Applying to Job Postings in Craigslist

Craigslist has no advertisements. It makes its money from job postings by employees. So are all the job postings in Craigslist real and worth applying for? One of the Boulder Net Professional (a LinkedIn based Colorado Networking Group) posed a question to the Boulder Net, whether anyone got a job by applying to one of those Craigslist postings. Another member said that she had applied to several but never got any response and doubted whether or not the postings are real. There is a really nice article in today's Wall Street Journal that asks "Is it a real job behind the job posting".

If you're launching an online job hunt for the first time in a while; take caution. What may look like an ad for employment may lead to something entirely different, like a hard sell for career services or job-training manuals. Or worse, it might be a plan by identity thieves to get you to share sensitive personal information via "phishing" expeditions. Some of the job postings -- sometimes for positions long filled -- also could be from recruiting agencies looking to collect résumés.

Definitely a advice we should all take to heart and follow. It may be a better idea to send a resume that only has an email address rather than the home address. But as the article points out, applying for these online postings may only have zero to low response rates.

Join the Boulder Net LinkedIn Group!

Membership Information for Colorado Based Groups In LinkedIn

The total addressable market size if 350,000 people who are within 50 mile radius of Boulder. Here is the information on membership of top 5 groups and of course the Boulder Net group. You can see that this group has just over 1/10 of 1% of addressable market. But compared to other groups it is 12% of top ranked group. That said, the Boulder Net group is not open enrollment and I still take the time to verify that there is some Colorado connection before accepting members.

Networking Before The Hard Times Hit

As the official unemployment rate hitting a sixteen year high of 7.2% there is concern in the minds of everyone, even those who have a relatively secure job. The Government numbers on job less count are an understatement of the real unemployment count which the Barrons editorial this week says is around 750,000 as opposed to 560,000.  Many businesses have announced layoffs but have not carried them out yet, as the layoffs roll in, typically the week before or after Super Bowl, the numbers will increase.

Naturally  people are joining networking sites and groups at a higher rate. But joining these sites and having 300+ connections is not an assured way to get jobs in a short period. Networking should be more about establishing a genuine conversation with the peers in your professional circle or in your locale. You may have to invest more in your network, tending it, helping others before you can make a withdrawal. That means the time to network is not when the layoff rumors float in your office corridors but long time before that. Building your network cannot be done in an on-demand basis but rather as a continuous process.

The members of Boulder Net LinkedIn group are connected by the locale. The group brings together diverse professionals. If you have not considered connecting with people in Boulder Net group for a professional conversation it is time now.