Why do you receive no response at all when you apply?
One part of the job search that almost all applicants find
brutally frustrating is the failure of employers to offer any response at all.
As it turns out, that failure doesn’t just happen at the beginning of the
process.
Surveys show that nearly one-third of applicants get no acknowledgement of
their applications at all, and a much larger percentage of applicants are never
graced with word of a decision. What’s more amazing is that 60 percent of
applicants hear nothing further even after they’ve interviewed for a position.
This article is excerpted from The Only Job Search Guide You’ll Ever Need by Paul Freiberger. The book is available at your favorite book seller, including here.
Companies have all sorts of reasons for behaving this way, some of them even legitimate. For example, legal trouble can follow a corporate communication that runs afoul of existing regulations, although that excuse assumes that employers will not only respond, but respond in illegal detail.
The bottom-line reason for this employer behavior is depressingly simple: Employers do it because they can. They have plenty of applicants. Their lack of response won’t change that, at least in the immediate future. They’ll still have plenty of applicants.
In any event, applicants should know that they’re hardly alone if they’re hearing nothing. They won’t know why they didn’t make the cut or how they could have improved their chances. They’ll have to roll with the punches or—the real message here—find a way around the broken system. For starters:
- Remember the Golden Rule of Hiring: Employers hire people they think will benefit them, so applicants must make “benefit to employer” their overriding marketing concern.
- Networking,
including employee referrals, is the leading means of getting a new job, so put
the bulk of your energy into cultivating connections.
- The use of technology, including social media, has to be part of any serious job search, so online resumes and profiles should be as good as possible.
- Make a list of companies in your chosen field, rank them in order of closeness to your dream job, and then do online research to identify which are hiring.
- If you find the perfect job posting, resist the temptation to respond immediately; the winning applicant will not get the job this way.
- Use your existing resources, such as online alumni databases and social networks, to make personal connections with people who can provide a door-opening referral.
Shimmering Careers is your stop for job search advice and strategiesas well as the best resume writing for your career improvement. Call us at 1-877-796-9737 to learn about how we can help you find the job you want, change careers, or prepare for a key interview.