Hi, I'm the one sabotaging your online job search. On several job search websites, I've posted a job only to waste hundreds of applicants' time in the process. Each one of those hundreds was hoping to get the job, each applying in good faith, assuming that they had a chance--that at least one of the hundreds of them who applied would get the job.
In fact, I ended up not selecting any of the applicants for the job, even though a number of them seem quite well qualified based on their resumes and carefully crafted letters. I went with someone recommended to me by a colleague.
Job Search Engine Sites' Inner Workings Exposed!
Why would I cruelly toy with these eager online job searchers' emotions? Why do people like me make an already impersonal online job application process even more inhuman? Actually, when you look at job search websites from the employer's point of view, a few things become clear:
* Job search websites trigger an overwhelming tidal wave of applications.
In one day my email inbox got well over 100 applications. In fact, I had to pull the plug on the job posting when it became clear I would be drowning in applications.
* Most applications submitted on a job search site read like they've been plagiarized from a job-hunting manual.
One after another cover letter--from the applicants who bothered to include a cover letter--looked like they could have been submitted in response to any job opening in the US, from burger flipper to rocket scientist.
Every applicant had goals of advancement and a desire to find an outlet for their talents. Very, very few bothered to make the link between these goals and desires and a job at my website copywriting firm.
* Most applicants on job search websites are not even remotely qualified.
I not only got fiction writers and poets applying for my copywriting position; a few computer programmers and graphic designers applied as well.
After all, why not? All they had to do was hit "send." Let the poor slob on the other end figure out if their qualifications match the position.
Please, before you hit "send," remember that the poor slob you're making work for just might have better things to do. At least remember that eventually the owners of the website may catch up with you and throw you off the site for behavior that is, essentially, spamming.
Online Job Searches Drown in a Sea of Applications.
As you can see, you really are competing against hundreds of other applicants for every open position. That is, if you're lucky, you'll be competing against hundreds of other applicants.
If you're not lucky, your application can easily get lost in a sea of faceless applications before anyone even looks at it long enough for you to be in competition for anything.
The problem isn't so much that you have such great competition, but that you have such awful competition.
If someone on the other end even does look at your application, how likely is it that they will be looking at it with a fresh eye, excited at the possibility of a great hire?
Job Search Websites Make It Hard to Distinguish Yourself.
You're just a series of filled-in form fields and rows of text. On most sites, you can't even adjust the font of your resume.
Your job website application may disappear into the ether unread--and you'll never find out.
With a hundred applications per day, it's very easy for an email inbox to go over quota and bounce a few, or for a few sheets of printouts to fly into the recycling bin prematurely. Most job search sites make it difficult or impossible to track the status of an application beyond confirming that it was entered into the system.
In short, when it comes to job search websites, hard work and persistence pay off. You have to cast a lot of lines very well before you even get a bite. Often it isn't so much the best worker who gets the job, but the person most skilled at navigating the application process.
The good news is that if you learn to approach the job search website process from the point of view of making life easier for a potential employer, you'll have an enormous advantage over other applicants.
When you start thinking about the person on the other side of the "submit" button, you'll see potential flaws in your application that never would have appeared to you otherwise: how you can make your cover letter more concise and to-the-point, or how you could remove irrelevant time-wasting factoids from your resume.
Ready to get a fresh start with your applications by looking at them from an employer's perspective? Start re-planning your online job search now, before you forget.
Job Search Websites Canada
You spend all day in front of the computer looking at job listings and fine-tuning your resume. But all you get is a headache. How can you give your online job search an advantage?
An Easier Online Job Search: 3 Steps
1. Brush up on your job-hunting skills. The internet has excellent inside tips on the state of the job market in numerous industries.
2. Learn all the keywords and categories relevant to the position you're seeking, or the special skill set you have to offer. For instance, if you want to write technical manuals, you might want to try terms such as "help docs" or "documentation developer" in addition to the more standard "technical writer."
3. Once you've learned the important keywords associated with the position you're seeking, make sure to put them in the information you upload to the jobs search websites. If these keywords aren't in your profile, how is a potential employer searching through the database of applicants going to find you?
Where to Start Online Job Searches
Are you looking in the right places? Everyone goes to the major job search websites like Monster and Hotjobs--and well they should, since these sites have more jobs than anyone. But here are some other sites you should also check out to find jobs online:
• The website for the company you would like to work for. There are even "meta" job search websites that include the online job postings of large companies.
• 'Meta' online job search sites, which collect listings from numerous other jobs search sites. That means thousands of listings without having to go to hundreds of sites.
• Recruiters' websites. Mass-emailing resumes to employers can be a waste of time--and might technically violate laws against sending unsolicited messages. Instead, use one of the web services that will send your resume to recruiters, rather than employers. Recruiters are actually happy to get your resume since they know what to do with it.
• Good employment agencies, which are often simply two or more recruiters or headhunters working together, can be hard to find. The good news is that they usually advertise on job search websites. If you see a job listing that is unusually vague, it may be an employment agency. If you apply, you may be considered for other jobs that the agency has to fill.
Joel Walsh has sinced written about articles on various topics from Site Promotion, Home Management and Finances. . Joel Walsh's top article generates over 49500 views. to your Favourites.
