The Street Smart Job Search\” I\’ve been telling people for years that you can\’t simply hide behind a computer and email out a resume. You must make a human connection. A business research company called Whale Path recently  conducted a survey to find out how employees found their employees. I\’m happy to say that my gut instinct was right all along and gives me some proof that the offline job search still works. According to Whale Path\’s findings, the majority of job seekers under the $50,000 pay range found their jobs through offline search. The new number of 46% of people found their jobs that way, which is up from 2008. This proves that your search must become a more referral-based job search. Anyone who has grown up with the Internet might not be able to imagine what the job market was like before it came along. It was much more personal. The thing is that people hire people they know and like. Period. As an employer at a small startup company, I can tell you that this is even more important. I can\’t afford to hire the wrong person. And a resume or email alone doesn\’t tell me anything about their personality, their problem solving skills, or anything about how they will relate to other people. A job interview is like a first date. You\’re always on your best behavior. It takes really knowing someone for a long time to get that information. And since you don\’t have years to get to know someone before hiring them, the next best thing is a referral from someone who has known that person for a long time. The things that I look for in an employee can\’t be determined from a resume or email. This comes from knowing a person\’s work ethic and personality, neither of which translate on paper. So, it seems if you\’re looking for a job, and especially one under $50,000 a year, tooting your own horn to everyone you know through an offline job search just might help you land a job.