective during their job hunt.
So go ahead and spread the word about your job search to everyone you know, including family members, friends, professors and former co-workers! Take advantage of professional networking sites such as LinkedIn to make personal connections and locate former associates.
Once you have found a job prospect, be sure you are able to continue on a positive path by being prepared with a professional cover letter of introduction and a resume that makes you stand out from the competition!
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