Hunting for work in a down economy

I suppose there are many folks looking for work in this down economy, and I happen to be one of them. What activity lends the most success to this effort? Local networking groups? Or is it the social networking websites? I suspect it is a combination of the local networking groups and, for me, Linked In. I have been attending a couple groups and have made a number of good contacts. The big shortcoming is we are all job seekers!

I really have found Linked In to be profitable for my job search. I have made a huge number of connections there and many of them are in the recruiting industry. The real tough thing is to sort the ones out that are not even in the niche of your search by industry. It is time consuming. Add to the value of the social networking sites is the contacts one makes off-line may direct one to a contact online. Makes a huge success if as a job seeker you can actually link up with the person. I have found two of those and I am scheduling a chat on the phone.

I want to endorse the direct contact method to get some traction in your job search program. Find a Mentor, or a Colleague that may be willing to give one an assist and the job search can take a whole new life. It is often said the jobs are filled by someone that knew someone already inside the target company. I really believe that is so true.

I am also building my dream into reality as I try to find a day job. I set about applying to as many online faculty positions as I could find colleges and universities with online programs. I think I have gotten about 50 applied to thus far. Probably 10 or so have responded. And several of those have advised me they have no open positions. I keep looking and applying. It is the only thing that makes sense.