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Brian Burnsed
Simmi Singh, a public-relations veteran, joined the mushrooming ranks of the unemployed in
Singh's year of disappointment gave way to celebration in February when she landed a PR position at Oregon-based EthicsPoint after applying via
Site sorting. Not all online job seekers endure an odyssey like Singh's, but career counselors agree that job sites should be a small part of anyone's employment hunt. Only 13.2 percent of external hires in 2009 were made via job boards, according to a corporate study done by staffing consultancy CareerXroads. Frank Tortorello Jr., executive director of career services at
In an effort to improve the experience for users,
Career experts say that the big job boards are best for job seekers in professions that are typified by high turnaround -- like sales -- but that they are less effective for highly qualified applicants or those looking for work in smaller industries. But Jason Ferrara,
Industry insiders claim that job hunters would have much better luck if they invested time filling out detailed profiles on sites like Jobfox, which filter the best job matches to users based on their profiles. While a job hunter may be able to apply to 20 jobs in the time it takes to fill out a comprehensive profile, such a résumé blast is most likely a wasted effort. If people used matching technology more frequently, "the industry would be transformed overnight," notes Rothberg. "There would be much less dissatisfaction."
Job seekers may have more success at smaller boards that are broken down by job category or even geographic region. According to Peter Weddle, executive director of the
Michael Young, an out-of-work teacher in Utah who has been looking for a new position since December, says he has had more success generating leads on the niche site Teachers-Teachers.com than on the larger boards. Ultimately, career advisers feel there's no substitute for phone calls and handshakes. "[Job boards] can be effective, but it's not the only thing someone should have in their arsenal," says Art Taguding, executive director of career services at
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Careers - Why Job Searches Should Start But Not End on the Web