I talked to many successful job-search candidates in searching for some information I could share with you.  Through all the interviews, my best estimate is that the average time for an online job search is about two weeks.  Two weeks seriously.  However, some exceptions do crop up:

• If you are in a high-demand professions (anything technical or computer-related), the average time is 24 hours.  I’m not kidding.
• If you are in the field of marketing and public relations, the average time you can expect to spend on an online job is about a week.
• If you are a new college graduate, the average time is about one and a half months

One major caveat:  If you have been unemployed for a year or more because you out-and-out cannot find a job, online job searching may not serve as a magic career pill for you.  Most people who try it however, eventually have success.