Whether you are looking for your first job or looking to change the one you are in, you always want to maximise your options, and applying for as many jobs as possible is the way a lot of people tend to go about that. Logically, the more jobs you apply to the greater your chances are of getting hired but, is this a flawed approach?
A key thing to understand straight away is even if you are applying to dozens of jobs a day, there is still no real guarantee you are going to get any positive results, and this is where applying for every single job you look at is a problem. Even if you are focussed on a very specific field that you are applying to, simply recycling the same CV and application letter over and over, is not likely to yield much in the way of results unless you are some kind of prodigal genius (and your CV can back that up!).
There are times, do not get me wrong, where spamming your CV out to as many companies as possible might seem like a good idea, and you may think this will decrease the amount of time you actually spend looking for a job. But this is largely down to how good your CV is, and if you are at the beginning of your working life then you will struggle to get anywhere if you do not have much to pad your CV out with.
You have to be able to demonstrate to every potential new employer that whilst you may not have the experience, you are capable of adapting and learning fast enough for it to be worth their time taking you on. If you are in this position, you should be approaching every single application individually, and tailoring it to suit the company you are applying for, and that does not mean applying for jobs en masse.
Furthermore, you should be paying attention to each of the roles you are applying for, and make sure that you are applying for roles that you could actually do. There is nothing more annoying for recruiters than people who apply for positions that are way above their skillset. If you do not have much or any experience in the field you are applying to, then it’s an entry-level role you should be looking at, not a role which requires two-years or more of experience. If you aren’t paying attention to the roles you are applying for and persist with this method then don’t be surprised if you find yourself hearing nothing back from each company you apply to.
This is exactly what is wrong with applying for jobs en masse. If you are only putting in a finite amount of time to read through the brief for each job and just applying anyway, without any edits to your CV or cover letter, then you are doing it wrong. You will not only end up wasting your time but also the time of the people you apply to.
Look at each posting carefully. Tweak your CV as and when is necessary to try and show more of what an employer may be looking for. Re-write your cover letter so it is appealing more to the company that you’re applying at that moment to. If you do not have much to sell yourself with, then, unfortunately, this extra level of effort and creativity is absolutely necessary to all your endeavours.
It is important to remember that just because you’ve applied to more jobs, does not guarantee you will receive more positive results or any feedback at all. It can be frustrating, the feeling of not knowing what you might be doing wrong when applying to so many different positions but again, ask yourself; Am I giving this my best shot each time I apply?
Companies and recruiters are neither obliged to hire you or offer you feedback, no matter how good your application might be. Asking for feedback can prove helpful at times, but again, they are not obliged to give you any more of their time than they already have, and it pays to be mindful of this.
Ultimately yes, if you do not get a job offer from the first position you apply for you will have to apply for more and more jobs, but this does not mean applying en masse is the way forward. You need to be selective and pay attention to what you are applying to so smashing that apply button as many times an hour as possible shows you are not doing things the right way.
Maximise your time as effectively as possible when applying for jobs. Do your homework and make sure that you have the skills required to get yourself into the role you want, or take it back a step and apply for a suitable role that you can progress in. There are plenty of opportunities out there as well as multiple pathways and directions to go in, and you will get them if you persist, but not by trying to apply to them all at once.
Ready to start tailoring your job search? Head over to the Careersaas platform and start applying.