Ask The Big Game Hunter: Online Applications
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
“Q. A lot of companies don’t make it easy to apply for their jobs. I have filled out countless pages of online apps, plus taken personality tests and God knows what, usually with zero response. Even a rejection letter is nice to get in lieu of nothing.
Answer:
Online applications are the worst but not for the reason you think of.
Firms are using online applications as huge tickler files.
You enter your data where it isn’t looked at but satisfies government reporting requirements. Then, someone like me tries to enter the applicant and they claim, “Oh! We know that person!” and still don’t call you because they just have too much to do to catch up.
So you’ve done a bunch of “stuff” and don’t get an interview now and often not in the future either. I had a client do this.
The job applicant entered their resume. He’s interviewed for one practice that pays $50K less than he’s earning. Surprise. He isn’t interested.
I submitted him for a different position, they are about to make an offer. They discovered the candidate there with two different email addresses (the one he originally used and the one that was on the resume when I submitted him).
They don’t hire him even though it was his preferred job because executive management looks down from up high and will probably fire the person who allowed the interviews to go on so long without noticing the issue.
Who’s wrong and who’s screwed?
Answer: Everyone.
So try to avoid the online applications at all costs. it is better to network to a real decisionmaker that do pointless data entry.
Ⓒ The Big Game Hunter, Inc., Asheville, NC 2013, 2017, 2024
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Stupid Interview Mistakes: Being Unprepared
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