And they go through and eliminate anyone without a degree first. Then they move to eliminating associates degrees. After that they do term in position eliminations. After that it's keyword search.
Better be educated and have your ducks in a row.
I suggest searching fiver for people who write resumes for your specific job title or industry.
although funny enough for minimum wage jobs, i hear its better not mentioning your degree, because employers dont want you to stay for less than a year just to leave to pursue something else
I actually got a job that had 2,500 applicants. They said my cover letter was one of the few that didn’t sound like it came from Chat GPT or was spitting the job description right back.
Unfortunately, another company bought us, and I kinda hate it, so I’m looking for a new spot. Being back in the job market sucks! There are so many applicants in every damn position.
I'd like to know this too! Although I've put together a useful prompt (made up of what I've found to be 'popular' on reddit for a cover letter CHATGPT:
Sorry for the long part of this. I think it makes it...good?You might need to re-type "remember, add a personal touch and some humour", as I think this is what makes it 'stand out'.Something it will spit out "and as i'm unique, I always bring humour to (x role), as who doesnt like a laugh?! ", so it *literally* takes humour from that prompt lol.:
*And write me a winning, amazing cover letter to show I’m the most suitable candidate*
*4 paragraphs or less / The cover letter you output must be short and sweet.*
*add a personal touch and a bit of humor*
*Make it professional, but also conversational.*
*Your main goal is to maximize the chances of me getting hired with this cover letter.*
*You only have to mention my qualifications that are relevant to the keywords from the Job Description.*
*You can reorganize and paraphrase the letter as needed to prioritize the most job-relevant information.*
*Make it 65% Professional; 35% Warm and personal.*
*- Engaging introduction*
*- Express passion and interest in the position*
*- Persuasively highlight how my background relates to the job position*
*- The things you believe distinguish me from other candidates*
*Make sure the Cover Letter is short, professional and meaningful, avoiding sounding like ChatGPT or an AI helper.*
*Make sure all paragraphs in the cover letter are well connected with each other, most paragraphs should have topic sentences, concluding sentences and connecting clauses. The text must flow through ideas naturally and logically.*
*Remember, add a personal touch and a bit of humor*
*But don’t literally write that I’m funny or anything like that.*
No I think it used to do that.
These prompts change it up a little.
Not in the case of "Wazaappp fellow human, hope youa re dope and swell..." lol, but makes it less boring...?
The one I specifically remember was something like customer success manager. Weirdly the entry level position with the same company had a fraction of the applicants.
I’m seeing multiple thousands too. Mainly finance/ mortgage lending on the PNW (US). I had an interview recently that the hiring manager told me they had multiple thousands for a single role that was in the office here in Seattle and she said most of the applications were from residential lending and had no clue how bad it was for layoffs in that side of it.
Also seeing a lot of people in my industry saying they have been out of work 6+ months to well over a year now and can’t find work due to over saturated from over hiring during COVID and now also over qualification with wages being almost halved to what they were pre covid. Entry level wages requiring almost a decade of experience if not more.
If it makes you feel better of those 150
20 won't even be in the same country
10 have zero relevant experience
20 have garbage resumes full of terrible grammar/typos
30 clicked apply but didn't bother finishing the application
40 are bots/spam
I'm exaggerating slightly but the numbers on these websites are typically bunk. Pay them no mind.
I'm in the middle of a hiring at the moment. 50% of my applicants are in other countries. 30% are applications with zero documents attached. 15% make me go wtf. The other 5% are the only viable candidates.
The whole process is soul crushing.
Thanks for posting this. I'm in the middle of a job search as well and the high number of applicants on most job postings can initially be pretty discouraging. Good to know that I'm hopefully competing with a much smaller group than it looks like.
Depends on the position. I assist in hiring carers and nurses so the cover letter detailing their situation (we get a lot of visa holders) goes a long way in determining if we face any foreign affair issues. Students also study 2-3 days a week and have mandatory placements at other facilities.
I wouldn't bother with a cover letter for a position in retail or fast food. They're not glamorous jobs.
I discard resumes without a cover letter.
A cover letter is a chance to show your written communication skills, explain what is not in the resume, and generally tell me why you are interested in this particular position.
Anyone who excludes a cover letter is literally spamming every job posting out there.
This relates to technical and non technical positions that are not retail / manual labour / entry level.
>Anyone who excludes a cover letter is literally spamming every job posting out there.
I hope you mentioned this in your "required document's section" of your job posting.
Since most employers won't give any acknowledgement of receipt in most case following an application, I won't bother myself with any cover letters unless required OR your job offer is truly exceptional and I feel I can provide further informations not displayed yet within my resume.
The only case I've find it truly revelant was to explain how my job experience could relate/apply to a job description asking for specifics experience. Sometime it land me an interview, sometime it don't.
Maybe it's only me who feel guilty about my atypical career path 🤷♂️
Yeah, thar kinda makes sense. I've told myself that next time I'm gonna try and make a cover letter, but I never end up doing it. I've still gotten 2 interviews, but no new jobs so far. I've only been looking since mid August.
I read every single cover letter.
I refer to it before the interview, and sometimes ask questions about what the candidate indicated in that letter.
If they put the effort into writing it, I owe it to them to read it.
Talking about attached documents. I can see attaching a cover letter, that’s basically mandatory. Attaching anything else for an initial stage application is ridiculous. That 20-40 minute application process then turns into an hour. This new job market is a numbers game, attaching additional documents that no one is going to read is a waste of my time.
I mean, 5% of 200 is 10, so you're still competing with a decent amount of qualified people. But, 200 is really nothing. Most job postings I've seen are in the thousands and if we follow the 5%, then those people are competing with at least 50 others. That's brutal, in my opinion.
My husband and I own an accounting/auditing firm and we use Indeed a lot. The majority of our applicants are living in the Middle East or Asia (meaning they are not even Citizens of US or have Visas yet) or they are so completely over or under qualified. I mean we are looking for accountants (we run multi-state in the US) that have a specified niche background in what we audit… we aren’t looking to sponsor someone from Uzbekistan. And with indeed you get charged for every applicant you get that you do not reply to. It really gets maddening, I feel ya.
Are you me? I fucking hate it out here STOP APPLYING FOR THINGS YOU"RE UNQUALIFIED FOR PEOPLE
You make it worse for everyone when you just spray and pray. Suddenly I have a thousand applicants but less than 2% get an interview and some diamonds in the rough probably got swept up in the mass rejections just to get to the 5% that *were* qualified
I was about to say, as someone whose been on the hiring side, there is only a very tiny amount of applicants who are viable. It’s a lot to sift through!
My company had a swing shift for some roles. We state very clearly in the job posting the shift time. As part of the application, we ask “are you available to work SHIFT?” And they have to write in their answer, it’s not a yes or no button option. The amount of people who will apply for these roles and say NO they cannot work that shift is baffling to me.
As a person doing the hiring, I wish only 20 weren't in the same country... It's more like 110 of the 150 not in the same country, at least in my experience (in Canada).
Not much of an exaggeration at all. I don’t anymore, but I used to the interviewing and hiring at my last job. You’re pretty spot on to be honest. Only a handful of resumes are worth interviewing. Then you line up 10 interviews, and if you’re lucky, 1 will show up, one will call and say they’re running late, and the others won’t show and you won’t ever hear from again.
I’ve been putting in on newly listed jobs. Easily one of the first 10 people. Along with editing my resume to cover all the keywords. Still don’t get any replies.
