In your job search, you've talked to your ex-boss, five former co-workers, your in-laws and their in-laws. You've e-mailed your sister, your first cousins and even your second and third cousins. You've probed for leads from your pastor, your best friends, your Uncle John and your niece Sue. You've handed out more business cards than you can count at chamber of commerce lunches. You've even left four voice mails for that guy who moved to Texas. He hasn't called back.

If you continue in this manner, you're bound to find someone who knows someone, but it isn't likely to be soon. The guy from Texas has given up on the corporate world and is on an extended vacation in Mexico. Your relatives would love to help, but don't know anyone influential in your industry. And members of the chamber of commerce simply aren't hiring.

What's the Alternative?

Networking is usually defined as seeking referrals through others. The emphasis is on securing an introduction to a hiring manager before you make the call. Almost everyone who has ever studied job hunting will tell you that it's the surest method of finding a job, yet you've networked your network to the bone and the results are skimpy or nonexistent. Don't fret. Research shows that there's another method of landing interviews that's even better than networking.

It's called direct contact, and it means just that: making cold calls to people who might be able to hire you, and telling them about your availability and interest in working for them. Research shows that it's surprisingly effective.

A 2002 survey of professionals, managers and executives by the Five O'Clock Club, a career-counseling network based in New York City, shows that direct contact is a more effective use of time when seeking meetings with hiring managers.

These polled job seekers called association members, professionals identified through newspaper articles or Internet research, and other contacts who were in a position to hire.

Surveyed job hunters spent 24% of their time making these kinds of cold calls, which yielded 27% of their meetings. In contrast, they spent 45% of their time networking, yet this job-search technique produced only 35% of their meetings, the Five O'Clock Club reports.

While these results may not seem too startling, they reveal that "direct contact is the most time-efficient method for getting meetings because you can take action yourself," says Richard Bayer, chief operating officer of the Five O'Clock Club. "Networking takes more time and is more cumbersome than using direct contact, because if you're networking, you have to use a third party. Then you may have to get yet another name," before you reach the hiring authority.

Direct contact was effective for even the senior executives who were surveyed by the Five O'Clock Club. Although they secured most of their meetings through networking, direct contact accounted for almost 30%.

Carol Carson, a director at HR OneChoice, an organizational-development consulting firm with offices in Dallas and San Jose, Calif., recommends that job seekers spend at least 80% of their time on the phone contacting hiring managers directly. "I have always taught cold-calling," she says.

Why Direct Contact Works

Why is direct contact so effective? The approach emphasizes looking for new positions in the marketplace before they're known to the general public via newspapers and other advertising.

Using direct contact circumvents the many time-consuming steps required by traditional methods of job searching. You don't have to find someone who can refer you to a hiring manager. And, "if you're applying to a large corporation, you must get through a series of screening techniques...filling out an application, getting your resume entered into a database, getting through the human-resources department, and passing a phone interview before you even see the face of a decision maker," says J. Michael Farr, chief executive officer of JIST Publishing Inc., an Indianapolis producer of career-advice books. "Picking up the phone and talking to somebody almost always works better."

Dr. Bayer concurs: "Everyone makes the mistake of placing too much importance on published openings." His advice? "Contact organizations that don't publicize openings now, and stay in touch with them. This increases the chance they'll hire you, rather than post the job, when they need help."

Four Simple Steps

Most job seekers can use this technique if they apply some time-tested tactics. It involves just a few simple steps.

1. Adjust your attitude.

Adopt the posture of a busy CEO running your own business. When you approach executives and hiring managers at businesses you'd like to work for, think of yourself as an equal. Act as if you're a busy professional making a business proposal, rather than a job hunter seeking a position. Think of your resume as a powerful business proposal outlining a contribution you'd like to make to that company, not as a document describing past accomplishments.

2. Do your homework on employers.

Select the companies you'd like to work for, regardless of whether there's an advertised opening. You can choose companies you already know about, peruse the Yellow Pages for businesses in your area, or plumb Internet databases. Your search parameters can include industry, location and company size.

A helpful online database is Hoovers.com, which offers a lot of useful company information free of charge. This includes a company synopsis, headquarters and subsidiary locations, list of competitors, press releases, news stories, names of executives and other related material. Paying a monthly fee allows access to more detailed information, including the names of departmental directors and executives.

Your local library may have other helpful business databases. If you're unemployed, you'll most likely qualify to use a local government-sponsored Career One-Stop Center, which provide a wide range of work force assistance and resources. Finally, most outplacement firms have access to proprietary databases. Using Dun & Bradstreet's Million Dollar Database, you can search for public and private companies within a specified distance of your home ZIP Code.

3. Research the decision makers.

Once you've targeted the companies you'd like to work for, identify the person with the power to hire you. Most likely, this is the boss of the person who would be your manager if you worked at that company. Introduce yourself, by phone, with a "pitch" that includes your name, level of experience and a key accomplishment. If he or she is receptive, give them a bit of background information on, say, your education, and request an interview.

4. Follow up.

Offer answers to the contact's objections. If he or she says, "We don't have any openings right now," your response should be: "That's fine. What I'm really interested in is finding a company that's a good match for my skills for the long term. I'd like to meet with you to discuss potential future opportunities. When would this be convenient?"

After you've agreed on an appointment time, send a thank-you note citing your appreciation for the manager's time on the phone and confirming the meeting.

Picking Up the Phone

It's true that most people don't want to pick up the phone and "pitch" their skills to a complete stranger. But many job seekers have had success with this approach.

Michael Vasquez, an unemployed director of engineering in Concord, Calif., was laid off last summer. Initially, he balked at the idea of cold calling. "I'm not a salesman," he protested. "I'm an engineer!" But since he'd been jobless for seven months and was running out of funds, he decided to give it a try.

Mr. Vasquez didn't hit pay dirt on his first, second even tenth call. It took 15 tries before he finally set up an appointment. He secured a meeting with an engineering executive at a large media conglomerate. The interview was a success. Six weeks ago, he was promised a senior engineering manager position in the next three months, when the job is vacated due to retirement. He's continuing to search in the interim as he knows the hiring climate at employers can shift at any time.

As a sales and marketing executive in San Jose, Toni Goldberg was an old hand at cold calling. After being laid off from International Business Machines Corp. in 2001, she made this method her chief job-search tool. Ms. Goldberg was either lucky, or all those years of cold calling as a young sales manager paid off. She made appointments for four face-to-face meetings in less than an hour. She had her pick of new positions. Within three weeks, she had accepted an offer that came with an 18% pay increase.

Given the scarcity of openings in this tight job market, relying on published advertisements isn't the best way to learn about available positions. And when networking isn't working, direct contact is an effective route to a new job.

It doesn't take a special personality to use this strategy. Even shy people can make it work. Be prepared to persist. The majority of your calls won't result in a meeting. When one finally does, you'll be booking an interview before your competition gets a chance to lick the stamp.