I recently did a hiring workshop put on by the Department of Labor and they said something very similar. The internet is where job seekers start these days, but it is also one of the last places employers go to find somebody to do the job. They threw up a shocking statistic that only about 10% of people got hired through internet postings and somewhere in the neighborhood of 70% got hired through personal contacts. That doesn't mean that you have to know somebody working at your airline of choice, but firing off your resume and then not attending a career fair or visiting the HR department probably won't help you get a job.

I'm reminded of an article several years ago in "Airliners" where one of the regular authors said he was on a layover in Seattle and his run route took him by the Alaska corporate offices. He stopped in to check on his resume, in sweaty running clothes, and was walked around to meet with several hiring officials. He got the job.