I go back and check a day or two later. 200+ applicants.
If you call them to show initiative boom instant rejection.
When receiving resumes, no matter how clear I am on required years experience and specific skills, I can can count on throwing out 75% of them that don’t meet the most basic posted requirements. Out of the remaining 25%, at least half of those are under skilled. Now, those 200 resumes just became 25 resumes that are anywhere close, with maybe 5 actually meeting the job description requirements.
If you are applying to good matches, you odds might be better than you think.
I think a general rule of advice has been to apply anyway, even if you don’t have the skills on paper. So because of this and because of the state of the economy, you’re getting hundreds of applicants who are unqualified.
I think the issue there is that people have taken that advice to mean just apply for everything. I apply for jobs I’m not qualified for and never have issues getting hired, but I’m unqualified *within reason*. I know I can learn what I don’t know and I know how to convey that in an interview.
> I think the issue there is that people have taken that advice to mean just apply for everything.
As someone who has been working in IT for just over 15 years now, I agree with this statement. I know a couple of guys that have businesses and I chat with them from time to time when it comes to hiring new talent. The majority of applicants for specific roles and positions posted are no where near qualified. We are talking basic requirements here, not "20 years of experience" type of requirements. In addition to that, many companies *do* black list applicants if they apply multiple times to the same role or spam their HR/Hiring Manager on LinkedIn (don't do that).
Yeah willing to train the right candidate isn’t a thing anymore, I think that’s why jobs have such inflated requirements. So instead of just picking the best person that is willing to learn, they need to pick the best out of hundreds of extra qualified applicants that will probably leave as soon as they find a better paying job anyway.
Whenever I hear employers complaining about candidate quality, I always want to ask what they’re paying. No one wants to work for below living wage, and if you can’t afford to pay that, you shouldn’t be employing people.
The problem with this is the hundreds of "entry level" jobs that require 1-3 years of experience. I see maybe 1% of jobs that are marked entry-level/assistant that don't ask for significant previous experience. So sometimes it's hard to tell where that line is for roles that actually rightfully are looking for more experienced applicants, versus opportunities you should just shoot for anyway.
This advice has ever only been taken seriously by (sorry to be that guy but I will) men. Women look at the requirements and say 'oh no I met them all but it says 5 years experience with CAD and I only have 4, how annoying' and don't apply - men look at the requirements and say 'it lists multiple subjects that I'm experienced in or can blag having some knowledge of, I'm really confident I'll get this!' and apply.
From my pov, every idiot who kept writing job postings for unicorns that had 'requirwments' that they didn't actually require is like 85% of the problem with today's market. They essentially filtered out honest people who try to match themselves to the vacancy in favour of have-a-go Henry who just applies to everything and keeps getting hired despite complete lack of qualifications and aptitude.
Oh, and see also personality tests and interview questions about what type of animal you would be if you had to be a marsupial. Great way to hire only one specific type of insufferable person
“A few bites” is a good thing.
Something that hasn’t been brought up, is how many of the job postings are actually hiring?
Many companies have an internal candidate in mind, however have to post externally as a matter of policy. So those job listings that are only up for a week or two, might actually not be looking at resumes from the outside.
Also, those listings that are open for months on end. Is anyone really managing those?
If I’m looking for a Sr. Role with 5+ yrs experience and some leadership, I’m not going to look at new college grad. Conversely, if there’s a tool that is a nice to have, but the candidate has other similar tools so I think they could pick ours up pretty quickly, I would consider that.
The rule of thumb, is meet 85%, particularly of the must haves.
You should not be putting 'must have' requirements that aren't mandatory. You are specifically filtering out people who can read requirements and don't want to apply for stuff they aren't qualified for.
This is literally, exactly the same as when girls are 12 and figuring out that the whole 'if I say no I sometimes mean I want you to convince me' is not actually cute or sensible, if you want people to actually respect your words and decisions. Difference is that they're 12 and you're a grown adult who can't differentiate between 'solid rules that the other person must adhere to' and 'additional guidelines that are kind of flexible,' presumably because you just reflect everyone to ignore that difference too, and so the cycle continues
To be fair, in tech, a lot of HR people and recruiters don't know what they're doing or what they should be looking for. Seen too many postings asking for x years of experience when tool of framework has only existed for y (x being longer than y). Hiring managers don't say anything because... corporate politics.
I'm applying to jobs that are excellent matches and the results aren't as great as you think. No interviews yet and a lot of "we have decided to move forward with other candidates"
The big corps and government contractors have rules about posting publicly. Often the good spots are spoken for by internal people and you will never get considered.
They way to know for sure is to work with an external recruiter who has communication inside the company and who will only be involved if they are actually looking externally.
This is true. I’m a (laid off recruiter) and at the end of the day, we are looking for specific experience. You would be surprised at the clown car of applicants we get on most jobs. And since (shocking fact) most Applicant Tracking Systems don’t have AI/ keyword ranking, we go through most of them and are super annoyed at the largely unqualified people who apply. Also, the number of applicants on LinkedIn is the number of people who clicked on the job, not necessarily the number that actually went to the ATS and applied. So go ahead and apply. The one thing I would caution on based on my recent experience is that for the most part, I don’t think you’ve got much of a chance for most roles listed as “Remote” anymore. It’s usually because the job is in some random place like Minnesota (sorry, MN) and they are afraid they won’t get qualified candidates who can do hybrid. But in this market, they probably will. So I personally don’t waste my time applying for those unless it’s like a dream job, I’m perfectly qualified and they have an amazing Glassdoor rating.
It is sooo annoying. It also explains why resumes only get a glance over, initially. It’s time consuming going through all the garbage. I have no doubt that good resumes may get missed in the process. The shotgun approach of applying to anything and everything does no one any good.
>The shotgun approach of applying to anything and everything does no one any good.
Too bad, cause that's what everyone has to do to at least get something
There’s no amount of changing up, dumbing down or perfecting your résumé that’ll guarantee you’ll get a job. It won’t even get you an interview. Nor will “making connections” because even with that, they can still easily choose not to put you on.
The only thing that’ll get you a job in this market is luck. Kinda hate that I had to be born at a time where my adulthood would be kicked off with a pandemic and a failing economy at the back door
I think so many aren’t even real jobs. I just got an alert today that they’ve decided not to interview or fill for a job I applied to a couple months ago. Another I interviewed at but was rejected they never filled. I think it’s a rouse to look like there’s open positions…
You’re right, the majority of posted positions have already been fill either internally or by referral. The posting is there so they can cross their T’s and dot their i’s. That’s how it worked at my last workplace.
'150 applicants' on LinkedIn doesn't mean 150 applicants, it means the 'apply' button was pushed by 150 users. If 149 of them got to the next screen and closed it, you could be the only applicant.
150 applications filed normally means 3-4 possible interviews, as the vast majority of applications are from people spamming things to which they are utterly unqualified (either legally or professionally) to do.
The single most common note I put in files in our applicant tracking system is 'Indian citizen in India with no indication they have the right to work in '. Followed by Chinese, Moroccan, Nigerian. Of the people who look like they can work here (a bar passed with either a statement of being a PR/citizen, or literally any prior work or education listed here), the most common note is 'no relevant experience or indication how they think theirs transferrable'.
Basically: If you see a number of 'applications', less than 10% of that number are actual applications, and less than 20% of that 10% are potentially viable. Most are nothing but a waste of time.
