Person-to-person networking remains the most successful job-seeking tool in the Northeast, according to a new study by Right Management, which analyzed job data on the more than 6,000 regional individuals who used career transition services during the last three years. 

Forty-five percent of respondents used traditional networking to gain employment while only 19 percent of respondents relied on Internet job boards.

"The job search is changing, and some methods are losing ground to others, but classic, systematic networking continues to be most effective way to find suitable employment," says Peter Russell, career management practice leader of Right Management. "Of course, technology is playing a growing role, but online social networking may not always be separate from traditional networking since one so often leads to the other. A job seeker may use the Internet to track down former associates or acquaintances and then reach out to them in person. Just like the cold call, the Internet is a way to make an initial contact with a prospective employer."