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So much for the benefits of technology. Internet-addicted job seekers may be partly to blame for the fact that the unemployed are taking 23% longer to find a new position than it took during the last recession, when the "benefits" of online job searching were unavailable. "A growing number of unemployed Americans waste time browsing the estimated 4,000 to 5,000 online job sites, blanketing them with resumes, and then waiting for callbacks. It is a formula for long-drawn-out joblessness," argues John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of the international outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

Since the onset of the recession in March, 2001, the average duration of unemployment has grown to 15.2 weeks, 23% longer than the 12.4 weeks it took job seekers to become reemployed during the pre-Internet-era recession that lasted from July, 1990, to March, 1991. While the Internet has the potential to be very useful for job seekers, Challenger indicates that it has become the primary tool for many, when it should be considered secondary to the traditional technique of meeting prospective employers in person.

In addition to slowing job search efforts, the Internet is prolonging the hiring process for the employer. In a survey of 5,000 recruiters and hiring managers by an online resume site, 92% said they were inundated with irrelevant responses. Seventy-one percent said that a majority of the resumes they received in response to an online job posting did not match the position's description.

"The more irrelevant resumes managers have to wade through in order to select the handful to bring in for interviews, the longer it takes to fill the position," points out Challenger. "One result of this has been the increased use of screening software by employers. This will make it even more difficult for job seekers to get their resume in front of the hiring executive for an interview.

"All of this is not say that the Internet has not revolutionized job [hunting]. It has certainly made it easier for someone in San Francisco, for example, to search for job openings in Miami. In addition, ability to conduct keyword searches has reduced the amount of time it takes to target the type of position a person is seeking."

One Internet researcher puts the number of job or resume sites at 4,000 to 5,000, up from 300 in 1995. Additionally, over 460 of the Fortune 500 companies now post job openings on their websites. "Job seekers must learn how to use the Internet as the tool it can be, rather than just relying on it as a conduit for electronic resumes," concludes Challenger.