Did you know that job boards have an effectiveness rate of less than 3% in getting people jobs? Some of larger boards are even worse, with less than a 1% effectiveness rate. If you think about it, everyone is using boards to find jobs, so you have thrown your resume into pile of 600-1500 resumes employers are getting for every job posted. Not a particularly effective way to get noticed, is it?

Consider too that approximately 87% of open jobs are not even advertised! The first thing that a company does when it has an open position is ask their employees if they know anyone, internally or externally, who can fill job. Employers would much rather have a referral from someone they know than go out to open market and hire a stranger. Many companies even offer fairly large referral bonuses if an employee’s recommendation is hired.

Typically, companies will post a position internally for 30 days before looking to outside. All this means is that by time you see job, if they even advertise it, they are already interviewing recommended internal and outside candidates. This doesn’t produce very good odds for getting a job through advertised positions on web or in paper.

So how do you get to 87% of those open jobs that are not advertised. There are 3 ways: networking, headhunters and direct contact.

First of all you need to get organized so when you get that call from resumes you sent out, you know all about company that’s calling. So keep a log detailing name of company, position advertised and dates you contacted them along with any notes. (Readers may request a free log by emailing success@gotthejob.com).

“They say my résumé should be only one page long. Is that correct?”

Not necessarily. Many résumés are rightly two, three, or even more pages in length.

On other hand, many résumés are far longer than necessary. Carelessly written, they contain “TMI”—“Too Much Information”—and that mind-numbing surplus can damage or destroy a résumé’s ability to generate a job interview.

Here are some tips to help you avoid that possibility:

Eliminate “fluff.” Some of us use bloated, hackneyed, or empty phrasing that just takes up space. For example, a résumé’s objective might say something like “Accomplished Mechanical Engineer seeks an upwardly mobile, challenging position in a growing company.” Better: “A continuing career in Mechanical Engineering.” Be ruthless in cutting out language that serves no plausible purpose.

Weed out unnecessary. Few readers enjoy plowing through overly detailed job descriptions on a résumé. Make sure your duties, responsibilities, and achievements are described in only as much detail as necessary.

Avoid “flop-overs.” Save space better used elsewhere by rewriting sentences or paragraphs that end with only a few words on next line or on next page. Not only will your writing look neater, but you may also save space better used elsewhere.