💡 Stop Applying to Thousands of Jobs (Issue 597)
Cold applications are a silly waste of time
“I applied to 1,623 companies before I got my current job offer." — Instagram user
My friend sent me a reel where the person quoted above talked about their recent job search process. Here is the data from their experience:
Ghosted or ignored by 827 companies
Interviewed with 61 companies
Received 795 total rejections
Spent 56 hours interviewing
Had 112 total interviews
Received 1 job offer
You know, it doesn’t have to be like this.
I feel like a broken record, but this whole cold application mentality isn’t doing people any favors. It may seem easier, but I don’t know how spending 56 hours interviewing is easier than being super targeted and only spending a few hours interviewing before landing a new job.
You might be tired of hearing my stories, but here we go again. (You can scroll down for a fresh job search experience from a much younger person.)
Every one of my tech career jobs (i.e., IBM, Apple, eBay, Yahoo, and a startup) came through warm introductions, internal connections, and inside champions.
Connecting with the right people made my job search easier, and those people also coached me through the interviews.
I had offers (even competing offers) in less than a week after a few targeted interviews.
I can hear some of you saying, “Whatever, old dude. Times have changed. The job market ain’t like that now!”
Okay, then. Here’s the story of a 25-year-old who landed a new job about a month ago.
They interviewed with one company for one role.
They had zero experience with that type of job.
However, they talked with me about their job interview strategy and how to position themselves as the ideal candidate for that role.
They found two insiders. One person had the same job, but with a different company. The other person had this exact job before with the same company, and they had documented their work experience in detail.
The insider information helped the candidate prepare for the questions they would probably be asked during the interview, watch out for things that could trip them up, and generally understand what the employer cared about most.
They had one automated screening interview and one live interview.
About a week later, they received a job offer.
The new job will double their current income, provide benefits, and give them a work experience they find exciting.
So, a targeted application to one company instead of 1,623 companies. Two interviews instead of 112 interviews. About two hours of interviews vs. 56 hours. And a great job that doubles their income doing work they’re excited to begin.
Still think the online cold application process is a big timesaver?
It may seem like more upfront work to get clear about what you want, work your network to find friendly connections, and prepare your talking points to sell yourself well, but it pays off later.
And that prep work sets you up to be more successful when you ask for promotions in the future, look around for your next career move, and interview again. Yes, you will always be interviewing again (until you retire).
I’ll be hosting my Job Search workshop again in 2025. But below is a sneak peek at what we covered in this year’s workshop.
I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you become a more "Invincible You" so you can live your life on your terms instead of being controlled by someone else's rules. I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.
