Monday, November 7, 2011

It's All About the Numbers

When tackling the job search, it helps to know which job search methods work and which ones don’t.  The North Carolina Career Resource Network posted some figures related to the job search recently that I thought were pretty revealing. Let’s take a look at a few:

80% of available jobs are never advertised.

You read that right. 80% of jobs that are available are never advertised. While I have not researched the reason behind this, I believe that employers only post jobs as a last resort, after they have exhausted all other means of finding a person to fill the position. Many times, the position is filled internally. Other times, the hiring manager may network with colleagues to identify potential candidates outside of the organization.

Over 50% of employees find their jobs through networking.

How many of you reading this post hve gotten a job in the past because of someone you knew? This happens all of the time and in my opinion, has a lot to do with why 80% of the available jobs go unadvertised.

28.5% of new hires get their jobs through employee referrals.

This is another spin-off of networking.  Employers often times turn to their most trusted employees for leads when it comes time to fill a position. Employers are more apt to trust a person that comes by referral rather than someone that does not have a connection with the company.

24% of employees find their jobs through direct contact with employers.

This is not for the shy or faint at heart. Direct contact with employers, i.e., cold calling, site visits, informational interviews, is a great way to be noticed and get interviews. There is a lot of preparation involved, however. You can’t just pick up the phone and call an employer or waltz right into their offices and ask for a job. You need to conduct sufficient research on the company before you do any of this. You need to learn about the company, its mission, values, leadership, recent developments, etc. so that you can see how you could possibly fit into their team.

What’s missing?

Obviously, there is something missing. There are other ways to land a job. The problem is that the success rate of these alternative methods is rather poor. For instance, only 6% of employees find their jobs through school placement offices or career centers. 5% find their jobs through classified ads. 4% find their jobs through employment agencies and only 2.8% find their jobs through internet sites. So what’s the advice here? Don’t totally ignore these avenues. Use your time wisely and spread you efforts across all these alternatives discussed and you’ll be sure to have a more successful job search.

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