'Our website provides the opportunity to build up a professional network, where prospective employers and employees come to network, connect and build relevant contacts. Various job openings are also listed in a section from where you can look out for job opportunities,' said a staff member of ibibo.com who did not want to be named.

Agreeing that these websites act as an added benefit for job seekers, Megha Sareen, a freelance writer, said she got her dream job after she posted 'looking for a job' status on her profile on one of these websites.

'I posted my current profile and added the status messages as 'looking for a job'. In response to this, I got e-mails and posts from interested employers, friends on my list and friends of friends,' said 24-year-old Sareen who is freelancing for a firm.

She said these sites also offer a unique opportunity as there are communities that one can visit to befriend those working in a company that one wants to join.

'People log on to communities and groups of various companies on these sites. So it is easy to make friends with them and it is also good to build one's contact for the future,' she added.

For students like Rachit Puri, the future looks a bit more bright.

'Even though I am a student still, I have made my profile on such sites so that I can start building contacts from now itself,' said Puri, who is a third year student of computer science engineering at Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology.

'I make it a point to add people employed with top software firms and, who knows, I may get a call from Microsoft,' he said.

'Earlier people used to run from pillar to post to build contacts, but now it is possible at just the click of a mouse,' added Puri.

(Vaishali Bhambri can be contacted at vaishali.bhambri@gmail.com)