Mass Application Dash, MAD!

Mass Application Dash, MAD: I’ve applied for hundreds of jobs and had no replies! What’s the problem?

In my professional diagnosis, there are a couple of directions we could go here. If you’re at all familiar with business process mapping, can’t stand it myself, it might look like this (minus the visuals):

      A.      You – apply – no response (repeat cycle).

What you want it to look like is:

      B.      You – apply – interview request – job offer.

How do you get from point A to point B? Start by analyzing what you’re doing and looking for opportunities for success.

So, the problem is you have applied for hundreds of jobs. Stop there and ask yourself, has applying for hundreds of jobs helped me? Just because you don’t have a job or an interview doesn’t mean the answer is no. Big picture, perhaps now you realize that merely flooding the system with your resume is not sufficient and the goal should be to take a more measured, strategic approach. Meaning, focus your efforts and submit a tailored resume to the job in question.

That’s fantastic and all but another answer is that NO, hundreds of resumes have not helped when the goal is to get an interview and earn a position. There is a fantastic book titled the 2-hour job search by Steve Dalton and he suggests taking a different approach. Now, the goal is to get a job but that doesn’t happen overnight so here are some quick takeaways that will cost you nothing:

1    .       Stop mass applying for jobs. Just stop it; if it seems too easy to do, it probably is so view #2.

2    .       Be selective, think Porsche, they don’t sell more than Chevy but that isn’t their goal. Whether it is for an entry-level role or senior executive role, scrutinize the opportunity.

3    .       Know your audience and speak to them – meaning stop sending generic resumes and cover letters and focus on that SPECIFIC Company, that SPECIFIC role.

4    .       Beg, borrow and steal to learn patience because it can take a while, anywhere from 6 months to 12 months on average to find a job.

I’ve been there and played the mass job application game in an effort to find a job but taking my time, mining my network, writing a specific cover letter and resume for the role in question has worked way better. If you have a different way, I would love to hear it. An alternative answer is that your resume just stinks. Harsh but maybe true and that leads down an alternative path; we’ll talk about that next time but for the time being this may help, http://goo.gl/KFnN5.

By Daryl M Williams

Daryl M Williams, MBA, M.S., is an adjunct professor, teaching Career Planning and Management as well as being a Career Coach. He is passionate about providing information to assist friends, family, students, alums, and even frenemies (really) in professional development and uses his management experience in Fortune 500, non-profit and private corporations to inform his decisions. Feel free to connect via LinkedIn or twitter.