Tweets and Links Killed the Monster, but Social Networks Rule the Day

Posted on | March 17, 2009 | No Comments

Over the last month, I’ve been conducting a bit of informal research, speaking with a few friends (12 in all) about their job searches–what tools they’re using, how many resumes they’re sending/giving out, whether they’re getting interviews, how they’re landing their interviews.  I’ve found some interesting bits.

• 2 out of 3 of my friends have almost given up on online job boards (namely, Monster and Careerbuilder).  They’ve decided not to search the big job boards and not to send any resumes in response to blind-box, or confidential, online ads.  They still respond to local Craigslist ads (with employer identified) and to job listings on company websites.

• Fewer than one in 3  has attended a job fair in the last 90 days.  This includes online job fairs and mass hiring events.

• 5 of 12 have at least tried to use social media or online social networks to find a job.  Those who said they did use social media or social networks used LinkedIn, Facebook and blogs.  Blogs cited included Careersthatdontsuck.com, of course, and industry-expert blogs like SocialEdge, Treehugger and TechCrunch.

• 4 0f 12 said they’d been interviewed in the last 60 days.  Two said they had interview(s) scheduled in the coming 30 days.

I thought the findings of my informal 12-person study were interesting, especially in light of the recent CareerXroads report that found that only 12.3% of all 2008 new hires were sourced via online job boards like Monster and Careerbuilder.  CareerXroads reported that 27.3% of all hires in February were sourced via employee, alumni and vendor referrals and that, while companies received fewer referrals than online job applications, they were more likely to hire referred candidates (companies hired 1 of every 11.2 referrals).

Other industry experts are calling Twitter the Monster-killer because several large employers have begun tweeting about job openings, and the job tweets have gone viral.  A single tweet about an open job can be re-tweeting thousands of times and generate thousands of replies and resumes from people all over the country.  None of my friends had used Twitter in their job searches, and I can’t say that I’ve encountered anyone who has landed a job via Twitter.  But, several of my friends who are recruiters swear by “Tweet-cruiting” as a means of getting the word out about hot new jobs.  Given this, I suspect more folks will add Twitter to their job-hunting repertoire.

So, what’s the take-away?

Monster and Careerbuilder are not bad; they’re just becoming less effective in the current job market.  Smaller, niche job boards are better.

Job fairs serve a good purpose–bringing large groups of people together to apply for a small group of entry-level and mid-level job openings.  Job fairs are also great opportunities to practice your interviewing skills and get free resume reviews.

Social networks rule the day.  If you don’t have a social network, start building one.  Start with family and friends, add former colleagues.

Online social networks are heating up as sources of job leads.  LinkedIn is the premier professional/social networking site, but Facebook’s growing popularity and informality is pushing it to the head of the line.  Both sites have formal job boards, but the real action is in the groups and the one-to-one interactions.  Twitter is just dipping it’s toe into this space, but developers are creating filters to allow job-seekers to find and track local jobs.  Given Twitter’s popularity, it’s only a matter of time before it’s a real player.

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