Truth about applying online for jobs.

The comment/question I seem to be getting the most is "I am applying online to every job I can everyday and I have had no responses. Are these postings on Monster and Career Builder for real?" Well, yes and no. I can tell you how I worked as a Recruiter and Head Hunter and how most of my associates worked. I was the type of recruiter that filled 90% of jobs without using a job board. With that being said I bet you are wondering then why do companies waste my time and their time by putting a job posting up. Well, it's because the posting is the plan B. The reason the job posting is plan B is because 80% YES 80% of jobs are filled by networking. Think about it for a few minutes. How many jobs have you had and how many do you feel you got buy knowing someone or knowing someone who knew someone for you?

This is not new due to the economic conditions. This is how it has been for a long time. It is the nature of the beast.

The posting is for if the recruiter has exhausted all of the candidates on their "Hot Sheet". I'll explain the "Hot Sheet" in a second, don't worry. If all of the candidates on the "Hot Sheet" have been exhausted now there is a pool of applicants to work with from the job posting that are interested in the opportunity you have to offer and want to talk to you about it. It works out for the recruiter / HR Manager because you don't have to start from scratch when you need to give a hiring manager more resumes. The "Hot Sheet" is a list of pre qualified candidates the recruiter updates daily. It's updated daily because the candidates are "Hot" and get jobs quickly. If a recruiter places "Hot" candidates all day then they make a lot more money a lot faster. How do you get on someone's "Hot Sheet"? I'll have to explain that in a separate post. You can also look for an article on how to be in the 80% and if you are still going to apply online how to do it as effectively as possible.

Think about your odds here. If 80% of jobs are filled by networking that means only about 20% of the time are they looking at resumes from job postings. Your odds of getting a job from an online job posting are almost the same as checking the help wanted ads in your local newspaper. If you are currently unemployed the cost of being unemployed increases daily.

Time is not your friend when you are unemployed. Don't waste too much of it applying online. My advice is do not spend more than 1 hour a day applying to jobs online. It is a huge waste of time. If you do continue to apply online tailor your resume to highlight your qualifications for the position you are applying for. Make it easy for the person reviewing the resumes. A lot of time the resumes go to the HR dept and they don't always have the insight the hiring manager does and your resume has to make it through an HR manager that is "matching" key words and skills from the job description to your resume before the hiring manager ever sees it.

Please don't misunderstand you can get a job being online but applying online to postings decreases your chances tremendously. I'll explain that in another posting too. I want to help equip as many people as I can with the tools they need in order to succeed in today's marketplace.