Current Events > some stats for a job I applied for, how tf are you meant to get a job in 2019

(+) Yeah! (+)

3470 candidates applied for this job.

On average, candidates who applied for this job applied for 34 others in the last four weeks.

1910 candidates matched all the employers preference questions for this job.

what the FUCK
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Welcome to the real world, you have to sell yourself like a piece of meat or be connected enough that a friend can get you in somewhere, it's either that or find a ditch to starve to death in or be shanked by a murder hobo, your choice. it's a dark cruel world out there especially if you were one of the kids who never had any friends nor formed any connections throughout your school years
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Dang

What kinda job?

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Go to a trade school

Get job
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I take it it's a major type of company? I always thought entry was more via networking or recruiter. I don't think I know a single person who got into a Tesla or Google without either means, unless it was a contract job.
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mattnd2007 posted...

Dang

What kinda job?

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The job was 'Casual Administration / Part time' for a medium sized engineering services company

excuse me while I starve to death
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Yeah that's a secretary basically, you don't need education or skills for it so of course there are a lot of applicants, and which state?
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Is this a joke?

I live in Australia
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I mean, that sounds like effectively an unskilled job, so everybody is technically able to apply so yes that will be bombarded by people carpet bombing online applications.

What is your actual planned profession?

I have a masters degree in electrical engineering with about a years worth of experience in a part time position, but I need more income so I'm applying for anything remotely related. Already applying for every engineering role I'm eligible for
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you'll land something eventually options must be kept open.
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ArchiePeck posted...

I mean, that sounds like effectively an unskilled job, so everybody is technically able to apply so yes that will be bombarded by people carpet bombing online applications.

What is your actual planned profession?

See you'd think that but a lot of places want degrees/diplomas even for stuff like that now...and of course there's schools that offer them.
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Turtlebread posted...

I have a masters degree in electrical engineering with about a years worth of experience in a part time position, but I need more income so I'm applying for anything remotely related. Already applying for every engineering role I'm eligible for

Are you able to apply for graduate programs? Usually in final year of uni everyone gets serious with societies/etc and all the various recruitment events... at least in my experience in Australia.

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gloBal enemy posted...

Are you able to apply for graduate programs? Usually in final year of uni everyone gets serious with societies/etc and all the various recruitment events... at least in my experience in Australia.

No luck with grad programs this year, applied for a bunch of vacation programs and I'm hoping at least one application gets through.
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Bro, have u seen the medical residency and fellowship match rate. For my fellowship program there were 3 spots. Hundreds of people applied, they interviewed 30 people. That's <1% of applicants will match there.

Realistically, most jobs shouldn't even take applications anymore, because almost all SERIOUS hiring happens via connections & casual acquaintances. Online applications are just the worst, since they lower the barrier to entry to simply clicking a few buttons, which means many positions get bombarded with applicants who aren't even remotely qualified, & most employers have no intention of ever even reading most.
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Turtlebread posted...

No luck with grad programs this year, applied for a bunch of vacation programs and I'm hoping at least one application gets through.

Are you only interested in engineering roles? There's a wide variety of industries/employers out there who may be interested in your background/skillset and apply it in different ways (e.g. data analytics).

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darkbuster posted...

Realistically, most jobs shouldn't even take applications anymore, because almost all SERIOUS hiring happens via connections & casual acquaintances. Online applications are just the worst, since they lower the barrier to entry to simply clicking a few buttons, which means many positions get bombarded with applicants who aren't even remotely qualified, & most employers have no intention of ever even reading most.

And your anecdote is based on..?

In my own experience this is far from the truth at least for the graduate/entry level positions. If it was for lateral/experienced hires, then obviously relationships/connections has more influence on the hiring process given the expectations and needs of the roles, and the cost of getting it wrong.

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gloBal enemy posted...

Turtlebread posted...

No luck with grad programs this year, applied for a bunch of vacation programs and I'm hoping at least one application gets through.

Are you only interested in engineering roles? There's a wide variety of industries/employers out there who may be interested in your background/skillset and apply it in different ways (e.g. data analytics).

I will take anything at this point. I have seen a few data analytics roles advertised and may look into them, do you have other non-eng suggestions for someone with an electrical eng degree?
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You're applying to admin assistant jobs with an engineering degree - big mistake. Don't sell yourself short. Apply to technical/professional jobs. You'll get something eventually.

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Line work or engineering with a city or utility. Electroplating.
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Turtlebread posted...

I will take anything at this point. I have seen a few data analytics roles advertised and may look into them, do you have other non-eng suggestions for someone with an electrical eng degree?

Have you applied for any of the large consulting firms?

I'm assuming you have decent marks, ECs, prior work experience (not necessarily in engineering), etc...

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Forgettable posted...

What job search site has those kinds of statistics?

Might've come in the rejection email.

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I've been applying for jobs for 9ish months now and have gotten exactly two phone interviews out of it, neither of which went further than that. I generally just don't hear anything at all, and I've checked stats to see exactly what TC pointed out - hundreds or thousands of people applying for the position, making it pretty damn pointless to even try. It's like playing the lottery and you're just not going to stand out in that pool without a ton of experience.

