Many misunderstandings attend the job search process but perhaps the most pernicious is the belief that simply answering job postings online is an effective job search strategy. It is very common for job seekers to spend hours each day firing off resumes and cover letters to every online posting to which they can rationalize even a remote connection. Not surprisingly, most of these efforts fall into a “black hole” where they never even hear back from the employer. This exacerbates the job seeker’s feelings of frustration and can lead to a defeatist attitude.
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Online job postings are the digital version of newspaper “help wanted” ads that have existed since the 18th century. Initially, job boards like Monster and HotJobs thrived because of the convenience provided to both candidates and clients alike. Very quickly, however, employers found themselves inundated with applicants who were often not a fit for the job they were seeking. This led to cynicism on the part of employers who found job postings most useful for legal compliance and soliciting applicants for very specific roles (e.g. a technician with a specific certification or license) but not for general hiring. Also, because the volume of applicants can be so great, in recent years nearly all medium and large companies have developed the use of applicant tracking software to screen and often reject candidates before an employee even reviews them.
According to a 2015 CareerXroads Source of Hire report, only about 10 percent of new hires were found through online job boards. So why do so many experienced job seekers insist of pursuing this path? In a word, convenience. Given the choice between the intangible hard work of networking and developing social networks versus sitting at home requesting LinkedIn connections and applying to jobs online, most will select the latter and assume they are doing all they can. It makes the seeker feel like he is “doing something” without working too hard or intelligently. This strategy even has a name. It is called “spray and pray.”
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Rather than blindly apply to job postings online, job seekers should see a company’s postings primarily as a valuable piece of intelligence. One should study the job description and seek to articulate to oneself why the position is a fit for their skills, ambitions and experience. But the hard work begins with the online application, it does not end there.
If an online job post catches the seeker’s fancy, she must figure out how to gain access directly to the hiring managers for the position. Some techniques include calling the company and asking a receptionist who is responsible for hiring that position or leveraging LinkedIn to identify useful relationships. Like a crime profiler, the job seeker needs to summon his inner sleuth to find a way to identify the appropriate people.
Ideally, the networking job seeker will learn of a position before it is formally posted. Remember that some postings exist only for regulatory or corporate diversity compliance. If you don’t get in before the job is posted, it may be too late. Again, this is why research and networking are the primary tactics of job search and not just applying via postings.
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The key to effective job search is being referred by a person trusted by the employer. It is through networking that job candidates acquire such access. It bears mentioning that job postings tend to be more effective when the position calls for a very specific skill set. For example, job seekers that offer specific and recognized certifications that match the job need, like registered nurses or coders of certain software languages, will have better luck with direct posting applications than those who offer general skills, experience and degrees.
Applying to online postings is a tool that is readily available to all job seekers. Used in conjunction with a focused networking strategy that includes quality career fair attendance and bilateral conversations, postings are a valuable source of intelligence and insight and occasionally direct access to jobs. Used alone and without integration in a serious job search campaign, applying to online postings is akin to buying lottery tickets as the sole means of attaining financial independence.
You might get lucky, but the odds are not with you.
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Job Postings Alone Rarely Lead to Jobs originally appeared on usnews.com
