Ever Wonder If Networking Really Does Work?

Wonder no more!

Recruiting research guru Gerry Crispin has just released his annual survey of hiring practices among America's top corporations.

It's worth reading all the way through (and is a free download) because anyone looking for a job should know how companies hire, but this in particular caught my eye:

Referrals (employee, alumni, vendor, etc.) make up 28.7% of all hires and are arguably the number one external source. The efficiency of referrals i.e. every third referral turns into a hire” is one of the single most important characteristics of US hiring practices

Every third referral? Wow! Crispin doesn't give the same data for the other sources, but I can tell you that every third job applicant responding to a job posting doesn't get hired. Just based on my own experience in HR, I'd guess the ratio is more like 1 in 100 and I could be being overly generous.

What does this mean? It means that you should never apply for a job without first making contact with someone at that company who can refer you on to the right person.

You can do this the old fashioned way, by makng calls to see who you know who knows as guy who knows a guy ... or you can use sites like LinkedIn or Facebook to build your network and stay in touch.  Or combine both methods for maximum results. But if a third of all all referrals get hired, you can't afford to just apply online with everyone else.