Honestly, I'm just ready to kill myself at this point. Job prospects feel absolutely hopeless, I don't have the money to go back to school, and I feel like my life is just wasting away in a dead end job that's barely enough to pay loan payments. I just want out.
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dotsdfe posted...

I've been applying for jobs for 9ish months now and have gotten exactly two phone interviews out of it, neither of which went further than that. I generally just don't hear anything at all, and I've checked stats to see exactly what TC pointed out - hundreds or thousands of people applying for the position, making it pretty damn pointless to even try. It's like playing the lottery and you're just not going to stand out in that pool without a ton of experience.

Honestly, I'm just ready to kill myself at this point. Job prospects feel absolutely hopeless, I don't have the money to go back to school, and I feel like my life is just wasting away in a dead end job that's barely enough to pay loan payments. I just want out.

Have you considered what do you bring to the table? If you're competing with a bunch of other similarly qualified individuals, what differentiates you and makes you a better fit? What makes you a less risky candidate to hire?

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I'm glad my job is in high demand for employees still, so I'm actually able to turn job regularly and pick them to my leasure.
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gloBal enemy posted...

dotsdfe posted...

I've been applying for jobs for 9ish months now and have gotten exactly two phone interviews out of it, neither of which went further than that. I generally just don't hear anything at all, and I've checked stats to see exactly what TC pointed out - hundreds or thousands of people applying for the position, making it pretty damn pointless to even try. It's like playing the lottery and you're just not going to stand out in that pool without a ton of experience.

Honestly, I'm just ready to kill myself at this point. Job prospects feel absolutely hopeless, I don't have the money to go back to school, and I feel like my life is just wasting away in a dead end job that's barely enough to pay loan payments. I just want out.

Have you considered what do you bring to the table? If you're competing with a bunch of other similarly qualified individuals, what differentiates you and makes you a better fit? What makes you a less risky candidate to hire?

Evidently I bring nothing to the table. I've been working the same shitty job for five years in hopes that I can use the experience elsewhere, but employers clearly don't see it that way.

There's not much else to say. I need more experience to get a better job, but I need a better job to get experience that employers would actually consider. I'm trapped.
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dotsdfe posted...

Evidently I bring nothing to the table. I've been working the same shitty job for five years in hopes that I can use the experience elsewhere, but employers clearly don't see it that way.

There's not much else to say. I need more experience to get a better job, but I need a better job to get experience that employers would actually consider. I'm trapped.

Did you learn nothing from your current job? Without knowing anything about your industry or role, at the very least 5 years shows you can be a loyal/committed employee, and given you haven't been fired, would imply you had some responsibilities and were trusted by your superiors.

Given I work in a professional role, I've seen candidates come through who are able to sell their casual work at KFC or at a local newsagency as to how it's relevant to what attributes/behaviours we look for (e.g. organising/scheduling work, prioritising customer relations, coaching/training/mentoring new staff, performing book keeping in Excel, coming up with new initiatives/ideas, dealing with difficult colleagues, etc), and can demonstrate how they've handled different situations and what they've learnt.

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gloBal enemy posted...

dotsdfe posted...

Evidently I bring nothing to the table. I've been working the same shitty job for five years in hopes that I can use the experience elsewhere, but employers clearly don't see it that way.

There's not much else to say. I need more experience to get a better job, but I need a better job to get experience that employers would actually consider. I'm trapped.

Did you learn nothing from your current job? Without knowing anything about your industry or role, at the very least 5 years shows you can be a loyal/committed employee, and given you haven't been fired, would imply you had some responsibilities and were trusted by your superiors.

Given I work in a professional role, I've seen candidates come through who are able to sell their casual work at KFC or at a local newsagency as to how it's relevant to what attributes/behaviours we look for (e.g. organising/scheduling work, prioritising customer relations, coaching/training/mentoring new staff, performing book keeping in Excel, coming up with new initiatives/ideas, dealing with difficult colleagues, etc), and can demonstrate how they've handled different situations and what they've learnt.

I've tried doing that, by highlighting my skills in both my resume and cover letters. I don't know what else to say there except that it clearly isn't enough. It seems like others just have more or better experience than I do.

It just breaks your spirit after a while, to search so hard for so long with absolutely nothing to show for it. Any sense of self-worth that I had has utterly eroded by now.
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dotsdfe posted...

I've tried doing that, by highlighting my skills in both my resume and cover letters. I don't know what else to say there except that it clearly isn't enough. It seems like others just have more or better experience than I do.

It just breaks your spirit after a while, to search so hard for so long with absolutely nothing to show for it. Any sense of self-worth that I had has utterly eroded by now.

If you aren't even getting to an interview stage, then it means you aren't "enticing" recruiters to want to talk to you. Have you consulted anyone on maybe improving the way you present?

Failing all that, it doesn't hurt to attend networking/industry events to get a feel for what the recruiters are like and what they're looking for.

