As of December 2009, the number of unemployed persons is at 15.3 million and the unemployment rate at 10 percent. At the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons was 7.7 million, and the unemployment rate was 5.0 percent. The bottom line is the traditional approach most job seekers have taken in the past is no longer viable.

Traditional methods would steer you towards looking for job ads and faxing or e-mailing a resume to a company, completing an on-line application, or even posting a resume on-line…then cross your fingers and hope that you will get a call back.

One of my recruiters reviewed an article which concluded that 80% of people get their jobs by knowing someone. Eighty percent! Now don’t get me wrong, having a great resume is usually pretty crucial to earning an interview. The question is how do you get your resume noticed? If you reviewed my posting, How to Land a Great Job, Part 1: You Have 15 Seconds to Make a First Impression, you received some tips from an employer's perspective on how to make your resume stand out amongst the thousands; however, we cannot ignore that this is the era of social connectivity.

With the evolution of the internet over the past couple of years, you can play a more active role in landing that great job by exploring the networking tools available right at your finger tips!

There is a great on-line tool called LinkedIn, which works similarly to Facebook, but is designed for professionals. You make a profile, which is really a virtual resume of sorts, and invite current and past colleagues and classmates to be a connection. Also, don’t underestimate Facebook and MySpace. You might think of these websites as purely social-casual forums, but think of all of those people who may work for companies or even know people in your industry that may have some jobs coming available soon.

A final thought. Many companies are beginning to see the usefulness of these social-networking sites, and there is a huge trend in which recruiters are finding candidates for jobs through LinkedIn, Facebook, and MySpace. My tip? Keep it clean...make sure you are proud of the on-line face you present.

Are you connected?