Relying too heavily on applying online can severely limit your job search and eat up too much valuable time.
The reality is that it is very easy to download your resume or paste it into a textbox to quickly apply for a position. It is so easy that recruiters are being inundated with hundreds of resumes and sometimes establishing a cut-off. Part of the problem is that because of the easy access and application process, many people are applying to jobs for which they are only marginally qualified for, or for jobs that do not even match the qualifications on their resume.
We advise using no more than 30% of your job search time applying online and doing so selectively after carefully comparing your qualifications to the requirements and checking out the company.
Be sure to use a multi-prong approach to your job search, utilizing networking (traditional and online), recruiters / staffing agencies, job fairs / job clubs, and other resources. Also, be sure to follow up whenever possible. It can make a big difference. I recently received a message from a client saying that he only had one unsuccessful interview in a couple of months until he started calling agencies directly to follow up after submitting his resume. He reported that he then quickly had interest from four companies and has two second interviews scheduled.
