What the Poll Said vs. What Really Works in the Job Market

By Joseph Haecker

A couple of weeks ago, I ran a simple poll on LinkedIn:

“What is the best way to land a job in today’s market?”

The results were interesting:

🔹 Sending resumes & cover letters — 8%

🔹 A referral from a friend — 65%

🔹 Building a personal brand — 23%

🔹 Other — 4%

Those numbers tell a story — but the story they tell isn’t the whole reality of how hiring actually happens today.

Let’s unpack what people think works vs. what data shows actually works.

Reality Check: Referrals Don’t Scale — But They Still Matter

Nearly two-thirds of respondents chose “a referral from a friend.” On the surface, that makes sense — decades of research confirm that referral-based hiring consistently delivers better retention and quality.

According to LinkedIn’s own Talent Trends reports, referrals remain the top source of quality hires, often filling roles faster and with better cultural fit than traditional applications. For many job seekers, this feels like the best path because it’s personal, human, and directly connects you to someone inside the hiring process.

But here’s the rub:

🔹 Most people don’t actually have a referral waiting for them.

🔹 Most job seekers don’t work in industries where they have 10+ internal connections.

🔹 Affiliates and data from job boards show referrals account for fewer total job placements than recruiters claim — because the majority of applicants have no one to vouch for them.

So while referrals do work, they aren’t a strategy you can reliably count on unless you already have the network to make them happen.

Why Resumes Really Didn’t Win

Only 8% of responders chose resumes and cover letters. That aligns with the real experience many of us have had:

• The average corporate job post can attract hundreds — sometimes thousands — of applicants.(1)

• Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) filter out a large percentage of applications before a human ever sees them. In fact, 75–80% of resumes never make it past the first automated screen. (2)

• Resumes aren’t gone. But in an era of AI, automation, and keyword optimization, a well-formatted résumé might help you get through an ATS — but it won’t get you noticed by the humans who ultimately make hiring decisions.

• Personal Branding Isn’t a Trend — It’s a Strategic Advantage

• About 23% of people voted for building a personal brand, and that number should be much higher.

Data from multiple sources — including LinkedIn’s own 2024 Workplace Learning Report — show that professionals who consistently publish content, share insights, and engage around their expertise are 3–5 times more likely to be tapped for opportunities than peers who rely on static profiles. (3)

Here’s why:

🔹 Personal branding communicates context, not just content.

🔹 A résumé tells what you’ve done.

🔹 Your story tells how and why you did it.

🔹 Recruiters increasingly search platforms like LinkedIn for signals of leadership, influence, and expertise — not just keywords.

And yet many job seekers still treat branding as extra — something nice to have — instead of essential. That’s where the poll results and reality start to diverge.

The Disconnect: What People Think Works vs. What Actually Works

The poll reflects what job seekers wish was true:

“Just get a referral from a friend and the job will come.”

But here’s what we actually know:

✔ Referrals work — when you have them.

✔ Resumes still matter — but only to get past filters.

✔ Personal branding is underutilized — yet it’s the only scalable strategy beyond referrals.

In a world where 8–9 out of 10 resumes are never seen by a person, and where not every job seeker has a referral network, the only strategy you can control is your visibility.

Algorithms Are Not Hiring Managers

This is where most of the job market still gets it wrong:

• They’ve handed the hiring process to machines and signals:

• Who used the right keywords

• Who optimized their résumé with the greatest efficiency

• Who passed the automated filters

But hiring managers (the real people who make offers) don’t hire machines. They hire people they believe in.

And machines don’t tell stories.

A referral gives context. A personal brand lives in context.

Resumes feed machines.

Stories invite humans to engage.

Why Personal Branding Should Be #1

Personal branding is not a vibe.

It’s not a side project.

It’s your career’s signal in a noisy world.

🔹 It gives depth to your expertise

🔹 It signals leadership and curiosity

🔹 It creates a portfolio of your thinking, not your formatting

🔹 It gives recruiters something to remember

A referral can get you a meeting.

Your résumé can get you a screen.

But your story can start the conversation.

And in a hiring world built for automation and optimization, personalization stands out — because it’s rare and real.

How to Act on This Today

If you’re looking for a job right now:

• Stop relying on résumés alone.

• Submit them — but treat them as entry documents, not your story.

• Invest in your personal brand.

• Publish insights. Share case studies. Talk about how you solve problems.

• Build content that signals expertise.

• A post on LinkedIn. An article on a platform like Open To Work Social. A short video sharing a key lesson.

• Use referrals when you have them — but don’t depend on them.

• A network helps. A brand creates one.

• Measure your visibility.

Page views, engagement, comments — not just application clicks.

Final Thought

Your résumé is a static record of your past.

Your personal brand is a dynamic signal of your value.

A referral might open a door once.

Your brand opens doors every day.

The poll was a good snapshot of what people believe works. But the reality — backed by data and experience — shows that personal branding is the only strategy that scales for every job seeker.

And if you think resumes still matter more than stories…the market is already proving otherwise.

---

Sources

(1) Average job post application volume varies by industry; examples abound in HR studies and ATS reports.

(2) LinkedIn and HR research show high ATS rejection rates.

(3) LinkedIn Workplace Learning and content engagement data show that active content creators see higher opportunity rates.