The Job Hunt

Hunting for a summer job this year has been brutal. I work in the Alumni Office at NCC and I managed to get that incredible job through a connection with my neighbor who used to work there. Since students don't work there during the summer, I was in dire need of a job to hold me over for the next couple of months. I applied anywhere and EVERYWHERE. I would dress up and go around with my resume, and what I noticed was 9/10 companies told me "thanks for you interest, but we only accept online applications". The more I heard that, the  more I started to see signs hung on restaurants and businesses: "HIRING! Apply online".
What ever happened to 'Apply WITHIN'???
Although the internet has given us great opportunities to job hunt and maybe even search for jobs in other states or even countries that we would not have accessible to us without the internet, I feel it takes away from the experience a bit. There is only so much you can do to make yourself stand out on a resume. So, that being said, I began applying online just as they said to do, and then about a week later I would go into the store and follow up. I finally got hired at Old Navy but it really did take a while. It got me thinking about two years from now when I am applying to my first real job. I truly think networking is the key to finding a job within your desired area of interest.