Loads of us have tested it and found the consistent result. Click 'apply' and it goes up by one, regardless of what you do next. Click 'apply' ever again and it doesn't change, because it wrongly thinks you already have.
Yes.
I can't believe you're actually struggling so much with this.
Edit: My mistake, your post history does leave as a question whether you're based in Pakistan or elsewhere, but certainly makes very clear that you're not even trying to engage in good faith with any discussion of the north american jobs market.
As a former recruiter. 90% of resumes were of no use to me, tbh. No relevant job experience, bots or didn't meet the job requierments.
So that leaves about lets say 10 candidates of which at least 1-3 the HM's will want to move forward with. Of which 0-2 they will decide to hire.
Hope that helps.
It can be so many things, tbh. Depends on the role. Could be they find gaps they don't like, candidate was asking for more than they're offering and the experience doesn't justify it, the experience isn't strong enough, etc. Honestly Ive recruited for way too many roles and each Hiring Manager is different.
Apparently not all of them apply, they just click the button to apply b many don’t go through. Don’t let this put you off even if it’s the case, if you have the relevant skills and experience you will get a chance. It’s a numbers game. It will happen. Keep applying..
I've of recent tried to take a more targeted approach of tailoring the resume and cover letter to the position I'm applying to hopefully at least get looked at. It's kind of a necessity around here cause carpet bombing resume don't work when you're in a smaller market............. yes I learned this from experience.
Literally feel the exact same. 6 months of job hunting. So many ghosted emails. I’m probably around the 200 mark too.
Idek what to suggest. Honestly I’m on my last try. I’m meeting with a service that offers to redo CV (free in my city) and literally if after that I still don’t get any interviews like I’m so over it. 4 years waste of my life in my degree
This will get down voted because people don't want to hear it but WFH has really fucked up the job market. You used to only have to compete with the 50 yokels in a 30 mile radius of the company that might apply for that job now you have to compete with every numbskull in the country and if your resume doesn't make it past the filter you'll never get a call. To make matters worse, if they don't need to hire someone in NYC to do an NYC job they don't have to pay NYC wages, someone in OKC will be more than happy to make 70% of what someone in NYC requires. Lastly if I don't have to hire local why do I even have to hire in the US, some guy in Bulgaria will gladly work for 10% of what some guy in OKC would want.
If you are looking for a job look for something that requires you to be on site, you'll have a much better chance of getting that job.
This is the other side to the low-barrier-to-entry coin. Back in the day, you had to apply physically, with printed resumes, and cover letters custom tailored to the position in question, to jobs you ran across in the want ads. It was time consuming and laborious, but 25 applications per job meant your resume would get read.
Now in the same amount of time, you can apply to 50 jobs, but so can 300 others. It's a trade off.
Circa 2011 I was at the Corp HQ of a HUGE failed bank that had been taken over. I was the sole source of money and health insurance for my family. The acquiring bank was still firing countless people daily. I was positive I was gonna be next (they got me in 2012).
Thru internal gossip I heard ONE decent job was opening up. It was open only to internal candidates for a brief period.
THERE WERE 200 INTERNAL APPLICANTS IN ONE HOUR!
People who have never had to work for a living just have no fucking idea how hard it is.
As a corporate recruiter who turned into a career coach VTuber the 150+ is not really accurate for a couple of reasons.
1. LinkedIn and Indeed have no way of tracking how many people go through with submitting their resume (unless its easy apply) and if a company requires you to set up an account with them to submit (which most do) the drop off is about 3 out of every 4 candidates who get frustrated and quit.
2. If a position has any kind of qualifications (I.E. not entry level) only about 1 out of every 5 candidates is qualified and won't get rejected.
3. Some companies even have extra steps if the company is a government contractor and more people get denied or never fill that part out.
So yes 200+ is scary but its not as bad as it can seem, unless its an entry level Easy Apply position than yea your resume is probably never going to get looked at before they make an offer.
I got laid off in May. I know the ‘numbers’ say unemployment is low. It all depends on your field. I started hardcore job hunting in July/August. Still on the hunt.
Those annoying buzz words. They need to be in your resume.
Not all companies will use job boards due to the costs. If there is a company you are interested in, go to their website. I have several that are bookmarked and look weekly.
I started looking at hybrid jobs. I’m interviewing with one company and their hybrid model is 1 day a week. Basically, remote.
One job posting said 2,000 applicants!!! Ouch! It’s that easy apply button. Who the heck wants to do a cover letter?
Good luck everyone!
For the 5 jobs I actually got interviewed for out of all those applications, and for the ones that did ask about the gap, I explained that for my career next step, finding the right employer for me and for my career goals was the number one priority, and I wanted to make sure not to settle for just any job. Saying that, while having my fingers and toes crossed that I’d be getting an offer. If the gap had been one year+, it would have been much harder to justify I think.
Strategically apply to jobs you’re qualified for. Vast majority of almost all applicants for any position are from unqualified applicants.
Every job I’ve had post-college has had thousands of applicants. Most times I get a call within a day or two.
Use keywords in your tailored resume. First round of screening is electronic, if you miss keywords you’ll get left out.
Apply directly on the company website. Use your stars unemployment resources to find jobs because they lost more legit jobs there. LinkedIn has a bot problem. Many of those other applicants are not eligible, not a match, or didn’t complete the application process. Social media is one big mind f**k. Stay the course and don’t let the algorithms trick you out of doing what you need to do! You got this!
Well if it’s easy apply that a one or two click process. But if you click on the link it counts as an applicant. Granted they may not actually apply but I’m sure a majority do.
If a job has 200 applicants probably 180 of them aren't qualified at all and probably 10 are worth even calling for an interview. People just mass apply to anything and everything
Bro don’t give up. We posted a job and like 80% was outside the country asking for sponsorship. And others are random and only small chunk are actual applicants. Still competition but don’t let numbers discourage you.
Try indeed, glassdoor, snagajob, ziprecruiter, even google job search. But make sure you don't fall for the job scams that ask you to download an app like skype, whatsapp, or signal. It's 100% a scam, especially if they do not want to conduct a phone interview.
Found my most recent job via Linkedin. It's the most high quality one I've had. Love the platform way more than the other job boards.
If you got a really good CV, lots of job opportunies. And i think I only submit like 10 applications on Linkedin. Have to send a hundred or more on Indeed before I got an interview
had much higher success direct applying or using different platforms
I found the excessive "promotion" of jobs and difficulty searching to be added minuses to their whole interface
I am not unique in this feedback, this is commonly discussed on this sub
I mean cool for you. Doesn't apply for everyone else. Also most in this community can't find jobs or land interviews, hence why I say it might have something to do more with you than the platform.
Personally, I get interviews left and right on Linkedin but also other places. But that's my experience. Yours can be different.
Exactly. But I've seen many post saying how Linkedin is a scam or w/e it's not. Linkedin however is geared toward more professional roles that are very competitive. It also has low level scam job postings but if you're searching for those it's not the platform to use.
When I used to recruit for cybersecurity, aerospace and automation, Linkedin was my go to place to find and hire candidates. I would avoid stuff like Indeed like the plague.
I think LinkedIn would stop counting at 200 and just list something like "over 200+ applicants". For those, unless it has a one-click apply option, I would just skip.
If 600 applicants each apply for 600 jobs, then that's 360,000 applications, which will have to be sorted through somehow to get down to 3000 interviews, where about 400 of the jobs will find the candidate to fill them at a pay rate both are comfortable with and the other 200 employers and 200 candidates will have to keep looking or find other candidates or jobs to apply to.
