Psst... Here's the real secret

Most of us in the careers field preach diversification: don't put all your eggs in one basket... pursue a multi-channel job search... you never know where your next lead or next job will come from.

And that's all true, in general. But last week I learned a startling statistic from a reliable source - an early peek at the CareerXRoads annual study of the Source of Hire data from "large, highly competitive, high-profile firms."

Guess what? A referral from someone in the hiring company is 70x more likely to lead to a hire than any other source.

That's right - 70 times.

So what does that tell you? Target your search... Align your skills and value with what you learn about the organization... Network to get a referral... And be ready to discuss the company's challenges and how you can provide solutions. Do this whether or not there's a current job opening. Do this as often as you can (it's not as easy as zapping out a resume in response to an online posting).

Given this finding, if you're going to concentrate your search in one channel, the only smart choice is the targeted/referral route.

Posted by Louise Kursmark - Cross-posted at Louise's blog.

Comments

[Julie O'Malley]

Great point. 70% is certainly an eye-popping statistic, and I don't doubt its validity for job seekers as a group. But what is the takeaway message for an individual job seeker? I think the message is this: Employers want to hire a qualified candidate, but they ALSO want to minimize their chances of making a "bad hire." A referral from a trusted source eliminates a lot of the mystery and risk of hiring someone who's totally an unknown quantity. So, yes, try to get referral if you possibly can!