Eight years ago I was a freelance writer. For reasons I could not understand, my list of clients was getting smaller and smaller, and I felt that perhaps it was time to look for a full-time job rather than continue to struggle. I took a couple of refresher courses in computer work and looked for about a year, finally landing a job with a respected publishing house where I still work. My job hunt consisted of the usual routes. I told everyone I know that I was looking for a job, looked at all the appropriate newspapers, and put my resume on the Internet. On Monster.com, of course, the one everyone talked about. My resume is good; I have years of experience, good education, and excellent references. I put in all the right “buzz words” that would attract the attention of employers. So how would you explain the fact that I have not got a single response from Monster.com? I am not exaggerating. My resume was not picked by any publishing house. In the meantime, I got my job through answering an ad in the New York Times, in the old fashioned way. Since I was working, I had completely forgotten about my resume on Monster.com, but when I was asked to write this article, I suddenly remembered and checked. The resume is still there, and eight years later, still not a single call from any employer!

 A friend whose experience and education are wonderful, also in publishing, has recently put her resume on Careerbuilder.com. They are very, very active, on this site. They send her a list of jobs almost every day. Most of these jobs, however, have little to do with what is stated on her resume. She gets such things as training to be a truck driver, catering, and teaching. Nice jobs, but for which she has no credentials at all. She had applied to some publishing jobs, about two a week, and did not receive a single response. In addition, my friend had been approached by a related company who was supposedly endorsed by Careerbuilders.com, called Resume Mailman. She paid about fifty dollars so that her resume will be distributed to 295 local recruiters. This was three months ago. Not a single response. This company seems to me to be a scam, though I have no proof of it. Another company, called “Resume Rabbit” has been contacting her almost every day with the same offer. She knows better now.

 So what is going on? You would say, maybe this is specific to publishing and journalism, two fields that are very badly hit by the economy. Well, two people I know, both young, intelligent, with brilliant resumes, are working for the furniture industry. They are project managers, supplying furniture to new and renovated office spaces, a hot industry. Both have about ten years experience, making them the most desirable job candidates for corporations. One of them had his resume on Monster.com for five years. The other had it there for two years. Each of them got one response over the years. One response. And yet, you hear from everywhere that the Internet is the only way to find a job. That newspapers no longer work, that word of mouth is useless because companies shrink, outsource, and cut down. I have no answer. I don’t understand it. But if you had the same experience, if the Internet has failed you, this is not your fault. Something is wrong with the system. I wish someone would explain it to me.