Job-Hunting Techniques

In the Information Age, it might be tempting to think of job hunting as a kind of point and click trip down the information superhighway. Calling up a near endless number of Web sites, such as hotjobs.com, monster.com, BioMedNet, Genome Jobs, or Bio Online, E-mailing a resume and cover letter, and waiting for a response may seem an appropriate tactic. However, interviews with recent job seekers, employers hiring scientists, as well as those in the job-hunting profession offer a rather somewhat old-fashioned picture of finding work as the new millennium dawns.

"Most people get jobs from somebody they know," says Emily Klotz, manager of Postdoc Network, which is part of Science's Next Wave that includes a job-hunting section. "You only have to be on the other side of the desk once to realize you're going to hire someone that you know or that's been referred to you...