Networking with follow-up is the most effective. The key to a successful job search is contacts. Most people can sell themselves better in person than on paper. While the tailored resumes you send to search firms, ads and direct mail targets are important and deserve your attention, they will never possess the power of a good relationship.

Resume search is important for the job interview, too. Most of us are more comfortable moving into unfamiliar territory if we have a map of the terrain. When you have researched an individual company to tailor your resume, you know a great deal about its products-- services, mission, philosophy, revenues, and so forth. This information can be very valuable in preparing good questions and answers for initial and subsequent interviews. Employers like candidates who are savvy enough to do some homework before their first meeting. In customizing your resume, you are pursuing two objectives simultaneously: You are creating a powerful written sales tool, and you are developing a verbal testament about why a specific employer should hire you. If you think of your resume-writing process as the best preparation for a rigorous interview session, you will be more likely to give it the time it deserves.

Most new jobs won't come from our biggest employers. They will come from our smallest. We've got to do everything we can to make entrepreneurial dreams a reality.
Ross Perot