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gloBal enemy posted...

dotsdfe posted...

I've tried doing that, by highlighting my skills in both my resume and cover letters. I don't know what else to say there except that it clearly isn't enough. It seems like others just have more or better experience than I do.

It just breaks your spirit after a while, to search so hard for so long with absolutely nothing to show for it. Any sense of self-worth that I had has utterly eroded by now.

If you aren't even getting to an interview stage, then it means you aren't "enticing" recruiters to want to talk to you. Have you consulted anyone on maybe improving the way you present?

Failing all that, it doesn't hurt to attend networking/industry events to get a feel for what the recruiters are like and what they're looking for.

I don't really know anyone with a ton of experience in the field who can realistically help out. If I did, I'd ask, but a lot of my friends are either going through similar experiences or are just clinging to the same retail jobs they've had for years.

As for networking events, I don't really know if there would be any in my area (southern Missouri) or not.
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dotsdfe posted...

I don't really know anyone with a ton of experience in the field who can realistically help out. If I did, I'd ask, but a lot of my friends are either going through similar experiences or are just clinging to the same retail jobs they've had for years.

As for networking events, I don't really know if there would be any in my area (southern Missouri) or not.

So what field/industry is it at least? You've provided minimal context here so I've kept my responses generic.

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gloBal enemy posted...

darkbuster posted...

Realistically, most jobs shouldn't even take applications anymore, because almost all SERIOUS hiring happens via connections & casual acquaintances. Online applications are just the worst, since they lower the barrier to entry to simply clicking a few buttons, which means many positions get bombarded with applicants who aren't even remotely qualified, & most employers have no intention of ever even reading most.

And your anecdote is based on..?

In my own experience this is far from the truth at least for the graduate/entry level positions. If it was for lateral/experienced hires, then obviously relationships/connections has more influence on the hiring process given the expectations and needs of the roles, and the cost of getting it wrong.

Agreed. Even as a 25 year freelancer I don't rely on relationships or connections, although I've obviously fostered some in that time.

Marketing yourself and a strong body of work or knowledge base is what will get results.
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gloBal enemy posted...

dotsdfe posted...

I don't really know anyone with a ton of experience in the field who can realistically help out. If I did, I'd ask, but a lot of my friends are either going through similar experiences or are just clinging to the same retail jobs they've had for years.

As for networking events, I don't really know if there would be any in my area (southern Missouri) or not.

So what field/industry is it at least? You've provided minimal context here so I've kept my responses generic.

I've been working as a tutor for English, Social Studies, Psychology, and Microsoft Word for a few years, with some freelance writing on the side, but I'm looking to get into something in either a proofreading/copy editing position (which is basically what I do now as an English tutor; most of my job is just reviewing papers and suggesting changes), or a full time writing job. I feel like I have the experience for either, so I've been applying for pretty much anything that I'm remotely qualified for, but evidently my experience doesn't translate over well enough for most employers.

I've also written two novels, though I haven't tried to get either one published, so I'm not sure if those would fo me much good on a resume.

Anyway, I need to head out soon, so if you address anything else to me and I don't respond, that would be why. I appreciate the advice thus far, even if I'm still honestly feeling pretty pessimistic about everything.
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I see a few different angles for what you could describe as your offer but am curious first, what is your opening in your cover letter/CV?

I havent worked in your field at all but I suspect most people try to get in off the back of what they consider relevant experience but Id imagine the recruiter needs to see some hard examples preferably which they can retrieve themselves like if you write for an online column or something similar. Once you can demonstrate core skills/competency (the baseline to get in the door), the question becomes why should they bother interviewing you and what do you bring that others dont.

I probably wouldnt mention the novels other than to say its a personal project/passion which helps your cause but wont lead them to want to read it and use it as an indicator of competency. Unless the novels have some other relevance to a particular company or employer.

Do you know anyone who was successful in getting one of those types of roles? Maybe its worth asking them why they think they were successful.

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Forgettable posted...

What job search site has those kinds of statistics?

I know Indeed tells you how many people applied for a job you also applied for (on Indeed at least) as long as long as the posting has that "Quick Apply" option enabled. You just have to view it in your history.
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KaZooo posted...

I take it it's a major type of company? I always thought entry was more via networking or recruiter. I don't think I know a single person who got into a Tesla or Google without either means, unless it was a contract job.

Almost every job I got was by applying, including big named companies. Not to say that networking and recruiters arent also a big factor. But applications are definitely considered.

That said, its expected that the lower the requirements on a posting, the more competition there will be. TC have you checked their LinkedIn page? Maybe try messaging the recruiter or hiring manager directly.

Cleo_II posted...

Almost every job I got was by applying, including big named companies. Not to say that networking and recruiters arent also a big factor. But applications are definitely considered.

That said, its expected that the lower the requirements on a posting, the more competition there will be. TC have you checked their LinkedIn page? Maybe try messaging the recruiter or hiring manager directly.

Also worth wondering if TC has a LinkedIn profile. I know we often check these when people apply for a role even at grad level.

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