i attended a biz dev event last week that was put together by alex taub (@alextaub). it was probably one of the best events i have recently attended and i suggest if you haven’t attended before make sure you go to the next one.

the topic was about bd vs sales and the panel included steve cheney (bd at groupme), eric friedman (bd at foursquare), jane kim (bd at hashable), and wiley cerilli (ceo of singleplatform). the bd vs sales topic was extremely informative, but one thing that really caught my attention was when steve briefly discussed that he plans on never directly applying for a job again.

i found this to be one of the biggest lessons i took away from the event. the entire job search process has diverted away from the core of what is most important: developing relationships with professionals and peers  in the industry of your interest. why is that? because it makes it easy–almost too easy. the resume drop has become the industry standard, yet it is the most impersonal and least effective way of getting that dream job.

the monster.coms and several other job search platforms have made looking for a job an emotionless and pragmatic process that has forced many companies to adopt a similar stance.  every job that i have found has always been through warm relationships that i have had with my peers. i know the job market has been tough the last few years so i suggest that if you are looking for a job you should be out there building relationships, networking, and marketing yourself. i see so many people hopping on job boards, applying to 100+ jobs and then sitting back hoping they magically get an interview. this just does not work for most people. you need to put a face to the resume and build a network with both the company and industry where you want to launch or extend your career.

my final piece of advice: you should be out there building your reputation so that when an amazing opportunity comes along someone in your network can say “hey, i know a great guy for this position.” personal introductions are so much more powerful than a resume drop.