March 2004

If you think searching for jobs on Monster, Hotjobs, and CareerBuilder is the best way to find your next position, well think again!

Troubling facts have slipped out about the "job boards" that suggest serious conflicts of interest. This may affect and interfere with your ability to find a job.

In 2000, during the dot-com heyday, Forrester Research reported that only 4% of job hunters polled found employment through the Internet. In the same survey, human resources (HR) recruiters claimed online job posting was the best way to recruit, indicating that they planned to spend the biggest part (44%) of their recruiting dollars online. Contrary to the opinion of the HR folks, job hunters indicated that the most reliable source of jobs was personal referrals, which is how 40% of those polled found their jobs.

Cut to 2001 and a follow-up study by Forrester*. This time, Forrester went past the HR departments and queried the corporate stakeholders. Hiring managers were asked what recruiting tool they found most effective. Echoing the job hunters of the previous year, managers said that "word of mouth referrals" were the best source of hires (62%). Meanwhile, the HR folks—the people who buy online job ads—said such personal contacts were the worst recruiting tool. So, who's right?

In 2002 CareerXroads, publisher of the popular directory that reviews online job sites, released a study. Finally, someone was looking at the bottom line—hiring success rates. Employers were asked what percentage of their new hires came from the four leading online career sites. The percentage of hires made through Monster—a whopping 1.4%; Hotjobs—.39%; CareerBuilder—.29%; Headhunter.net—.27%. (Yes, those decimal points are in the right places.) Suddenly, the cat was out of the bag. Job referrals and recommendations are still the best way to find a job.

For tips like this and career advice, contact Alumni Career Counselor Julie Swaner at jswaner@sa.utah.edu.

*This data is taken from Ask the Headhunter.

U-News & Views © 2004 - An online publication
by the University of Utah Alumni Association
Questions? Concerns? Contact Linda Marion, editor
(801-587-7837; lmarion@alumni.utah.edu)