By Elia Kazan
An excerpt from “Research and Advice” (2026)

Word of Mouth; Nepotism Still Alive
When it comes to employment, how are people actually getting jobs? The most common way people are landing careers (especially the “good” ones that pay dope money) is via word of mouth from family members and friends. Ah-ha! The classic nepotism of the past! It is still alive and well, thriving actually in this digital age. A 2025 survey of U.S. workers confirmed this biological reality: 54 percent of respondents report landing a job through a personal or professional connection. Referrals from friends and colleagues are outpacing job boards, recruiters, and staffing firms as the most effective “strategy” in the hunt. In that survey, 32 percent credited personal connections and 28 percent credited professional connections as the top tool in their most recent job search.^[1]

Navigating Job Boards and Platforms

For general career searches (read searches, not applying) across most industries, try Indeed since it aggregates listings from a variety of sources. LinkedIn excels for white-collar positions and ego-tripping posts for meaningless “achievements.” Glassdoor also has job postings, plus company reviews and salary information. ZipRecruiter and Monster are notable mentions. Craigslist is very informal, but it can be used for local, hourly, or gig work. While Craigslist does in fact have real people posting on there, it’s been recently inundated with scammers.  
For remote, flexible, or tech-focused opportunities, several options stand out. FlexJobs curates remote and freelance roles, though it requires a paid membership. We Work Remotely (free for basic), Remote.co (free), and Working Nomads (free for basic) showcase remote positions, particularly in tech, design, and marketing. For tech, IT, engineering, and startup roles, check out Dice (free for basic), Wellfound (free), and Stack Overflow Jobs (free). For designers and creative professionals, check out Behance (free) and Dribbble Jobs (free for basic). For trades, service, and logistics roles, check out Snagajob (free) and Jobcase (free).
For government, education, and nonprofit positions, USAJobs is the official federal platform, while HigherEdJobs, GovernmentJobs.com, and Idealist serve education and nonprofit sectors reliably. For official U.S. government apprenticeship programs, Apprenticeship.gov. For specialized or public-sector employment, check out state and city .gov job boards, as well as union-specific listings in a particular union, or check out PublicServiceCareers.org.

Strategic Application Tactics

Use these websites to “locate” which employers may be hiring, but I strongly urge people not to use these jobs sites to apply directly. Find the job, go directly to the employers website or contact their HR for next steps. When I uploaded my resume to Indeed, I never had more robo-calls in my life. And in no time, I noticed my name and address appearing on numerous “people finding” websites.
No matter which one you use, my advice is to never give it important personal information as previously discussed. Don’t upload your resume, your CV, none of your personal information, etc. That’s just asking for the selling of your information, and constant robo-calls.
Exercise caution when using online job-search websites. Be mindful of creating profiles or submitting personal information for listings that may be misleading or fraudulent. While not all online postings are problematic, some may primarily collect data for resale. If a job opportunity is appealing, consider reaching out directly to the company’s HR department or a relevant contact within the organization to inquire about the position. If they are unwilling to engage in a preliminary conversation and instead direct you only to their online application, treat the opportunity with skepticism. Career opportunities are often built through human relationships and networking, rather than relying solely on large online applicant pools.
In sum, while job boards are useful tools for identifying potential opportunities, realize these are not the companies themselves. Use these platforms to discover openings, but visit the company’s official website to apply directly. You can always reach out to employees or HR representatives for further direction.

Protecting Your Personal Data

When applying for jobs online, it is important to exercise caution with personal information. Never provide sensitive details such as your Social Security number, financial account information, or full date of birth in an initial application or on your CV. Personal contact details, such as a professional email and phone number, are sufficient, but be careful with those as well. The rule of thumb is; you don’t know who you are sending your information to, and any company is liable to a data breach; so ask yourself, do you really want your personal phone number out in the open?
I recommend creating a job-specific email address and, if desired, a secondary or burner phone number for initial applications. It is generally safe to omit your home address, as most modern applications do not require it for initial submissions. On your resume, omit or redact information that could be exploited, including your social security number, full birth date, or personal ID numbers. Limiting all this information helps reduce the risk of identity theft or data misuse, especially on less-established job boards or platforms that may collect and sell candidate data. Always verify the legitimacy of the company and the platform before submitting sensitive documents, and consider reaching out to HR or a known company contact to confirm opportunities. Job seekers should be cautious of “ghost listings” or fraudulent postings that may appear on major platforms like Indeed, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, ZipRecruiter, and Monster, as some of these listings can collect personal data for resale or misuse.

Managing Your Digital Footprint

Removing your personal information on the internet is work but it’s doable. Google your name, visit each website, and request each one to remove your listing (typically located at the bottom of the website).
Personally, I am wary of hiring one of these “we’ll-scrub-your-name-off-the-internet” companies because that’s just another company you have to now worry about. Especially if they are “subscription” based, if the subscription ends, then my information will potentially repopulate. I think it’s better to simply “be your own lawyer” in this situation and go through each website one by one to remove your name and information.
This is also one reason I don’t vote. Why? So state election offices and private data brokers can not listen to me anyway and then just collect all my personal information and sell it to third-parties? Nearly every state makes voter registration data accessible to third parties like political campaigns, researchers, and data brokers. In fact, many states legally mandate that voter rolls be public documents, which subjects your name, address, and party affiliation to a “digital roster” that can be bought, sold, or exposed.
Protect your data. Don’t give it out like candy. Whatever you put on the internet, scammers think it’s “free game.” 

^[1] MyPerfectResume, “Networking Nation: 54 % of Workers Got Hired Through a Connection,” Networking Nation Report (May 2, 2025), summary in CPA Practice Advisor, August 14, 2025, https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/2025/08/14/survey-54-of-workers-got-hired-through-a-connection/167378/