I’m consistently hearing the frustration in the voices of candidates looking for a new job. They’re becoming more and more frustrated with the process. Sometimes, absolute premier performers’ interest in and application for open positions receive zero response or even acknowledgement of an application being received. Candidates are frequently ignored or treated with rude disrespect.
In June of this year, I decided to see for myself how applicant candidates are treated. I found that the problem is bigger than I was imagining. I was surprised and dismayed, when employers consistently ignored my application (for Executive Recruiter). I didn’t even receive an acknowledgement of my application by most employers. I never heard from most of them at all. Way less than half even bothered with a dismissive I’m “No Longer Being Considered”. No “Thank You” . . . nothing. Most didn’t bother to respond.
A couple of days ago, I was doing some work on LinkedIn, when a candidate I know posted the following article. Greg is a very insightful marketing researcher and data analyst. He posted a message on his LinkedIn Profile, that he’s given me permission to share with you. My goal is to get the attention of employers and help them understand how uncaring, rude and disinterested they treating people! I can only hope that they're not aware of what's happening.
The candidates who have applied to work with that company have shown interest in learning more about them and (hopefully) finding ways to add value and contribute to their culture and profit. The fact that so many just don’t seem to care, is disconcerting! In this age of AI, bots and ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) doing preliminary screening of resumes, you’d think they could at least send an auto-response thanking that candidate for their interest and time spent applying to work with (or more likely, for) them!
Greg Berger’s Original article posted August 22, 2024 on LinkedIn. Numbers below updated September 23, 2024.
"I lost my role in November of last year. I didn't want to post about it at the time as we were entering the holiday season. I have been working hard to find the next thing and gathered some data in the process. Hoping this helps give some perspective to folks in a similar situation. Would love to hear from you in the comments section if you gave it a read!
Increasingly, those of us in the corporate world are being impacted by layoffs, restructuring, and downsizing. In fact, just today Morning Brew reported that the Labor Department revised employment numbers for the 12 months through March 2024 down 28% with professional and business services jobs accounting for about half of the discrepancy.
I won't belabor the universally maligned experience of suddenly finding yourself scrambling for your livelihood, but I'd like to share some data that I have collected during my search. While anecdotal, I hope this helps folks in a similar situation understand that you aren't alone, it's not you, this job market is rough right now.
In the past 10 months (NOV '23 – SEP '24) I have...
• Applied for 129 job openings at 104 unique companies.
• Gotten through to an HR screening 10 times. Of those 10 screening interviews, I have been able to secure an interview with the hiring manager for 5 roles.
• My heaviest month for applying was July with 33 applications. Typically averaging closer to 19 per month.
• 40% of the time, I received no update on my application• For those that did provide an update, on average it took 22 days to get a final status. The longest being 173 days. Some (8) provided a status in 1 day or less; maybe not a great thing as those were near immediate rejections. The median time to give a final status was 14 days.
• Spent 278 hours attending 181 networking meetings or events with nearly a dead even split of virtual vs in-person (49% In-Person | 51% Virtual). 57% of those were a result of Executive Connections St. Louis.
?• 122 of those have been 1:1 meetings with individuals representing 79 different companies.
• I had a contact for 32 of the roles I applied for. Notably, I had a contact for most (82%) of the roles that I got to interview for. On the flip side, that means 24 times I had a contact, but didn’t get the opportunity to interview.
So What?
I don't know yet how this ends. My search continues, but here is what I've learned:
Relationships matter. It is imperative that you work to develop relationships at target companies, with former colleagues, and with connected and influential people in your community.
Applying to jobs online, while a necessary part of the search, is rarely going to be fruitful.
This is cyclical. From a macro perspective, it seems very clear that companies are using the perception of a down market to right size operating costs. It is exceptionally challenging right now for knowledge workers seeking opportunities with higher salaries to find gainful employ. I am hopeful that we will see that shift by the start of the new year.
You aren't alone. I have been so grateful for the camaraderie and counsel received from fellow members of Executive Connections St. Louis. If you don't feel like you have a village behind you, actively seek it. This can be a tumultuous and emotional ride; you need support."
Have You Experienced Anything Like This?