Job Search Effectiveness

You can take control of your job search and use your time, energy and money wisely by knowing what is effective and what isn’t.

Are You Beating Your Head Against the Wall. . .
Internet:4%
  • Did you know that even in this day and age where most folks have internet access, including employers, that only 4% of job hunters were successful in finding a job by looking online.
Mailing Out Resumes to Employers: 7%
  • Have you mailed out hundreds of resumes at random and received NO response? Don’t worry. That’s normal. This method is truly a shot in the dark and has only a 7% success rate according to one study and less than 1% in another.
Professional or Trade Journal: 7%
  • Think you'll find a job answering an ad in your professional or trade journal because it's specific to your field? It is possible that you could be one of the fortunate 7% that land a job this way.
Newspaper Help Wanted Ads: 5-24%
  • Are you frustrated with trying to find your Dream Job in the newspaper? Did you know that only about 7-8% of job openings are advertised in the newspaper? And that the success rate is only about 5% if you’re looking for a higher paying professional job. It’s not too bad if you want to work for minimum wage—the success rate can run as high as 24%.
Private Employment Agencies and Search Firms: 5-28%
  • The success rate is about the same for using private employment agencies and search firms: as low as 5% for the higher paying positions and as high as 28% for low wage work.
Employment Office: 14%
  • Have you tried to find a solution in your local Employment Office only to find they just kept pointing you towards more of the same you’re trying to get away from? Did you know that visiting the Employment Office is only about 14% effective as a job search method?
Take Control. . .

Ask Everyone You Know: 33%
  • Asking everyone you know at home, your place of worship, school, in line at the grocery store, your barber or stylist, friends, anyone you bump into, people in the community, etc if they know of any job openings is 33% effective. Of course, 67% of job hunters aren’t finding work this way.
Knock on Doors of Employers: 47%
  • Your odds improve—to 47%-- if you start knocking on doors of any employer that interests you even if there are no known vacancies.
Phone Book: 69%
  • If you use the yellow pages of the phone book to identify fields of interest then call up employers (and specifically people who have the power to hire) in those areas of interest to see if they are hiring for the type of work you do your success rate jumps to 69%.
Phone Book in a Group: 84%
  • Strangely enough, if you do this phone book method in a group 84% of job hunters will find work.
Life Changing Job Hunt: 86%
  • Doing what Richard Bolles, the author of “What Color is Your Parachute?” calls a Life Changing Job Hunt is 86% effective! He defines this as“. . .at last going after your dreams. . .finding more purpose and meaning for your life. . .making a career change. . .deciding to try something new. . .setting out in a different direction in your life. . .getting out of the rat race. . .going after your dream job. . .finding your mission in life, at last”.

    This is about creating the life you want, not just settling for the next available job that comes along. While it is possible to do this without the expertise of a Career and Life Coach most folks find the added support, feedback and guidance of a competent career and life coach speeds up the job search process significantly and the process and outcome are usually more satisfying.

    These percentages are from “What Color is Your Parachute?” by Richard Bolles, which can be purchased, along with some of his support materials.


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