Some of you may remember the days when finding a job involved searching through the newspaper or Pennysaver’s “Help Wanted” ads. The ad would often tell you how to apply; a resume sent via fax machine, maybe in-person, through the mail, or sometimes even over the phone. After you found jobs that piqued your interest, you would go to the library (or wherever there was an available copy machine) and make copies of your resume to send out. You’d also spend part of your search driving around and visiting businesses to find out if they were hiring. It was a tedious process.
In 1998, only 15% of job seekers used the Internet to find jobs, and nearly 65% contacted the employer in-person. Today, most job seekers can’t imagine job hunting without the Internet, and few people would think to walk into a place like Google and ask for a job.