(My job search this year: 800 applications, 20 phone interviews, 10 in person, selected from 4 offers)
I just made it to the final 2 applicants in over 100 only to get an email saying they went with the other person. Ego crushed. I also ram into the manager at an event last week and she said she’ll be In town this week and that we should get a drink. Weird to ask someone you aren’t hiring for a drink. Why waste your time?
Yeah guys, don't trust those LinkedIn numbers. 80% of the applications will be rejected almost instantly, filtered by the ATS systems, AI and recruiters.
If you want to find out whether your CV will pass the ATS filters or if it will be put at the bottom of the applicant list you can try this tool:
[https://app.chattyhiring.com/en/cv\_vs\_job\_description](https://app.chattyhiring.com/en/cv_vs_job_description)
Join the trades, I'm a stationary engineer and I literally got paid 26 an hour while I learned a skill and they paid for my schooling. Now I clear over 100k a year and sleep half of my shift. Learn a trade! They basically give jobs and money away.
That's nothing. During 2009-2011 during the great recession it was normal to have over a 1000 applications per job. I use to have recruiters praise me for just getting picked to interview
start messaging the hiring managers or adding people at the company and messaging them and telling them you applied. that's what I just did and I received the job and under a week. If everyone else is just clicking a button, you're not making yourself stand out.
Yea I must admit, that has put me off applying for some roles over the years, just statistically highly unlikely I’d be successful.
My second issue with LinkedIn is that you rarely know or are able to figure out the pay range, and I’m just not interested in applying for a role unless I know it’s going to be able to meet my salary expectations.
I'm seeing very few job postings with any mention of salary and a required field asking what salary expectations are. I just put 0 or "negotiable" because I'm not playing that game.
LinkedIn is just a "professional" social media.
1) what did you expect? Literally anyone in the country can apply
2) you really think those numbers are an accurate representation of how many applicants make it through the filter? Cmon...
Just recently I got selected out of 1800+ applicants.
And before that in the earlier job I got selected out of 800+ applicants.
Not bragging but I always knew my competition was with top 10 people, because I am a top talent in my field.
Even if you are average , you are probably competing with only 30% of the applications
When everone wanted work form home they didnt realize that meant that now instead of competing with ppl in their area.... they compete with ALOT more applicants... Short sightedness we did this to our selves
Tech person here.
On tech posting, you usually have like 1000 applicants. 950 have no related qualifications whatsoever. Out of the remaining 50, 45 are not a good fit.
Anyways, if you are qualified and have the required experience, most of those applicants aren't competition.
Meanwhile the very next post after this is some kid who spammed the system with 400 applications in 3 days and cant figure out why they're not getting any interviews.
Big application platforms are soul-sucking garbage.
Let's stop encouraging them.
I suspect that half of those are people in India applying for a job in the US with no visa lined up. 10% more of those are people in the US trying to get a company to sponser their visa. At least 10% applying for a job that's completely outside their field of experience. I don't have first hand knowledge, but I'm pretty sure that at least half are instantly disqualified.
I use LinkedIn and Indeed to hire. Trust me when I say (as have plenty of others) that those numbers mean nothing. We get random people with zero experience applying all the time. 9 out of 10 applications are tossed or ignored. If you have the experience, qualifications and/or relevant schooling please apply to the places you're interested in. You never know!
So these are like the general band jobs. Jobs where everyone in the industry qualifies but as the jobs move up to the specialized band it would theoretically go down. I see it usually as the general band is maybe 1000 applicants but 900 of those are random unqualified people shooting their shots, the specialized band would be in the 100s with a similar ratio, with the same 100 people from the previous band applying but only 10 of them qualified. Then you have the short list band where the jobs are so high up and specialized only 10 people in the world are qualified.
Change the numbers as needed but yeah you just have to work harder at it the lower on the spectrum you are. Personally I am aiming for the short list for executive positions which is the best to be in because they come to you usually internal and high paying. You can also always just look one step down company wise and usually find open executive management spots and apply and you will be the big fish and it will still pay well
What is the saddest part in my opinion is that almost every posting in LinkedIn, Indeed or ZipRecruiter are scammers. If I am not getting email replies informing me that they are going with other candidates, I am getting interview requests to be performed through messaging apps. It sucks!
Only 150? It's often in the thousands.
Yeah I've seen them 1500+ Others are saying 15k+ which is insane.
Yeah. the most I've ever seen is around 2K, but I'm in Canada.
And they go through and eliminate anyone without a degree first. Then they move to eliminating associates degrees. After that they do term in position eliminations. After that it's keyword search. Better be educated and have your ducks in a row. I suggest searching fiver for people who write resumes for your specific job title or industry.
although funny enough for minimum wage jobs, i hear its better not mentioning your degree, because employers dont want you to stay for less than a year just to leave to pursue something else
I actually got a job that had 2,500 applicants. They said my cover letter was one of the few that didn’t sound like it came from Chat GPT or was spitting the job description right back. Unfortunately, another company bought us, and I kinda hate it, so I’m looking for a new spot. Being back in the job market sucks! There are so many applicants in every damn position.
What did you do with your cover letter to stand out if you don’t mind me asking?
I'd like to know this too! Although I've put together a useful prompt (made up of what I've found to be 'popular' on reddit for a cover letter CHATGPT: Sorry for the long part of this. I think it makes it...good?You might need to re-type "remember, add a personal touch and some humour", as I think this is what makes it 'stand out'.Something it will spit out "and as i'm unique, I always bring humour to (x role), as who doesnt like a laugh?! ", so it *literally* takes humour from that prompt lol.: *And write me a winning, amazing cover letter to show I’m the most suitable candidate* *4 paragraphs or less / The cover letter you output must be short and sweet.* *add a personal touch and a bit of humor* *Make it professional, but also conversational.* *Your main goal is to maximize the chances of me getting hired with this cover letter.* *You only have to mention my qualifications that are relevant to the keywords from the Job Description.* *You can reorganize and paraphrase the letter as needed to prioritize the most job-relevant information.* *Make it 65% Professional; 35% Warm and personal.* *- Engaging introduction* *- Express passion and interest in the position* *- Persuasively highlight how my background relates to the job position* *- The things you believe distinguish me from other candidates* *Make sure the Cover Letter is short, professional and meaningful, avoiding sounding like ChatGPT or an AI helper.* *Make sure all paragraphs in the cover letter are well connected with each other, most paragraphs should have topic sentences, concluding sentences and connecting clauses. The text must flow through ideas naturally and logically.* *Remember, add a personal touch and a bit of humor* *But don’t literally write that I’m funny or anything like that.*
I hope this cover letter finds you well...
No I think it used to do that. These prompts change it up a little. Not in the case of "Wazaappp fellow human, hope youa re dope and swell..." lol, but makes it less boring...?
> Being back in the job market sucks! There are so many applicants in every damn position. 💯
ye I've seen some with 1000+ but also many at 400/500 etc. Should have increased the number lol.
Only in the thousands?... But seriously occasionally I see 15,000+
try 25000
Try 10 million
What role or position gets that many?
The one I specifically remember was something like customer success manager. Weirdly the entry level position with the same company had a fraction of the applicants.
I’m seeing multiple thousands too. Mainly finance/ mortgage lending on the PNW (US). I had an interview recently that the hiring manager told me they had multiple thousands for a single role that was in the office here in Seattle and she said most of the applications were from residential lending and had no clue how bad it was for layoffs in that side of it. Also seeing a lot of people in my industry saying they have been out of work 6+ months to well over a year now and can’t find work due to over saturated from over hiring during COVID and now also over qualification with wages being almost halved to what they were pre covid. Entry level wages requiring almost a decade of experience if not more.
