I talk to clients every day that tell me a story like this:
“Richard, I have applied to a hundred job postings in the past month or so. To date, I have only heard from about two or three of those companies, and then I only had a short interview on the phone with the recruiter. What is up with this?” Does this sound like your situation?
I asked them if they knew anybody in those organizations, or did they find the position on one of the job boards and hit apply. Over 95 percent of the time my clients answer that they did not know anyone in the organization, and that, yes, they found the position on a job board and simply hit apply. Job seekers who do not know someone in the organization before applying are at a huge disadvantage because most offers come from employers who already knew the candidate or the candidate was referred to them by somebody.
It is said that there are 30 million people actively hitting the apply button every single day. Now, not all 30 million will hit the same apply button as you do, but you know that dozens or hundreds will. LinkedIn shows you how many people have applied for a position, so you know that this is the case. Now statistically, 75 percent of those applicants are nowhere near qualified for the position – they are just hitting apply because the job looks like a great opportunity. The Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) will quickly filter those candidates, but that does leave 25 percent of the applicants who are qualified or even very qualified. This is your real competition for any position. Now, the ATS systems will filter out those who have a poor resume, and my company can help you overcome that issue; however, the ATS systems do not do a very good job at identifying the top two or three applicants – so it is the ATS system’s programmers that set the criteria as to whom the system recommends.
However, ATS systems are not the main reason as to why applicants do not hear anything once they hit apply. There are two primary responses that all 30 million receive after hitting the apply button, 1) absolutely nothing – not even a confirmation that they applied, and 2) “Thank you so much for your interest, but we have gone with another candidate (or some version of this statement). If you have hit the apply button, I am confident that you have received both of these. LinkedIn saw this as an issue a couple of years ago and did a survey to find out from employers as to why this is the case. They wanted to find out why employers were even posting jobs if they were not going to respond (my paraphrase). Here is what they found. Over 70 percent of all job postings already have the candidate in mind before the company posted the job (I read an article recently that increased this to 80 percent). This is the situation on all job boards. This tells you that three out of four job postings already have their pick – before the company posted the job. You do not know which of the job postings are “real” to the job seeker world. HR policy is the reason jobs are posted– they had to post. Sound familiar?
Here is how a company finds their person before they post the position. When a company has a job that comes available, internal management will look at their peers first, then their colleagues and employees, and ask them, “Whom do you know who can do this job well?” I’m sure you have heard this throughout your career, and you have probably done so yourself if you are a hiring manager. What this tells you is that it is human nature to want to interview and hire someone who is “known” – whether the hiring manager knows the candidate or someone referred them.
Think about all the times you obtained a position. Was it just like I stated above – did you get the job through a referral? If you got the job through just applying and you did not know anyone in that organization beforehand, then you are part of the minority of applicants that get offers. This process of asking for referrals is nothing new; it has been going on for decades in every industry, including the public sector, private sector, and non-profits, and this will continue to be the process going forward.
You get “known” through peer connectivity. A peer is someone who does a role that you know you can do. Your peers are in other companies, but they can be in your current company as well; however, as you move up in a company, the roles become more singular. If you are a software engineer, then your peers are software engineers everywhere. If you are a VP of sales, then your peers are VP of sales everywhere. You get the point. Most people stopped reaching out to “peers” early in their careers because their lives just got too busy. Life took over (job, family, outside interests). You did not have time to reach out to people who were doing what you do already. However, this is to the detriment of every person who does not do this. If you are not reaching out to your peers, then you are not growing in your career. By reaching out to people who do what you do, you need to be learning new things about your role and industry that will help you do your job better – new processes, methodologies, and technologies that you may want to incorporate into your own organization. By reaching out to peers, you are also introducing yourself to others, and better than that, they now know you. Remember that question that hiring managers ask when a position opens up – whom do you know? Your peers will share your name because they now know you and what you can do.
Do you want to learn how to do this? RTG teaches our clients how to build a peer network. My clients are building their peer connectivity and discovering the over 70 percent of the jobs that are not posted yet, and that is how they are becoming that person “in mind.” Contact me to find out more.
About RTG Enterprises
At RTG Enterprises, we specialize in assisting our clients in the full career search process – which includes career assessment, building a brand and resume, how to research occupations, employers, and geographies, networking, interview techniques, salary negotiations, and onboarding. RTG customers include executive management (C-suite), information technology professionals, engineers, teachers, professors and administrators, accounting and finance professionals, human resource professionals, business development and sales professionals, marketing and communication professionals, law enforcement professionals, and transitioning military personnel. Whether you are a new graduate, a seasoned professional, or an executive, RTG has a career coaching plan for you. Contact us to be your coach today for your success tomorrow. Find more information at rtg-enterprises.com.
About Richard Glass
Richard is the President of RTG Enterprises Incorporated and has been connecting talent with employers for over 30 years. For six years, he led the career center of the largest non-profit university in the United States, which had over 265,000 students and alumni and over 11,000 employers using its services. He has helped thousands of executives, mid-career professionals, and new graduates learn what it takes to brand themselves and stand out amongst their competitors professionally. He has also trained recruiters, account managers, account executives, business development professionals, employer relations coordinators, and career counselors to adequately provide professional development to job seekers and staffing and solution expertise to employers. His expertise includes strategic relationship development, business development, entrepreneurship, career counseling and coaching, networking, resume and cover letter writing, personal and business branding, and philanthropic giving. He has worked with employers in both the public and private sectors, including higher education, public and private K-12 schools, federal, state and local governments and agencies, Fortune 1000, mid-size and small businesses, non-profits, and ministries. Contact Mr. Glass at rglass@rtg-enterprises.com.