Going online for a new job rarely pays.

• Position: Brief Article

In a national survey of people searching for a job, 61% said they did not use the Internet for their job searches. The generation which came of age with computers (18-34) was less likely to use the Internet than their older peers, aged 35-54 (35% vs. 45%). While men and women use the Internet in equal numbers, race was a factor in the poll: 40% of whites vs. 30% of African-Americans utilized the Internet for job hunting.

The survey, commissioned by the career management firm Bernard Haldane Associates, New York, revealed that, of those who did use the Internet for job hunting, most were disappointed. Fewer than four percent of job hunters were able to find work through Internet sites. While overall competition for jobs has increased, the Internet was not used as a resource that would give a job hunter an edge. For...