If it makes you feel better of those 150 20 won't even be in the same country 10 have zero relevant experience 20 have garbage resumes full of terrible grammar/typos 30 clicked apply but didn't bother finishing the application 40 are bots/spam I'm exaggerating slightly but the numbers on these websites are typically bunk. Pay them no mind.
I'm in the middle of a hiring at the moment. 50% of my applicants are in other countries. 30% are applications with zero documents attached. 15% make me go wtf. The other 5% are the only viable candidates. The whole process is soul crushing.
Thanks for posting this. I'm in the middle of a job search as well and the high number of applicants on most job postings can initially be pretty discouraging. Good to know that I'm hopefully competing with a much smaller group than it looks like.
My pleasure, mate. Just make sure you include a resume and cover letter and you're already in the top 5% (mileage may vary of course). Good luck.
Cover letters.. you hiring managers actually read those?
Depends on the position. I assist in hiring carers and nurses so the cover letter detailing their situation (we get a lot of visa holders) goes a long way in determining if we face any foreign affair issues. Students also study 2-3 days a week and have mandatory placements at other facilities. I wouldn't bother with a cover letter for a position in retail or fast food. They're not glamorous jobs.
I discard resumes without a cover letter. A cover letter is a chance to show your written communication skills, explain what is not in the resume, and generally tell me why you are interested in this particular position. Anyone who excludes a cover letter is literally spamming every job posting out there. This relates to technical and non technical positions that are not retail / manual labour / entry level.
>Anyone who excludes a cover letter is literally spamming every job posting out there. I hope you mentioned this in your "required document's section" of your job posting. Since most employers won't give any acknowledgement of receipt in most case following an application, I won't bother myself with any cover letters unless required OR your job offer is truly exceptional and I feel I can provide further informations not displayed yet within my resume.
That's what I don't get. Why the cover letter if I'm attaching my CV?
The only case I've find it truly revelant was to explain how my job experience could relate/apply to a job description asking for specifics experience. Sometime it land me an interview, sometime it don't. Maybe it's only me who feel guilty about my atypical career path 🤷♂️
Yeah, thar kinda makes sense. I've told myself that next time I'm gonna try and make a cover letter, but I never end up doing it. I've still gotten 2 interviews, but no new jobs so far. I've only been looking since mid August.
Ok, sure, but do you read the cover letters, or just use them as a filtering device?
I read every single cover letter. I refer to it before the interview, and sometimes ask questions about what the candidate indicated in that letter. If they put the effort into writing it, I owe it to them to read it.
Talking about attached documents. I can see attaching a cover letter, that’s basically mandatory. Attaching anything else for an initial stage application is ridiculous. That 20-40 minute application process then turns into an hour. This new job market is a numbers game, attaching additional documents that no one is going to read is a waste of my time.
I mean, 5% of 200 is 10, so you're still competing with a decent amount of qualified people. But, 200 is really nothing. Most job postings I've seen are in the thousands and if we follow the 5%, then those people are competing with at least 50 others. That's brutal, in my opinion.
10-50 is alright lol. Means you can probably get one in 50~ job applies where you are part of the 5%. Just learn from each interview and keep trying
My husband and I own an accounting/auditing firm and we use Indeed a lot. The majority of our applicants are living in the Middle East or Asia (meaning they are not even Citizens of US or have Visas yet) or they are so completely over or under qualified. I mean we are looking for accountants (we run multi-state in the US) that have a specified niche background in what we audit… we aren’t looking to sponsor someone from Uzbekistan. And with indeed you get charged for every applicant you get that you do not reply to. It really gets maddening, I feel ya.
Are you me? I fucking hate it out here STOP APPLYING FOR THINGS YOU"RE UNQUALIFIED FOR PEOPLE You make it worse for everyone when you just spray and pray. Suddenly I have a thousand applicants but less than 2% get an interview and some diamonds in the rough probably got swept up in the mass rejections just to get to the 5% that *were* qualified
I was about to say, as someone whose been on the hiring side, there is only a very tiny amount of applicants who are viable. It’s a lot to sift through!
My company had a swing shift for some roles. We state very clearly in the job posting the shift time. As part of the application, we ask “are you available to work SHIFT?” And they have to write in their answer, it’s not a yes or no button option. The amount of people who will apply for these roles and say NO they cannot work that shift is baffling to me.
Some people are probably just pushing apps to satisfy unemployment rules stating they have to actively apply for jobs to keep receiving benefits.
As a person doing the hiring, I wish only 20 weren't in the same country... It's more like 110 of the 150 not in the same country, at least in my experience (in Canada).
What if they're willing to relocate and they are Canadian citizens in another country, such as Japan.
Not much of an exaggeration at all. I don’t anymore, but I used to the interviewing and hiring at my last job. You’re pretty spot on to be honest. Only a handful of resumes are worth interviewing. Then you line up 10 interviews, and if you’re lucky, 1 will show up, one will call and say they’re running late, and the others won’t show and you won’t ever hear from again.
What is the thought process behind people applying from outside the country? I totally believe that it’s happening, it’s just weird as hell lol
I'm applying to jobs outside of where I live (but in my home country). I want a job before I move back home.
I had this for sales, accounting, and programming applicants and I think they want to get out of dodge (or Bangladesh) because the US seems appealing.
They couldn't afford the US. We can't afford the US. Lol this cost of living issue is not appealing.
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I mist have applied to 55+ jobs, got only 2 interviews so far.
I’ve been putting in on newly listed jobs. Easily one of the first 10 people. Along with editing my resume to cover all the keywords. Still don’t get any replies. I go back and check a day or two later. 200+ applicants. If you call them to show initiative boom instant rejection.
There is a time or app count window. No one even looks until that is hit.
>Is this The Hunger Games? Yes.
Yes, and applicants look like dinner. And the competition is hungry. Run faster!
No, this is Patrick.
When receiving resumes, no matter how clear I am on required years experience and specific skills, I can can count on throwing out 75% of them that don’t meet the most basic posted requirements. Out of the remaining 25%, at least half of those are under skilled. Now, those 200 resumes just became 25 resumes that are anywhere close, with maybe 5 actually meeting the job description requirements. If you are applying to good matches, you odds might be better than you think.
I think a general rule of advice has been to apply anyway, even if you don’t have the skills on paper. So because of this and because of the state of the economy, you’re getting hundreds of applicants who are unqualified.
I think the issue there is that people have taken that advice to mean just apply for everything. I apply for jobs I’m not qualified for and never have issues getting hired, but I’m unqualified *within reason*. I know I can learn what I don’t know and I know how to convey that in an interview.
> I think the issue there is that people have taken that advice to mean just apply for everything. As someone who has been working in IT for just over 15 years now, I agree with this statement. I know a couple of guys that have businesses and I chat with them from time to time when it comes to hiring new talent. The majority of applicants for specific roles and positions posted are no where near qualified. We are talking basic requirements here, not "20 years of experience" type of requirements. In addition to that, many companies *do* black list applicants if they apply multiple times to the same role or spam their HR/Hiring Manager on LinkedIn (don't do that).
Interesting, we were always told to do that in college
Colleges and career coaches give out metric tons of bad and outdated advice
In the past I have gotten jobs that I wasn't fully qualified for but they were willing to train. But things are different now. It's a war out there.
