We’ve had a fairly active discussion on Job-Hunt Help, Job-Hunt’s LinkedIn Group, about the biggest mistakes job seekers make.
The biggest mistake that I see job seekers make is “keeping [their] options open” which is another way of saying that they apply for EVERYTHING they see that they even remotely qualify for – “just in case…”
Applying for everything can temporarily give people the feeling that they are doing something for their job search, making some sort of progress (“I applied for 15 jobs today!”).
The problem is that the feeling they are making progress is an illusion, and the reality is that these job seekers are wasting their time and effort.
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Particularly in the current job market, “just in case” never happens. Employers have more job applicants than they need. Employers do not need to take a chance by hiring someone who isn’t a very good fit with the job requirements.
These job seekers are wasting their time by:
- Spending all their time and energy searching job boards for possibilities and applying for every job they think they might be able to do.
Fewer than 14% of all jobs filled in 2009 were filled through job boards! Fewer than 14 in 100 people who were hired today (and yesterday and last month) connected with those jobs through job boards. Yes, job boards can be useful, but spending a lot of time on the job boards is really not productive. - Using a generic resume that is not focused on the positions they apply for.
I’ve seen a job seeker applying for project management jobs with a resume that was focused on his last job as a marketing analyst. Yes, he was involved in several projects in his marketing analyst job, but his resume didn’t make that connection clear by describing those accomplishments. Instead, it focused on his marketing duties. Consequently, he was never called in for interviews, but he blamed the lack of response on his age (over 50). - Skipping the cover message that connects the dots for the employer and sells their accomplishments as the solution to the employer’s “problem.”
When you’re pumping out 10 or 15 applications a day, you don’t have the time or energy to customize a cover letter. “Attached find my resume” doesn’t show much interest in the job. And potential employers notice that lack of interest. - Not researching the employer before applying for a job with that employer.
They haven’t visited the employer’s Website, don’t know what the employer does, don’t know the products and/or services. To a famous telecommunications company, a job seeker sent a resume “in case you have any jobs related to communications.” In case this multi-billion dollar, international telecommunications company had “any jobs related to communications”! Seriously? That lack of knowledge and/or lack of effort made the job seeker look dumb and uninformed. Their lack of interest certainly showed. - Not bothering to follow up on any of their applications or resume submittals.
Some employers and recruiters view a lack of follow up as a lack of interest. If you were really interested in the job, you’d at least give them a call. - Not monitoring their online reputations.
If someone doesn’t interview them, it’s because the employer is “biased against people” like them (age, sex, race, sexual orientation, weight, height, whatever). It doesn’t have anything to do with that nasty comment they made in an online forum or the person with the same name who was convicted of embezzlement. Or if lack of employer response does have something to do with an online reputation issue, they don’t know because they don’t pay attention to their online reputations.
These people really do waste their time and end up feeling like failures – “I applied for 300 jobs this month and didn’t get one interview!” No surprise! Then, stop applying for 300 random jobs, and focus on the jobs you really want!
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About the author…
Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff “graduate” who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 1998, her company, NETability, Inc. purchased Job-Hunt.org, and Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt since then. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg.
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Definitely agree that random resume drops is close to the worst way to get a job, as are these other tactics where job seekers don’t personally invest themselves in the search.
The problem is that these individuals haven’t taken the time to figure out what they are about and what’s important to them. So when they try to sell themselves in their resumes and cover letters, they feel like phonies. And they’re not passionate enough to really extend themselves further.
To really think through this important part of the process (i.e. what job you actually want), I’d recommend either the book, “What Color is your Parachute” by R. Nelson Bolles (http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/), or if you are a college student or young professional, a seminar by Career Cadence (http://www.careercadence.com).
[...] to FOCUS for Job Search Success! September 3rd, 2010 by Susan P. Joyce // An earlier post about wasting time in a job search described how job seekers waste their time and energy applying for hundreds of jobs, under the [...]
[...] Avoid Wasting Your Job Search Time & Effort Job-Hunt’s editor, Online Job Search Expert Susan Joyce, discusses how to avoid the most common mistakes she sees job seekers make. [...]