Applying For A Job Online: From The Other Side

Recently, I have seen a lot of questions lately about "I applied for XYZ job, how long should it be until I hear back?" I am going to share my recruiting experience with you, there are other recruiters I'm sure who can chime in with their own thoughts.

First of all: this isn't a one size fits all Q/A. Smaller companies will probably get back to you faster than big companies. If you are applying to an enterprise company (huge, multinational, makes a Forbes 50/100/500 list), the answer will be different than a small organization with only 30 people.

It also depends on supply and demand: the more common the skill set/fewer the qualifications, the more applicants and competition.

·      The single most important thing to understand: DO YOU MEET THE REQUIREMENTS?

-If you don't meet the basic requirements, you probably aren't ever going to hear back other than a decline email from the system. *Which is sent by the RECRUITER, not automatically by some mythical "bot"/AI. That isn't how recruiting AI technology *works*.

-The larger the employer (and this includes all government agencies - city, county, state, and federal, medical centers/hospital systems, and educational organizations in particular), the more likely they can *only* consider applicants that 100% MEET the requirements ....legally. There are some federal compliance requirements from the EEOC governing this.

-There is a VERY broad rule of thumb for the "or equivalent" experience:school ratio. 2+ years of experience in the field doing the job is a very rough equivalent. So if the position calls for a BA in Marketing or equivalent experience, and you have 1.5 years of college, then you will need ~6.5-7 years of on the job experience *in marketing* to meet the "or equivalent". Conversely, Masters/PhD degrees can shave off work experience, usually on a 1:1 ratio (one year of education = one year of experience).

·      The next thing to understand: yes, timing does matter.

-Usually you want to get in the first 2 weeks after a requisition opens if at all possible for most jobs. The first week after the role opens, most recruiters may wait a day or two to start looking at candidates, or many of us have a specific day we review/submit qualified candidates to the hiring manager directly. By the end of week two, recruiters are probably scheduling phone calls, by the third or fourth week, they are probably into interviews. That does not mean you would not be considered after that, but your chances are usually better closer to the role being opened.

-If you applied directly to a role and have heard nothing inside of a month, I think it is safe to say you probably aren't under consideration.

·      Next question: if I interviewed with a company and wasn't hired, am I barred from applying again?

The answer is: it depends on the company. Some companies have "1 strike" rules for 6-12 months. Others, not so much. And the companies don't ever advertise those "rules of engagement". Unless you hear scuttlebutt to the contrary, you may as well apply for roles you are qualified for. It won’t hurt. BUT:

·      Moving onto applications: should I apply for multiple roles at the same company?

 I am referring you to this article I wrote: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/too-many-applications-kristen-fife-purple-squirrel-hunter/

·      "I applied to the role, got a phone call/interview and the recruiter/hiring manager indicated I did great, but I wasn't hired and the role is still posted/reposted. What does that mean?"

-The first thing to know is that most recruiters keep a role open until the person that they have made an offer to has signed the offer letter and passed the background check, so that could be 2-4 weeks. Closing the job requisition in the ATS triggers the next step of the process, which moves the candidate into the "employee" category in a different system, so it is the LAST workflow done and reopening an existing requisition may or may not be an easy process (depending on the organization's internal processes/ATS).

-Jobs on LinkedIn or any job board are not tied to the ATS in real time. They either expire (usually a month after they were posted) or they are taken down manually by the employer, so you need to look at the corporate website to see if it is actually closed.

-Beyond that, the most likely scenario is that they filled the role, either internally or with someone that interviewed after you.

-They could have put the role on hold for a period of time for budget constraints then re-opened it.

-It could actually be a different role (you can tell if it is the same reopened position by the job number...a reason it is important to track things on a spreadsheet for yourself - if it is a different number, it is reasonable to reach back out to the recruiter to ask if you could be considered for the new role).

-They could have made an offer that was accepted, then declined. The bottom line is: you may never know.

·      The next thing job seekers need to understand: NEVER RELY ON JUST AN APPLICATION. You need to follow up with NETWORKING. This means finding someone internal to help you get noticed. In order of preference:

-Hiring Manager for the role (or similar in the same company).

-Employee referral - someone who actually knows you (hint: if you get hired, they may get a cash bonus).

-Recruiter at the company. *read this article about networking with recruiters.

-Executive at the company (I put this last, because unless they are directly the hiring manager, they have absolutely no control over whether you get hired or not; it is equivalent to an employee referral in terms of usefulness.)

Hopefully this will help give jobseekers some context around the application process from the other side of the desk.