THE 2-HOUR JOB SEARCH

Yet another guide to getting a job in the midst of a down economy where information is vast but opportunities are few.

As a senior career consultant and associate director at Duke University’s renowned Fuqua School of Business, the affable Dalton makes a living teaching people how to find opportunities to make a living. Every career guide needs a gimmick, and this one is alluring: a systemized job-search strategy that not only minimizes the amount of thinking required when winnowing down potential employers and developing a meaningful network of contacts, but ostensibly takes only two hours to execute (not including networking, informational interviews and other steps beyond the search phase). Dalton’s contention that the job-application process is an antiquated practice that hasn’t changed much despite the profusion of social media that make networking a far more efficient strategy than submitting applications blindly over the Internet is well argued, and the procedures he proposes to take advantage of the technological tools available to job seekers (including alumni databases, job boards and LinkedIn) are logical and easy to follow. Much more questionable is his assertion that the series of steps he prescribes—which include prioritizing potential employers, establishing contact with potential “boosters” at those companies through alumni and social networks and setting up informational interviews—can actually be accomplished within two hours. However, motivated job seekers in search of a systematic methodology for finding good leads and expanding their professional networks could do worse than to subscribe to this particular solution.

As good a place as any to start a new job hunt, and better than many.