Five Job-Search Tactics That Work -- And Five That Don't

One of the biggest problems for job-seekers is that the standard recruiting process is so broken, you can't easily tell whether your job-hunting strategy is working or not.

When you fill out countless online job applications and hear nothing back from dozens of employers, you might wonder if there's something wrong with your background.

Or, you might conclude that nobody hears anything back from employers after completing online job applications and figure that you just need to keep filling out applications until finally, somebody responds.

There's nothing wrong with your background, but you can't keep lobbing applications into the void and hoping that an employer will finally give you a chance.

Filling out online job applications is the least effective way to get a job.

Here are five job-search tactics that work — and five that don't.

Five Job-Search Tactics That Work

1. Networking

2. Consulting

3. The Direct Approach

4. Recruiters

5. Temp-to-Perm

Five Job-Search Tactics That Don't Work

1. Online job applications

2. Resume blasting

3. Job Fairs (with exceptions)

4. Calling or emailing HR

5. Waiting for employers to find you

Networking is a fantastic job-search channel, but it doesn't work quickly. You cannot view networking as a transaction, where you tell a friend "I'm job-hunting!" and they say "Great, I know someone who can hire you!"

Networking takes time and patience, and you have to be willing to give back as much or more as you get out of each networking relationship. You have to be ready to help your friends think through their problems when you meet with them. Everybody needs moral support, advice and introductions — not just folks who are job-hunting.

Getting your own consulting business card and networking your way into small consulting jobs is a fantastic job search approach, because it not only opens doors for you but also grows your muscles, confidence and income at the same time.

The direct approach to hiring managers with your Pain Letters and Human-Voiced Resume is a powerful job search channel.

It takes more time and effort than typing answers into an online application form. You have to conduct research to write a good Pain Letter, and that is why so few people do it. That's good for you if you take the plunge!

Recruiters are a great job search channel if you have a recruiter-friendly resume. Your first step is to update your LinkedIn profile. Then, sign up to have recruiters contact you if they're interested in talking with you about one of their open positions.

Temp-to-perm means taking temp jobs to give you an income and a chance at full-time opportunities in your client firms as they learn how smart and capable you are.

If you take this approach, remember that an organization who uses your services as a temp cannot hire you as a full-time employee for free. It will cost them a search fee to change you from temporary to full-time status. Some employers will happily do it, and others will balk.

Completing online job applications may be the worst way to get a job because when you fill out an online job application, you feel like you've really accomplished something — but have you?

Most online job applications never get seen  by human eyes.

You can pay a service to blast out your resume to hundreds of employers, but why would those employers want to receive your unsolicited resume out of the blue?

Their problem is not that they don't receive enough resumes!

You can blast your own resume to many companies and some job-seekers do, but this is not your best job-search approach.

Job fairs used to be a great way to get hired and, of course, to hire people. I hired scores of people through job fairs, but these days many recruiters who attend job fairs merely sit at their company's booth and don't talk to candidates.

What's great about job fairs from a recruiter's perspective is that you can talk to a lot of people quickly and determine whether it makes sense to invite them back to the company's facility for a longer conversation. If those mini-interviews are not happening at the job fair, what is the point of it?

Some recruiters attend job fairs but tell applicants "Check out our open positions on our company's website."

Why would a job applicant pay to dry-clean your business attire and pay for gas and parking to stand in a long snaking line of people just to be told "We're not taking resumes today."?

Some job fairs buck the trend and are very active and useful. In my experience, they are typically highly specialized job fairs for people in one function and/or industry.

Some job-seekers make a habit of calling an employer's HR department over and over or emailing them to say "Are you interested in my background?"

Those folks are deluged with calls and email messages. They cannot respond to all of them, and even if you reach someone live on the phone they're not likely to say "Oh yes! I remember your resume."

The days when that might have happened are long gone.

With the rise of social media some folks have taken to growing their blog or podcast audience in hopes of getting employers to notice them as emerging thought leaders and hire them. This a tough road to follow! Everybody is information-overloaded these days.

Even if someone from one of your target companies happened to find your blog or podcast, it doesn't follow that they will contact you and say "I want to interview you!"

It's much more likely that if they did contact you, they would want to interview you for the company newsletter or have you come and speak on a panel in exchange for a free lunch.

You have to be more purposeful and pointed in your job search intentions than growing a social media presence just to get employers' attention!

Invest your precious time and energy on the most effective job search tactics, and leave the rest behind!