>The best, most difficult, most time-consuming way is, of course, to meet lots of people.

It really is true that networking is a high cost (in time) but high payoff approach. That is also why, when time is of the essence, networking is not a realistic option.

The longer you go without a job, the faster you want to get hired. But networking, you can't rush that. I know at least that much.

That's mostly why I posted this question- to at least get some rough idea of how much of my competition is entering "cold". I've talked to people on LinkedIn, where I'm from (Chicago) I talk to people in the immediate area. They don't answer back much, they probably have busy lives, but I wear my job search on my sleeve.