WHO  ARE  EMPLOYERS  HIRING?

Employers are typically scared of hiring someone about whom they
have little knowledge.  They wonder if the applicant has the skills
to perform the job, whether he or she is dependable and honest, and
will the applicant fit in.  In essence, employers fear making a
hiring mistake.  Employers are always happier to hire someone that
is recommended by an acquaintance or employee who can help assure
them that they will not be making a mistake.  Employers also know
that, statistically, applicants that have been recommended make
better employees and stay longer with the company.  The person
making the recommendation becomes a vital link in explaining the
work environment to the candidate, and providing information to the
employer about the candidate.

The easiest and most obvious job search methods, reading the want
ads or walking into employment agencies, are the least likely to
bring an unemployed person into contact with the most desirable job
openings.  This is especially true for those easy-to-fill
semiskilled and blue-collar positions.  This is because the typical
employer first considers promotion from within the company or from
those recommended by employees and then from those who contact the
employer on their own initiative.

The job market actually consists of two job markets - the
Traditional Market (want ads, placement agencies, and employment
departments) and the Informal Market (jobs that are not formally
made known to the public).  For example, every day there are
approximately 300,000 available job positions in California, of
which only 70,000 (24%) are available through the traditional
market.  The job market can be broken down as follows with the
percentage of jobs obtained from each source:

JOB SOURCES:                           PERCENTAGE         TYPE
  Friends/ relatives/ acquaintances/
  professors/ informational interviews     34%           Informal
  Direct approach to employers             30%           Informal
  Answered ads                             14%           Traditional
  Private agencies                          5%           Traditional
  State agencies                            5%           Traditional
  School placement service                  3%           If graduate
  Civil service                             1%           Traditional
  Union hall                                1%           If member
  Others                                    5%


For the next step, select "Best available job search methods" from 
the submenu.