"Contrary to popular advertising campaigns, no one was ever hired through Monster or CareerBuilder for a dream job, says Punk Rock HR gal Laurie Ruettimann in a post titled Networking Sucks. Do it Anyway. "You know the only way to get a good job is to ask for it."

But we already knew this, right? In our recent study on Networking and Career Advancement, UpMo revealed that consistent, strategic networking - rather than submitting resumes to job postings - is more likely to land the job you want. Here's what the pundits are saying about the future of job boards:

• Quint Careers 2009 annual report predicts job boards will be gone in 10 years or less. Katharine Hansen writes, "Job-seekers lament the lack of relevant jobs that turn up in searches, vague job descriptions that don't identify the employer, a user-unfriendly process, and the black-hole experience of posting a resume or applying to a job board's job posting. ... Meanwhile, hiring decision-makers fume over bombardment with vast numbers of resumes from unqualified candidates. One of the job-board features that initially made them so attractive - ease of applying for jobs - has made them a significant nightmare for employers.
• The 8th Annual Source of Hire Study by Gerry Crispin and Mark Mehler of CareerXRoads shows that HR departments' use of job boards is declining. Aside from the desire to reduce the costs of outside recruiting services, HR professionals are taking advantage of social networking tools, search engine marketing and emphasizing the importance of referrals.
• What does this mean for you, the job seeker, career changer or UpMover?
  UpMo's CEO, Promise Phelon, recently Twittered: "Thinking about the new era of job-search - 100% relationship based. Reputation will be everything."
  
  Now more than ever, companies need to obliterate risk in their hires. In this scenario, they're much more likely to consider a pre-vetted referral from an internal source than stranger from a job board. In this hyper-competitive environment, you need a plan that taps into your professional network. You need to know where you want to be relative to where you are today, and how to leverage your network.
  
  In this post on 7 Attributes of Great Online Candidates, Sarah Welstead writes: "They know how to leverage social media. All of their contacts know they are looking for work, what they want to do and how they intend to get it.
  
  "As job boards diminish in importance and effectiveness, and hiring decision-makers shift their approaches to connecting with talent, digital presence becomes a must," writes Katharine Hansen in the Quint Careers report. Using social media for discussion is one thing, but having a "home base" blog or website is strongly recommended.
  
  There's a definite shift happening here, and it's at the core of the movement toward personal branding. Rather than responding to advertised job postings and keeping our fingers crossed, we now have more powerful options. Through networking and online tools, we can stage personal ad campaigns that project who we are and what we can do and what we want to do.
  
  Related Resources
  
  How to Manage Your Career Like a Superstar
  
  When Your Network Speaks, Does Opportunity Listen?
  
  Earn More Through Networking: An Interview With Scot Herrick