About the Author:
Richard Nelson Bolles is the author of the best-selling job-hunting book in the world, What Color is Your Parachute?, in addition to numerous other job-hunting books. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
 

So, let's review what search methods are available to you, listing them in order, from worst success rate to best success rate:

1. Using the Internet. If you are seeking a technical or computer-related job, or a job in engineering, finances, or healthcare, I estimate the success rate to be 10%. For the other 10,000 job titles that are out there: 1%. That is, out of every 100 job-hunters who use the Internet (job-postings and resume-postings) as their search method, exactly one of them will find a job thereby. 99 job-hunters out of 100 will not find the jobs that are out there - - if they use only this method to search for them.

2. Mailing out resumes to employers at random. This search method has a 7% success rate. That is, out of every 100 job-hunters who use this search method, 7 will find a job thereby. 93 job-hunters out of 100 will not find the jobs that are out there - - if they use only this method to search for them. (I'm being generous here with my percentages. One study revealed there is actually only one job-offer made and accepted, for every 1470 resumes floating around out there in the world of work. Another study puts the figure even higher: one job offer for every 1700 resumes floating around out there. If this sounds like good odds to you, thou shouldest clear the cobwebs out of thy brain. Would you take an airplane, if you knew only one out of 1700 got through, to its destination?)

3. Answering ads in professional or trade journals, appropriate to your field. This search method also has a 7% success rate. That is, out of every 100 job-hunters who use this search method, 7 will find a job thereby. 93 job-hunters out of 100 will not find the jobs that are out there - - if they use only this method to search for them.

4. Answering local newspaper ads. This search method has a 5-24% success rate. That is, out of every 100 job-hunters who use this search method, between 5 and 24 will find a job thereby. 76-95 job-hunters out of 100 will not find the jobs that are out there - - if they use only this method to search for them. (The fluctuation between 5% and 24% is due to the level of salary that is being sought; the higher the salary being sought, the fewer job-hunters who are able to find a job using this search method).

5. Going to private employment agencies or search firms for help. This method has a 5-24% success rate, again, depending on the level of salary that is being sought. Which is to say, out of every 100 job-hunters who use this method, between 5 and 24 will find a job thereby. 76-95 job-hunters out of 100 will not find the jobs that are out there - - if they use only this method to search for them. (It should be noted that the success rate of this method has risen slightly in recent years, in the case of women but not of men: in a recent study, 27.8% of female job-hunters found a job within two months, by going to private employment agencies.)

THE FIVE BEST WAYS TO TRY TO FIND A JOB

1. Asking for job-leads from: family members, friends, people in the community, staff at career centers - - especially at your local community college or the high-school or college where you graduated. You ask them one simple question: do you know of any jobs at the place where you work - - or elsewhere? This search method has a 33% success rate. That is, out of every 100 people who use this search method, 33 will find a job thereby. 67 job-hunters out of 100 will not find the jobs that are out there - - if they use only this method to search for them.

2. Knocking on the door of any employer, factory, or office that interests you, whether they are known to have a vacancy or not. This search method has a 47% success rate. That is, out of every 100 people who use this search method, 47 will find a job thereby. 53 job-hunters out of 100 will not find the jobs that are out there - - if they use only this method to search for them.

3. By yourself, using the phone book's Yellow Pages to identify subjects or fields of interest to you in the town or city where you are, and then calling up the employers listed in that field, to ask if they are hiring for the type of position you can do, and do well. This method has a 69% success rate. That is, out of every 100 job-hunters or career-changers who use this search method, 69 will find a job thereby. 31 job-hunters out of 100 will not find the jobs that are out there - - if they use only this method to search for them.

4. In a group with other job-hunters, using the phone book's Yellow Pages to identify subjects or fields of interest to you in the town or city where you are, and then calling up the employers listed in that field, to ask if they are hiring for the type of position you can do, and do well. This method has an 84% success rate. That is, out of every 100 people who use this method, 84 will find a job thereby. 16 job-hunters out of 100 will not find the jobs that are out there - - if they use only this method to search for them.