The WSJ reported last month that in 2009, 51% of job openings were filled through internal hires. Seriously? Someone got paid to do a survey to determine this?

Without getting paid a dime, I did my own informal poll on Facebook. My FB friends are former colleagues, current colleagues, friends, former classmates, family members, former super-special clients and a few Canadians. I asked, “How did you find your last job?” Here are the fascinating results:

Former co-worker/friend (7), including one random interaction at a Super Bowl party, one Facebook status change response and one random remark that led to a job offer.

Newspaper (1)

Colleague (1)

Online (3)

Headhunter (2)

Volunteering (1)

Referral (1)

That’s why I harp so much about the importance and value of networking (done right, thank you very much) in today’s job market. Yeah, I know, y’all hate networking. Good networking happens all the time, and you don’t even know it (please see Former Co-worker/Friend responses above).

And a little brag… Three people I’ve been working with all got job offers in the same week. None based on their resumes. My next blog post is going to be about resumes, again. You’re not going to like what I have to say, but I’m going to say it anyway.