Job fairs, while popular with job seekers, aren't as popular with HR executives.
As we’ve said before, it’s not just who you know, it’s who knows about it when it comes to job searching.
At the end of the day, however, isn’t it whatever tool that you used to get a job the best tool? That depends on who you ask.
Some recent numbers from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas show that HR execs are more likely to find you and want to find you via the Internet and social networks like LinkedIn, informal meetings or by way of professional introduction. From a recent press release ranking methods of job search by HR on a scale of one to five:
In a new survey that asked human resources executives to rate the effectiveness of various job-search methods on a scale of 1 (least effective) to 5 (most effective), networking averaged a 3.98. About half (48 percent) of the respondents gave networking the highest effectiveness rating of five …
The second most effective job-search tool available is a relatively new one. Social/professional networking sites, such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, garnered an average rating of 3.3, with 47 percent of respondents giving it a rating of four or five.
Meanwhile, job fairs ranked as the least effective job-search method, scoring an average rating of 1.6. It was followed closely by responding to newspaper classified ads and sending resumes to employers, which each averaged 1.7 on the rating scale.
That isn’t to say you should focus on a single job-search tactic. In fact, John Challenger, company spokesman and vice president, suggests there may be too much Internet-only networking and not enough of in-person kind.
“It is important to remember that the job search is a multifaceted process. Those who rely on just one tool, even if it is networking, will take longer to find a position. The problem with the ease and accessibility of the Internet is that many job seekers make it their primary job search tool.
“Overuse of the Internet also threatens to prolong the hiring process on the employer’s end, as well, by inundating employers with irrelevant resumes. Some human resource executives complain that for every qualified candidate that comes in from the Internet, there are 10 to 20 who do not even come close to being a good fit,” Challenger said in the release.
Internet job boards and Web-based job posting sites ranked very well in the C,G, & E poll, collecting a 3.0 rating, although 38 percent did give them a rating of 4.0.
More career, networking and social-networking advice:
- Apply-Interview-Negotiate. Repeat.
- I Attended a Networking Event. Now What?
- Top 10 Ways to Use Social Media to Give Back to Your Network
- Social Networking: Painless and Powerful
- Can You Facebook Your Way to a New Job?
[image by jsdart via Flickr CC 3.0]
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