Even though the job market still doesn’t show any signs of growth, new websites offering exclusive employment listings are cropping up every day. They show you current openings and requirements of the position, providing you with search results for jobs in your field.

“A lot of people are spending an enormous amount of time on the Internet, and the downside is that it’s the most competitive place you can look for a job,” says Five O’Clock Club outplacement counselor Anita Attridge.

“If you look at how jobs are filled, 10% are through the Internet, 10% through recruiters, and 80% are through direct contact with people you’ve just met while job searching,” says Attridge.

The Five O’Clock club, an outplacement group that can list its origins as early as 1883, encourages job candidates to write targeted letters to potential employers when seeking out jobs. This is done by summarizing your qualifications and accomplishments for the recipient and then asking to set up an informative meeting with a hiring manager to learn more about the company.

“Setting up meetings lets them know that you are qualified,” explains Attridge. “It’s really important in today’s market because often times you don’t know anyone [at the companies you are applying to].”

The Five O’Clock Club’s services are more personal as well – they are mainly phone-based, which means no computer or Internet required. They hold weekly conference calls for specific groups of job seekers, employed or unemployed, no matter where they live.

Similarly, web-based recruiters such as ITS and Jobfox offer job seekers advice on how to find job openings, both published and unpublished. They stress that the competition level for job applicants is sky high.

According to ITS, job seekers have plenty of options for seeking a job offline: currently, 2,000 newspapers contain classified advertising, and 2,100 trade magazines have ads for professional openings.

“It doesn’t matter what type of medium you are using to search for jobs,” says Attridge. “Think about how you want to use your time. Spending all your time on the Internet is not the most effective way,” she says, explaining that certain positions in today’s market can have 800-900 applicants.

“The competition is so great that if you don’t have another way of putting your candidacy forward, it’s not clear whether your resume will be looked at.”

As for the cost of these outplacement services, the Five O’Clock Club works with the employer’s current or previous salary when determining a going rate.

Many websites also offer a minimal fee each month to give you specialized attention, privy access to job advice, and “unpublished” job listings.

While ITS stresses that “the most exclusive recruiters still do not publish openings”, it is a fact that most companies are not required by law to post job openings on the world wide web if they wish to open the positions up to their internal candidates first.

Either way, establishing personal contact with a potential employer can only lead to a positive assessment of your work ethic and quality traits, two things that are best conveyed personally to an employer.

“You never know who else they [potential employer] might know, what information they may be able to share with you, and what insight they can give you,” says Attridge. “It’s a proactive way of running the job search.”

While the Internet has become a large resource and wealth of information for job seekers, job seekers should remember that it is not the only resource. At the end of the day, nothing beats the confidence that is won with a firm handshake and a friendly smile.