An internet search could put more leads in front of you in thirty seconds than you could ever find on your own in a year. But with the quality of those leads having gone south and the internet as the tool of choice has jumped the shark. More often than not, people are going back to the tried-and-true methods of more personal contact.
I’m always on the hunt for an opportunity to make a buck hocking my design skills. I’ve been in the industry long enough to see my fair share of trends, the most relevant in today’s market is the process by which you find a job or client.
Networking is still the best way to get out there and find jobs—contract work especially. Of course, the internet is a great source as well. It’s fast, free, and convenient. But is it really providing any value over the traditional methods of job hunting?
Not too long ago job hunting meant you had the name of a company and a person of authority to direct your correspondences to. The basic process was you submitted for consideration, they said thanks for applying, maybe you got an interview, and then you placed a follow up thank you.
But now we have the anonymity of the internet. Thousands of job postings at your fingertips but very few of any use or quality. Head over to any jobs category of any city on CraigsList and you’ll see to what I am referring. Post after post without the name of the company or a person to contact—just a randomly generated email addresses. Who knows where your info goes. Is there a a digital equivalent of a black hole on the internet where all these job seekers submissions go to die? Maybe the company has a bad reputation and I would have never applied to them had I know who they were. Maybe it sounded like a scam so I ignored it but it was really a company I would love to work at. Maybe it was a scam and there is some random schmuck I have hand-delivered a lot of personal info to.
So to the Monsters, Yahoo Jobs, CraigsLists, and CareerBuilders, of the internet I say please stop this silly practice of allowing employers to withhold their names. Everyday you put job seekers in quantifiable danger of things such as identity theft. Forcing employers to expose themselves to the same degree as job seekers must is necessary to stay relevant. Sunshine of the best disinfectant.