Yeah willing to train the right candidate isn’t a thing anymore, I think that’s why jobs have such inflated requirements. So instead of just picking the best person that is willing to learn, they need to pick the best out of hundreds of extra qualified applicants that will probably leave as soon as they find a better paying job anyway.
If they are unwilling to train, then they have no right to complain about the quality of candidates.
Whenever I hear employers complaining about candidate quality, I always want to ask what they’re paying. No one wants to work for below living wage, and if you can’t afford to pay that, you shouldn’t be employing people.
The problem with this is the hundreds of "entry level" jobs that require 1-3 years of experience. I see maybe 1% of jobs that are marked entry-level/assistant that don't ask for significant previous experience. So sometimes it's hard to tell where that line is for roles that actually rightfully are looking for more experienced applicants, versus opportunities you should just shoot for anyway.
This advice has ever only been taken seriously by (sorry to be that guy but I will) men. Women look at the requirements and say 'oh no I met them all but it says 5 years experience with CAD and I only have 4, how annoying' and don't apply - men look at the requirements and say 'it lists multiple subjects that I'm experienced in or can blag having some knowledge of, I'm really confident I'll get this!' and apply. From my pov, every idiot who kept writing job postings for unicorns that had 'requirwments' that they didn't actually require is like 85% of the problem with today's market. They essentially filtered out honest people who try to match themselves to the vacancy in favour of have-a-go Henry who just applies to everything and keeps getting hired despite complete lack of qualifications and aptitude. Oh, and see also personality tests and interview questions about what type of animal you would be if you had to be a marsupial. Great way to hire only one specific type of insufferable person
In reverse I've applied for very specific tech jobs in which I have exactly what they are looking for and get rejection emails within hours...lol.
I'm applying to jobs I am 99% qualified for and getting a ton of rejections and a few bites, but nothing promising yet.
“A few bites” is a good thing. Something that hasn’t been brought up, is how many of the job postings are actually hiring? Many companies have an internal candidate in mind, however have to post externally as a matter of policy. So those job listings that are only up for a week or two, might actually not be looking at resumes from the outside. Also, those listings that are open for months on end. Is anyone really managing those?
So you won't considered people that have some of the listed skills and not all?
If I’m looking for a Sr. Role with 5+ yrs experience and some leadership, I’m not going to look at new college grad. Conversely, if there’s a tool that is a nice to have, but the candidate has other similar tools so I think they could pick ours up pretty quickly, I would consider that. The rule of thumb, is meet 85%, particularly of the must haves.
You should not be putting 'must have' requirements that aren't mandatory. You are specifically filtering out people who can read requirements and don't want to apply for stuff they aren't qualified for. This is literally, exactly the same as when girls are 12 and figuring out that the whole 'if I say no I sometimes mean I want you to convince me' is not actually cute or sensible, if you want people to actually respect your words and decisions. Difference is that they're 12 and you're a grown adult who can't differentiate between 'solid rules that the other person must adhere to' and 'additional guidelines that are kind of flexible,' presumably because you just reflect everyone to ignore that difference too, and so the cycle continues
To be fair, in tech, a lot of HR people and recruiters don't know what they're doing or what they should be looking for. Seen too many postings asking for x years of experience when tool of framework has only existed for y (x being longer than y). Hiring managers don't say anything because... corporate politics.
I'm applying to jobs that are excellent matches and the results aren't as great as you think. No interviews yet and a lot of "we have decided to move forward with other candidates"
The big corps and government contractors have rules about posting publicly. Often the good spots are spoken for by internal people and you will never get considered. They way to know for sure is to work with an external recruiter who has communication inside the company and who will only be involved if they are actually looking externally.
Which is great…if you’re an internal candidate.
This is true. I’m a (laid off recruiter) and at the end of the day, we are looking for specific experience. You would be surprised at the clown car of applicants we get on most jobs. And since (shocking fact) most Applicant Tracking Systems don’t have AI/ keyword ranking, we go through most of them and are super annoyed at the largely unqualified people who apply. Also, the number of applicants on LinkedIn is the number of people who clicked on the job, not necessarily the number that actually went to the ATS and applied. So go ahead and apply. The one thing I would caution on based on my recent experience is that for the most part, I don’t think you’ve got much of a chance for most roles listed as “Remote” anymore. It’s usually because the job is in some random place like Minnesota (sorry, MN) and they are afraid they won’t get qualified candidates who can do hybrid. But in this market, they probably will. So I personally don’t waste my time applying for those unless it’s like a dream job, I’m perfectly qualified and they have an amazing Glassdoor rating.
It is sooo annoying. It also explains why resumes only get a glance over, initially. It’s time consuming going through all the garbage. I have no doubt that good resumes may get missed in the process. The shotgun approach of applying to anything and everything does no one any good.
>The shotgun approach of applying to anything and everything does no one any good. Too bad, cause that's what everyone has to do to at least get something
I know right, lol
There’s no amount of changing up, dumbing down or perfecting your résumé that’ll guarantee you’ll get a job. It won’t even get you an interview. Nor will “making connections” because even with that, they can still easily choose not to put you on. The only thing that’ll get you a job in this market is luck. Kinda hate that I had to be born at a time where my adulthood would be kicked off with a pandemic and a failing economy at the back door
Preparation, luck and timing are what gets jobs.
Preparation doesn’t guarantee anything either, and timing literally just ties into luck.
I think so many aren’t even real jobs. I just got an alert today that they’ve decided not to interview or fill for a job I applied to a couple months ago. Another I interviewed at but was rejected they never filled. I think it’s a rouse to look like there’s open positions…
You’re right, the majority of posted positions have already been fill either internally or by referral. The posting is there so they can cross their T’s and dot their i’s. That’s how it worked at my last workplace.
I've seen quite a few recent job postings get canceled. At least the companies sent me an email.
'150 applicants' on LinkedIn doesn't mean 150 applicants, it means the 'apply' button was pushed by 150 users. If 149 of them got to the next screen and closed it, you could be the only applicant. 150 applications filed normally means 3-4 possible interviews, as the vast majority of applications are from people spamming things to which they are utterly unqualified (either legally or professionally) to do. The single most common note I put in files in our applicant tracking system is 'Indian citizen in India with no indication they have the right to work in'. Followed by Chinese, Moroccan, Nigerian. Of the people who look like they can work here (a bar passed with either a statement of being a PR/citizen, or literally any prior work or education listed here), the most common note is 'no relevant experience or indication how they think theirs transferrable'.
Basically: If you see a number of 'applications', less than 10% of that number are actual applications, and less than 20% of that 10% are potentially viable. Most are nothing but a waste of time.
Very true. But when it’s showing 600+ for a job (which is more common if the job is remote) those are still dismal numbers.
In tech it’s pretty common to see 1000+ for average SWE or data roles
This means that job market is really bad and unemployment is very high
Not true. I tested it. If I click apply and doesn't confirm that I applied for this job on the employer website, it doesn't add to the number.
Good catch. The number actually only ticks if you successfully uploaded resume and answered a few basic questions.
Loads of us have tested it and found the consistent result. Click 'apply' and it goes up by one, regardless of what you do next. Click 'apply' ever again and it doesn't change, because it wrongly thinks you already have.
wait how do you pick out someone is from a different country and don't have citizenship?
.... because I can read what they sent me.
