graduate school. You are more likely to hear helpful news about an opening from someone who knows you and likes you than from someone who only sees your name printed on a piece of paper.

The favorite job-hunting tools in this country—resumes, agencies, and advertisements—are seldom effective by themselves. One study found that among companies that received resumes, one job was offered and accepted for every 1,470 resumes that were received (Jensen 1995). Many of the people hiring for these companies are overwhelmed by mass-produced resumes and computer-generated cover letters, all of which make a strong case for their applicant (Tobias et al. 1995).

The Internet is rapidly becoming more interactive and helpful: you can join a newsgroup, trade advice on bulletin boards and make contacts worldwide. You will find many first-person anecdotes about how the job market works—and does not work—as well as tips, queries, complaints, anecdotes, statistics, and advice about such topics as the job search, getting along with your adviser, and forming dissertation support groups. The National Research Council's online Career Planning Center For Beginning Scientists and Engineers centralizes job openings, career information, guidance, and links to other forms and sources of information. It also provides a location for you to post your resume online.

Bolles recommends what he calls the "creative" job search. Start, he says, by figuring out your best skills and favorite subjects. Then learn all you can about any employers that interest you. Finally, use your contacts to seek out people who have the power to hire you and arrange to talk with them. He claims that this technique, if used diligently, is the most successful in finding the right job for you. The next best