Scenario: Tomorrow you find out that you no longer have a job. (Theoretically speaking…I don’t wanna jinx anybody from my unemployed voodoo blog.)
Where’s the first place you think to begin your job search? Obviously the internet, but more specifically you go to the spot where the most jobs are located, CareerBuilder.com or Monster.com. The problem is, you and about 45 million other people are competing for the same jobs blindly. Sounds crazy, right?
Look at 2008 vs 2009. CareerBuilder’s traffic nearly doubled in just 1 year’s time.
It’s no secret that there hasn’t exactly been a significant increase of job opportunities over the past year… From the influx of visitors to these websites and lack of marketing dollars being spent to use them as a recruiting tool, one can draw a pretty clear conclusion. (You wont need rocket science for this one.) There is an extremely lopsided ratio of applicants to job postings. Why should that matter if you’re a qualified candidate, you ask?
Well, applying from a job board is like printing and folding a paper plane copy of your resume and throwing it into an infinite black hole.
- You have no direction as to where it’s going (unless you twist the tip and put a paperclip on the back wing).
- You have no control over who will receive it.
- You have no idea when it will be read.
- You are clueless as to the next step in their hiring process.
- Sometimes, you don’t even know what organization is recruiting for the position!
This just doesn’t seem very fair to any job applicant. Having been a recruiter at one time, I understand the logic. But I still find it quite irritating as a potential interviewee to be subject to so many variables. It’s hard enough to update my damn resume!
I suppose the smart applicants find a way to hunt down this relevant information of the job posting for follow-ups. Although, this is why I am starting to believe these job boards are not worthy of my time… Anyone who is savvy enough to do their do-diligence will most certainly skip the job board altogether and go right to the source.
If you even make it that far, how do you then distinguish yourself from the other 44,999,999 applicants.
I have done a few funny, borderline stalker-esk, things to get noticed and land an interview. Which leads me to my next question:
Shout-outs to:
1. My transmission: for humping it all the way down AND back to Ft. Lauderdale for 3 job interviews without even complaining once or asking for a pee break.
2. Florida weather: for having mercy on me in my trek through your wild, wild west antics of tornados and rain. You seriously need to be on medication for the whole bi-polar disorder thing…
3. My new dentist: I don’t know you yet, but I love that you called to remind me about my teeth cleaning the day before. *wink*
I’ve had two jobs (total) since 2002, but both of them are tech related and I remember both specifically saying not to contact them directly as it was via Monster.
Not taking this into account, the first job (Oracle) was a tough maze of figuring out who was hiring and how to get into contact with them. The position was for a formerly full-time job being reduced to part time that needed to be filled for someone to start less than a week later. I left voice mails with whomever I thought may be connected to the job, had my first interview a day later on the phone and had completed three interviews by Wed next week, started that next Monday.
Second time (current job since ’05) was for a local, smaller software developer here in town and I called within minutes of sending my resume. They got a call from me about every other day to check on the status of the job over the next two weeks.
Funny enough, they called to confirm their interest in me and to schedule an interview while I was in a movie…and I told them as much. Aside from being persistent in checking on the job status and stating my interest, job #2 was easier to get as I did a ton of research on the company and the product before my first interview.
At that time, my job was finding a job and I treated it as such. Best advice that I’ve given friends who were want to send their resume electronically and wait for someone to get back to them.
Personally, I call bullshit on most companies that say not to contact them after sending the resume. Even if you come across strongly in trying to reach them, I can’t say that there’s been any negative feedback on this approach.
I agree. I say persistence equals a quality to be admired in business!
Avoid using the ‘Apply Now’ button, whether at the job boards or a company career site. Always look for a person to contact. I’ve posted on this extensively at http://plasticskyscraper.wordpress.com/
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