Very Scary Realities About Your Job Search

By Bruce Blackwell

If you think applying for jobs online is like sending your resume into a black hole, you are right! The numbers are staggering.The wise job seeker is going to understand the odds, and develop a more creative campaign than simply going online and hitting the “apply now” button. Here’s how bad it is. I was just going through the year-end report of the results of our Attorneys Wanted advertising on Indeed.com. It’s downright scary.

We received 1,005 applications for one job as a mid-to-senior level in-house position in New Jersey and 739 for a slightly more senior in-house job in New York. We received a paltry 447 applications for another senior in-house position. That’s 2191 resumes for 3 positions. From that field of candidates, we ultimately had to select 3 people to send to each hiring company. Your chances, as a mid-to-senior level attorney, of being given the opportunity to interview for these positions comes out to .04%. That’s 4/1000ths.

All told, when averaging the responses for each position we advertised in 2017, it came to 346.88 resumes per job. If your search is taking longer than you think it should, then perhaps that’s the reason why.

I love it when we can place a candidate through our Recruiting function. We get 20-25% (or more) of a selected candidate’s first year compensation package. At, say, a $160,000 mid-level in-house role, we will make $40,000 or so. If we could place candidates every day, we’d be very, very rich. But then someone else would be writing this column, as I’d be on the beach in the Caribbean drinking rum punches right now. The problem is that the hiring companies are fussy. They want what they want. Accept no substitutes. If you are not a Perfect Match for a posted position, you won’t be considered or put up for the job. The reality is that very few candidates are Perfect Matches and thus recruitable.

Here it comes. The Pitch.

If you are among the 2,182 applicants in 2017 who were not put up for those three in-house jobs, there is help. At Career Strategies, we provide creative, effective and dynamic approaches to the job search process. We know how to get around the dark hole of online classifieds and how to help you get onto the radar screens of the hiring partners or executives. We offer a free, no-obligation initial discussion to assess your marketability and job search methods. Call us today at 866-898-4228. Don’t base your job search on being in the .04%.