"Before You Apply, Ask One Question"

Applying for 50 jobs and hearing nothing back? The problem probably isn't the number of applications.

I recently met a candidate for a consulting session. His main concern was, “I am applying for multiple roles on a daily basis with no positive outcome.”

Full credit to him, he took annual leave for a week to fully focus on applying for jobs. He came prepared. He had 16 different jobs he had applied for. Engineering. Administration. Customer service. Production. And a few others. There was just one problem. He had no background in any of them. In fact, he is an engineer.

I asked him a question. “If you were recruiting an engineer for your own team, would you interview CVs from people with no engineering background simply because they applied?” His answer was pretty obvious. No. So I asked him… “Then why do you think applying for random roles will give you a better chance of getting a positive outcome?”

The problem isn’t the number of applications. It’s the quality of the match.

Before applying for a role, I think candidates should ask themselves one simple question: “Why would this company hire me?”

Not: “Can I do some of the things mentioned in the advertisement?” Not: “They asked for good communication skills and I have good communication skills.” But… “Why would they choose me when there are 50 other people applying for this role?”

I’m not saying don’t apply for jobs outside your background. Sometimes changing careers means taking a step sideways. Sometimes you have transferable skills. Sometimes you see something in a role that others don’t. But there needs to be a reason. And that reason needs to make sense to the person reading your CV.

Apply with a reason. Know what you bring. And before you press Apply, ask yourself: “Why would they hire me?” If you can’t answer that question… Maybe don’t apply yet. Spend another 10 minutes figuring out the answer first.

Need personalised help with this?

I have spent 15 years on the hiring side of the table. I have interviewed thousands of candidates and seen exactly what works and what does not. Book a session and I will give you direct, honest advice based on your specific situation.