Does it make sense to pony up for $100K-plus job sites?

Others doubt the very model of job-aggregation sites. "Job boards in general are pretty ineffective for most job hunters; paying for the privilege of adding your résumé to an already bloated database does nothing to help your odds. I am not inclined to recommend that someone pony up money for such a low chance of a return," noted Mark E. Bolles, co-author of Job Hunting Online. He added that most career Web sites generate 10 résumés for every posting, and he expected the 100K sites attracted a greater ratio than 10 jobseekers for every job.

Opton of ExecuNet actually agrees saying, "If you're putting your résumé in with 3 million others, good luck." For him, that's an argument for the exclusivity of his service.

In fall 2007 Norwalk, Conn., resident Lou Dimeglio, who worked in corporate finance for 15 years, was laid off and joined TheLadders for six months. He expected access to "premium jobs because Ladders said it has relationships with clients that wouldn't advertise on free job boards." He applied for 40 to 50 jobs in corporate finance but never secured an interview and canceled after six months.

Dimegilo's major complaint is that these job sites don't offer exclusive listings as promised, and jobs are also found on free career sites. Both TheLadders and ExecuNet CEOs acknowledged that not all listings were exclusive, but neither would reveal what percentage of them was proprietary, although the ExecuNet Web site states clearly that it offers "confidential $150K+ executive jobs you won't find anywhere else."

Based on the feedback from a cross section of its 30,000 members, Matt Bud, chairman of the Financial Executives Networking Group, said these specialty Web sites rarely work. "Lightning does strike," he said, and isolated people may obtain six-figure jobs, but paying $180 to $400 a year for access to these listings doesn't make much sense. These sites depend on "selling life jackets to people who are drowning," he quipped.

Connie Data English, director of alumni career services at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business, said 85 percent of jobs are found through networking and referrals but still encourages MBA students to add the 100K Web sites to their job search. Her advice to MBA students? Use them as one part of a comprehensive pursuit that includes networking and contacting executive recruiters, identifying out-of-the-way manufacturing jobs, and tapping ExecuNet's job alert, where members are automatically e-mailed about job openings within their specialty and geographic area.