As a senior, I'm spending an increasing amount of my time in the job hunt - not the summer internship job hunt (which has admittedly gotten very difficult due to this awful economic situation - I do not envy leaving that process behind), but rather, the permanent job hunt. Due to my time working (and I use this term loosely) with recruiters, I have quickly learned the values of using the Internet to have at job hunting by myself.
The problem with working with recruiters is that you're always using a middleman (or woman, depending on the situation) who may or may not be reliable depending on how stressed the recruiter happens to be, how many potential resumes he or she is juggling, and whether or not your resume makes any sort of impact. In all likelihood, it doesn't. Unless your resume elicits gasps of shock and awe and shines brightly to anyone in the vicinity, you're effectively competing with other people in a way where you have no control - you can't simply conduct it as you would an interview.
I find that it's best to use technology and resume areas like Monster as something of a placeholder. The Internet makes it easy to find people who can point you in the right directions - networking sites, especially LinkedIn, are my favorite place to go. Why place a job in the hands of a recruiter when you can take charge of your own future?
Socialnomics? Pfft! That's old news.
14 years ago
I think you are right to a certain extend when asserting the necessity of networking sites to find a job.
ReplyDeleteBut I also think that if you really want to impact and give a high impression to a recruiter, face to face contacts are even a better solution.
It's true that when recruiting they see many candidates, but you can sell yourself easier and better when a face2face relation. You can use non-verbal communication, see the recruiters' interest ...
I think people should use both to maximize the possibilities to get a job.
I feel like using recruiters and going to the career center only gets you so far. And sometimes I feel like websites like Monster are somewhat useful. In the end, job hunting right now sucks. I feel your pain.
ReplyDeleteUgh...job hunting...It's a bomb of stress waiting to explode. I think you should use anything and every trick of the trade when job hunting. The more creative you are the better. I hate saying this but...think of yourself as an advert. Would you buy yourself?
ReplyDeleteI don;t look forward to job hunting. I feel like it will be similar to applying to schools all over again, except you sometimes don't hear back from them...
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