Never Apply for a Job! | Business 2 Community

After reading the recent MENG blog post Never Lead with a Resume! by Peter Engler, it got me to thinking about the other things not to do as a job seeker.? The one that popped to mind first was Never Apply for a Job!

As a job seeker it may feel like a sense of accomplishment by applying to an online job posting.? It?s a mental thing, like crossing something off of the ?to do? list.? You took the time to craft a bio, resume, and cover letter specific to the role.? You spent time filling out the candidate profile and uploading your resume into the ATS (Applicant Tracking System) of the hiring company, maybe as many as three times because it booted you out, didn?t save your profile, or you found out the job had expired when you hit ?enter.?

Even with the technical frustrations, it?s less real work to apply online rather than take the time to network to the decision maker.? You can rationalize the behavior because the hiring company wants you to; otherwise they wouldn?t have posted the job, right?

Here are some truths about applying online.? They are generalities but truths just the same.? Your resume is parsed through the ATS by key words before it?s viewed by a human. If it doesn?t pass the key word test you have now pigeon holed yourself for that employer, forever.? Remember all the work you did to customize your resume for the job?? Not only did it not work, you?ve probably eliminated any chance for other positions within the organization in the future.

The first set of eyes on your resume are likely those belonging to a junior recruiter or HR specialist.? Junior usually means someone with 2-4 years of experience.? Follow the resume flow:? if you have a high enough percentage of key word matches for the ATS and then pass the muster in the eyes of a recent college grad, you are granted a phone screen.? The phone screen will probably be with that same recent grad who will ask you why you left your last company.? Pass that conversation and you make it to the hiring manager, where you are probably competing with candidates who were referred to that person by a trusted peer.? The fact is the odds do not favor the online applicant.? If you won?t take my word for it, ask your peer group how many of them found their current job by applying on-line.

This doesn?t mean job boards or company recruiting web pages are a waste, quite the opposite.? Fishing where the fish are has always proved to be wise behavior.? But rather than applying on-line, get out your networking tool box and figure out who the hiring manager is and get in front of them before you ever even think of hitting the ?apply now? button.? You can find fellow MENG members who are always ready to help you network here: http://www.mengonline.com/people.?? And feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn here, subject ? ?MENG Connection.??? I?m happy to help network, too.

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