By Anne Kates Smith
Kiplinger's Personal Finance
Sunday, June 15, 2008

The last time Phylise Banner looked for a job, she used a headhunter. But as someone who designs online distance-learning programs for a living, she knows the world has changed since she last pounded the pavement.

"This is a different type of search," Banner said. "I'm trying to create my own online agency to promote myself."

Banner maintains a profile on several social-networking sites, including MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn. She also uses Plaxo, an online address book that, like rival Twitter, can broadcast her job-seeking status to anyone keeping up with her comings and goings.

Banner is ahead of a big curve.

"Job seekers today don't realize the extent to which social networks are the tool to reach someone inside the corporation you've targeted," said Gerry Crispin, a corporate-recruiting consultant at CareerXroads. That's a crucial connection, considering that one-third of outside hires come from employee referrals.

On her Web site, Banner has posted the full text of her résumé, seeded with keywords she's researched on Google (click on "Get keyword ideas" at http://www.adwords.google.com), the better to turn up in an employer's search. Visit VisualCv.com to create a multimedia résumé.

Time is still of the essence in a job search -- it just moves quicker these days. Be among the first to know when a position opens by setting up automatic searches on sites such as SimplyHired or Indeed. They'll troll other sites, then send alerts to your e-mail address or via RSS feed to your social-networking or Web page.