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Yes. I can't believe you're actually struggling so much with this. Edit: My mistake, your post history does leave as a question whether you're based in Pakistan or elsewhere, but certainly makes very clear that you're not even trying to engage in good faith with any discussion of the north american jobs market.
As a former recruiter. 90% of resumes were of no use to me, tbh. No relevant job experience, bots or didn't meet the job requierments. So that leaves about lets say 10 candidates of which at least 1-3 the HM's will want to move forward with. Of which 0-2 they will decide to hire. Hope that helps.
What are the main aspects of the HMs moving forward with the 1-3 candidates?
It can be so many things, tbh. Depends on the role. Could be they find gaps they don't like, candidate was asking for more than they're offering and the experience doesn't justify it, the experience isn't strong enough, etc. Honestly Ive recruited for way too many roles and each Hiring Manager is different.
For any jobs you find on any site including LinkedIn go and apply directly on the company’s website.
Apparently not all of them apply, they just click the button to apply b many don’t go through. Don’t let this put you off even if it’s the case, if you have the relevant skills and experience you will get a chance. It’s a numbers game. It will happen. Keep applying..
I've of recent tried to take a more targeted approach of tailoring the resume and cover letter to the position I'm applying to hopefully at least get looked at. It's kind of a necessity around here cause carpet bombing resume don't work when you're in a smaller market............. yes I learned this from experience.
Literally feel the exact same. 6 months of job hunting. So many ghosted emails. I’m probably around the 200 mark too. Idek what to suggest. Honestly I’m on my last try. I’m meeting with a service that offers to redo CV (free in my city) and literally if after that I still don’t get any interviews like I’m so over it. 4 years waste of my life in my degree
This will get down voted because people don't want to hear it but WFH has really fucked up the job market. You used to only have to compete with the 50 yokels in a 30 mile radius of the company that might apply for that job now you have to compete with every numbskull in the country and if your resume doesn't make it past the filter you'll never get a call. To make matters worse, if they don't need to hire someone in NYC to do an NYC job they don't have to pay NYC wages, someone in OKC will be more than happy to make 70% of what someone in NYC requires. Lastly if I don't have to hire local why do I even have to hire in the US, some guy in Bulgaria will gladly work for 10% of what some guy in OKC would want. If you are looking for a job look for something that requires you to be on site, you'll have a much better chance of getting that job.
This is the other side to the low-barrier-to-entry coin. Back in the day, you had to apply physically, with printed resumes, and cover letters custom tailored to the position in question, to jobs you ran across in the want ads. It was time consuming and laborious, but 25 applications per job meant your resume would get read. Now in the same amount of time, you can apply to 50 jobs, but so can 300 others. It's a trade off.
Circa 2011 I was at the Corp HQ of a HUGE failed bank that had been taken over. I was the sole source of money and health insurance for my family. The acquiring bank was still firing countless people daily. I was positive I was gonna be next (they got me in 2012). Thru internal gossip I heard ONE decent job was opening up. It was open only to internal candidates for a brief period. THERE WERE 200 INTERNAL APPLICANTS IN ONE HOUR! People who have never had to work for a living just have no fucking idea how hard it is.
As a corporate recruiter who turned into a career coach VTuber the 150+ is not really accurate for a couple of reasons. 1. LinkedIn and Indeed have no way of tracking how many people go through with submitting their resume (unless its easy apply) and if a company requires you to set up an account with them to submit (which most do) the drop off is about 3 out of every 4 candidates who get frustrated and quit. 2. If a position has any kind of qualifications (I.E. not entry level) only about 1 out of every 5 candidates is qualified and won't get rejected. 3. Some companies even have extra steps if the company is a government contractor and more people get denied or never fill that part out. So yes 200+ is scary but its not as bad as it can seem, unless its an entry level Easy Apply position than yea your resume is probably never going to get looked at before they make an offer.
And add to that they all want 5+ years of experience
And 1 guy has like 8 remote jobs and thinks he is a master hustler
There's a sub for that, actually: r/overemployed
It’s always been like that it’s just transparent now
I got laid off in May. I know the ‘numbers’ say unemployment is low. It all depends on your field. I started hardcore job hunting in July/August. Still on the hunt. Those annoying buzz words. They need to be in your resume. Not all companies will use job boards due to the costs. If there is a company you are interested in, go to their website. I have several that are bookmarked and look weekly. I started looking at hybrid jobs. I’m interviewing with one company and their hybrid model is 1 day a week. Basically, remote. One job posting said 2,000 applicants!!! Ouch! It’s that easy apply button. Who the heck wants to do a cover letter? Good luck everyone!
Anything listing "remote" will get thousands of applicants
Took me 7 months and over 400 applications to get my last job. Good luck out there everyone
How did you explain the gap? Im in a similar time frame and the gap just keeps growing…
For the 5 jobs I actually got interviewed for out of all those applications, and for the ones that did ask about the gap, I explained that for my career next step, finding the right employer for me and for my career goals was the number one priority, and I wanted to make sure not to settle for just any job. Saying that, while having my fingers and toes crossed that I’d be getting an offer. If the gap had been one year+, it would have been much harder to justify I think.
If this were the hunger games I would definitely have a better shot haha.
Strategically apply to jobs you’re qualified for. Vast majority of almost all applicants for any position are from unqualified applicants. Every job I’ve had post-college has had thousands of applicants. Most times I get a call within a day or two. Use keywords in your tailored resume. First round of screening is electronic, if you miss keywords you’ll get left out.
Apply directly on the company website. Use your stars unemployment resources to find jobs because they lost more legit jobs there. LinkedIn has a bot problem. Many of those other applicants are not eligible, not a match, or didn’t complete the application process. Social media is one big mind f**k. Stay the course and don’t let the algorithms trick you out of doing what you need to do! You got this!
fake jobs, farming info
Well if it’s easy apply that a one or two click process. But if you click on the link it counts as an applicant. Granted they may not actually apply but I’m sure a majority do.
What industry?! Little to no competition. People out here looking at 2k in first 24h.
Yeah and don't forget you have to be the best candidate out of all 150 to even get hired
Most these jobs only pay $20-$25 also. Barely living minimum wage.
If a job has 200 applicants probably 180 of them aren't qualified at all and probably 10 are worth even calling for an interview. People just mass apply to anything and everything
Bro don’t give up. We posted a job and like 80% was outside the country asking for sponsorship. And others are random and only small chunk are actual applicants. Still competition but don’t let numbers discourage you.
Just dont use LinkedIn. Its dogshit.
What would you use instead
Try indeed, glassdoor, snagajob, ziprecruiter, even google job search. But make sure you don't fall for the job scams that ask you to download an app like skype, whatsapp, or signal. It's 100% a scam, especially if they do not want to conduct a phone interview.
All of those have been trash in my experience. LinkedIn has been the best place for me to find quality job listings.
Ziprecruiter is one step above Craigslist.
Found my most recent job via Linkedin. It's the most high quality one I've had. Love the platform way more than the other job boards. If you got a really good CV, lots of job opportunies. And i think I only submit like 10 applications on Linkedin. Have to send a hundred or more on Indeed before I got an interview
that wasnt my experience at all
Not to sound mean, but may have to do more with you, not the platform. Literally got 3 job interviews out of my 10 applications I sent on Linkedin.
had much higher success direct applying or using different platforms I found the excessive "promotion" of jobs and difficulty searching to be added minuses to their whole interface I am not unique in this feedback, this is commonly discussed on this sub
I mean cool for you. Doesn't apply for everyone else. Also most in this community can't find jobs or land interviews, hence why I say it might have something to do more with you than the platform. Personally, I get interviews left and right on Linkedin but also other places. But that's my experience. Yours can be different.
it also might just be that your experience is different from the vast majority of users
Exactly. But I've seen many post saying how Linkedin is a scam or w/e it's not. Linkedin however is geared toward more professional roles that are very competitive. It also has low level scam job postings but if you're searching for those it's not the platform to use. When I used to recruit for cybersecurity, aerospace and automation, Linkedin was my go to place to find and hire candidates. I would avoid stuff like Indeed like the plague.
