Career Advice & News Center

Sometimes just the search for employment can be as time consuming as a full-time job. Applicants must scour through online job databases, contact recruiters and ensure that their experience and skill set match the opportunities they wish to pursue. But a cover letter that has been proofread a dozen times and extremely polished interview skills can mean very little if job seekers don't take advantage of networking opportunities.

According to new research from Upwardly Mobile (UpMo), a California career services company, more than two-thirds of active job seekers spend more time looking at online posting than reaching out to professional connections.

The trend is notable to career advisors because the vast majority of job offers are gained through personal contacts.

"Job seekers focus on all the wrong areas," said UpMo's director of Research and Methodology Allyn Horne.

He added, "They are spending all of their time on job boards, but nearly 8-in-10 jobs are landed through someone you know - and disturbingly, today's job seekers are neglecting their connections."

UpMo's study found that the pool of unemployed workers or professionals who planned to switch jobs in the next three months speak with or email an average of eight people outside of their current work each month.

Additionally, just 38 percent of the group's members have asked for an introduction for professional purposes in the last 30 days.

Younger generations seem to be the biggest culprits of apathetic job searches. The job search study found that Millennials, defined as individuals who began their careers after 2002, invest just 12 hours per week on employment hunting, falling far short of the 30 hours recommended by UpMo to quickly secure a job.

A similar survey conducted by Lumin Collaborative illustrates the attitudes of this group of young professions, finding that 66 percent of Millennials have low hopes of being promoted in their company.