Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Online Job Search vs. Social Networking: (one is a beating - the other is chocolate cake)





A few days ago, TechCrunch guest contrib-guy Steve Poland posted about how online job hunting still sucks - 10 years later.

Yep, the big, bad wolf still has the same issues:

tons of resumes guaranteed to make any 20/20 recruiter go cross-eyed

tons of multi-level marketing scams and spam for candidates to wade through.

It kind of reminds me of what my father-in-law used to say about tv:

Looking for something good to watch on tv is like lying in the gutter with your mouth open waiting for a piece of chocolate cake to float by.

So please pardon me as I now paraphrase Tom's gutter quote and make it my own:

Searching for excellent candidates on the job boards is like lying in the gutter with your mouth open waiting for a piece of chocolate cake to float by.
Are they (great candidates) out there? Certainly. Have I found them in the past? Yes. Have I found them in the present? Yes. Do I ever manage to get my piece of chocolate cake without breaking a sweat? Nope.

Like Bruce Hornsby said in 1986,

That's just the way it is...some things will never change
Bruce was telling us what we already knew...but his album still hit multi-platinum status.

So, my job-search friends, Steve Poland is just telling us what we already know. The question is whether or not this fact alters the way you continue searching for that next gig.

My advice and 25 cents will get you a cup of coffee, but I'm compelled to say it anyway ... pursue social networking like your life depends on it.

Go to Jobster and create your profile. Add your superstar tags. Make me a fave and I'll add you as a fan (click HERE to view my Jobster profile). Search jobster for recruiters that are in your line of business. Ping 'em. Engage 'em in conversation. Find other job seekers who are in your line of business. Talk to them - reach out - get involved.

If you are a wireless geek consumed with continuing your employment in the wireless sector ... talk to me! That's why I blog. I'm not a job board. I'm a person. I'm not a firewall. I'm a recruiting manager with a wireless carrier that lives to develop relationships with real people.

Why? Because it's a lot easier than lying in the gutter waiting for my chocolate cake to float by. And I'd much rather have my job (cake) and eat it too.

Look forward to meeting you,

Dennis Smith
Sr. Manager, Recruiting
Engineering / Network Operations / National Operations
T-Mobile USA
editor, WirelessJobs.com

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