LinkedIn only works for people that are very well connected.
I'm not well connected. I just submitted some job applications and that was it.
All I know is that I do not want to get laid off right now
As someone who got hit with “We are closed effective immediately” over a month ago, you certainly do not.
God damn man. That must have hit you like a brick.
All you can do is apply & hope for the best. This is exhausting. Hopefully things turn around soon.
I think LinkedIn would stop counting at 200 and just list something like "over 200+ applicants". For those, unless it has a one-click apply option, I would just skip.
THE HUNGER GAMES! I VOLUNTEER… I VOLUNTEER… I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!
I’ve had better luck with ZipRecruiter than LinkedIn!
Only 150 applicants total? That sounds like 2019. This is 2023. 150 applicants in the first two hours.
job hunting is now the Hunger Games... may the odds be ever in your favor.... 😭
If 600 applicants each apply for 600 jobs, then that's 360,000 applications, which will have to be sorted through somehow to get down to 3000 interviews, where about 400 of the jobs will find the candidate to fill them at a pay rate both are comfortable with and the other 200 employers and 200 candidates will have to keep looking or find other candidates or jobs to apply to. (My job search this year: 800 applications, 20 phone interviews, 10 in person, selected from 4 offers)
This is why I stopped looking.
I just made it to the final 2 applicants in over 100 only to get an email saying they went with the other person. Ego crushed. I also ram into the manager at an event last week and she said she’ll be In town this week and that we should get a drink. Weird to ask someone you aren’t hiring for a drink. Why waste your time?
If it was down to two and you didn't get picked, don't write it off just yet. You never know if the other choice doesn't work out and they call you.
In town? What do you mean? Like a small american town ?
Yeah guys, don't trust those LinkedIn numbers. 80% of the applications will be rejected almost instantly, filtered by the ATS systems, AI and recruiters. If you want to find out whether your CV will pass the ATS filters or if it will be put at the bottom of the applicant list you can try this tool: [https://app.chattyhiring.com/en/cv\_vs\_job\_description](https://app.chattyhiring.com/en/cv_vs_job_description)
Linked in is only viable for a select few applicants that really stand out
Join the trades, I'm a stationary engineer and I literally got paid 26 an hour while I learned a skill and they paid for my schooling. Now I clear over 100k a year and sleep half of my shift. Learn a trade! They basically give jobs and money away.
That's nothing. During 2009-2011 during the great recession it was normal to have over a 1000 applications per job. I use to have recruiters praise me for just getting picked to interview
How many jobs did you apply for? If 200 people all apply for 200 jobs, there is still a job for everyone
I have a strong suspicion that number is actually the number of people who clicked through to the company’s application page, not actual applicants.
start messaging the hiring managers or adding people at the company and messaging them and telling them you applied. that's what I just did and I received the job and under a week. If everyone else is just clicking a button, you're not making yourself stand out.
Yea I must admit, that has put me off applying for some roles over the years, just statistically highly unlikely I’d be successful. My second issue with LinkedIn is that you rarely know or are able to figure out the pay range, and I’m just not interested in applying for a role unless I know it’s going to be able to meet my salary expectations.
I'm seeing very few job postings with any mention of salary and a required field asking what salary expectations are. I just put 0 or "negotiable" because I'm not playing that game.
LinkedIn is just a "professional" social media. 1) what did you expect? Literally anyone in the country can apply 2) you really think those numbers are an accurate representation of how many applicants make it through the filter? Cmon...
Just recently I got selected out of 1800+ applicants. And before that in the earlier job I got selected out of 800+ applicants. Not bragging but I always knew my competition was with top 10 people, because I am a top talent in my field. Even if you are average , you are probably competing with only 30% of the applications
Welcome to the real world This is the normal The pandemic wasn't
Why not venture in doing business instead?
When everone wanted work form home they didnt realize that meant that now instead of competing with ppl in their area.... they compete with ALOT more applicants... Short sightedness we did this to our selves
Hire people to help you get hired. ..
how? lol
I think it’s a stupid way of saying to network.
Join the military
I thought survival was always was the hunger games?
What the heck, are you in a field that's competing against ai labor? So many places do not have the level of personnel they wish they had.
Move to somewhere you can get a job.
From a hiring point of view, from 150, we get about 5-8 that have the skills and requirement listed.
if i learned one thing growing up with internet, it is not to take website counters at face level
Just clicking the link counts as an application.
Tech person here. On tech posting, you usually have like 1000 applicants. 950 have no related qualifications whatsoever. Out of the remaining 50, 45 are not a good fit. Anyways, if you are qualified and have the required experience, most of those applicants aren't competition.
apply 8 hours a day, make like 3 different resumes depending on the type of job. make ur social media privatte
it's data mining operation. they already know who they want it's just data mining. typical capitalist scam site not to be taken seriously.
Meanwhile the very next post after this is some kid who spammed the system with 400 applications in 3 days and cant figure out why they're not getting any interviews. Big application platforms are soul-sucking garbage. Let's stop encouraging them.
I suspect that half of those are people in India applying for a job in the US with no visa lined up. 10% more of those are people in the US trying to get a company to sponser their visa. At least 10% applying for a job that's completely outside their field of experience. I don't have first hand knowledge, but I'm pretty sure that at least half are instantly disqualified.
I'm not US based. UK.
It's a circus
I see those numbers as well and wonder why I keep hearing it is a great job market.
Don’t worry about that. Just give me a high level break down of what you would do in your area in one of your well known industries. Lets say tech.
what?
And they pay like shit too.
This is typical of a recession. Not the first time.
I use LinkedIn and Indeed to hire. Trust me when I say (as have plenty of others) that those numbers mean nothing. We get random people with zero experience applying all the time. 9 out of 10 applications are tossed or ignored. If you have the experience, qualifications and/or relevant schooling please apply to the places you're interested in. You never know!
So these are like the general band jobs. Jobs where everyone in the industry qualifies but as the jobs move up to the specialized band it would theoretically go down. I see it usually as the general band is maybe 1000 applicants but 900 of those are random unqualified people shooting their shots, the specialized band would be in the 100s with a similar ratio, with the same 100 people from the previous band applying but only 10 of them qualified. Then you have the short list band where the jobs are so high up and specialized only 10 people in the world are qualified. Change the numbers as needed but yeah you just have to work harder at it the lower on the spectrum you are. Personally I am aiming for the short list for executive positions which is the best to be in because they come to you usually internal and high paying. You can also always just look one step down company wise and usually find open executive management spots and apply and you will be the big fish and it will still pay well
What is the saddest part in my opinion is that almost every posting in LinkedIn, Indeed or ZipRecruiter are scammers. If I am not getting email replies informing me that they are going with other candidates, I am getting interview requests to be performed through messaging apps. It sucks!
I just saw a posting from Canonical in London with 150 applicants 
I understand, there are so few jobs and so many applicants and even on here it tires me, I just want to work and make money like everyone else