4 Essential Steps to Stand Out When Applying for Jobs
There are endless ways to apply for positions in today’s job market, from general job boards like LinkedIn and Indeed to industry-specific sites such as Levels. FYI for tech workers.
Platforms tailored to various interests and demographics also abound, including Handshake for recent graduates, Ladders for six-figure jobs, and FlexJobs for remote roles.
Additionally, many job seekers apply directly through company career pages.
According to Donald Knight, chief people officer at Greenhouse, a hiring platform, the sheer number of platforms and the technology used to streamline the application process have made it ” too easy” to mass-apply to jobs.
While these advances make hiring more accessible and efficient, they can lead to job-search burnout.
“In the past, where you might have had 40 steps to complete an application, today, most people can do that in less than seven steps,” Knight tells CNBC Make It. This can take as little as 45 seconds.
As a result, many job seekers have reported applying to hundreds of jobs without ever hearing back. Knight offers four steps to focus your job search and stand out from the competition:
1. Lean on Referrals
The ease of applying to jobs has led to an explosion in applications per role, many of which are often of “diminished” quality, Knight says. The average Greenhouse job received 228 applications in February 2024, a 45% increase from February 2023.
Recruiters are busier than ever, reviewing nearly 400 applications per month as of January 2024, up from 184 per month the year prior. Knight advises that a referral is a great way to make an applicant stand out to recruiters who “are inundated with applications.”
See if you can get a referral from someone who works at the company, like a former colleague or someone you’ve worked with.
They may also receive a referral bonus.
2. Make a Personal Connection
If you still need to get a referral from within the company, it’s a good idea to email the recruiter or hiring manager alongside your application, Knight suggests.
Consider sending them an email or personal LinkedIn message about yourself and that you’ve just applied for the role.
Nolan Church, a former Google and DoorDash recruiter, supports this practice.
He previously told CNBC Make It that while at DoorDash, CEO Tony Xu would get such emails and “forward them directly to me every time.”He adds, “Probably 90% of the time, we took calls with those people.”
3. Be Selective
Just because you can apply for a job within seconds doesn’t mean it’s worth your time. “
My biggest advice for candidates is to be selective about the jobs that you apply to and don’t throw your name in the hat for a job you don’t actually want,” Knight says.
You could be wasting your time, the rrecruiter’stime, and the time of someone who wants the role.
Focus on what you most want out of a new employer, whether it’s a better role and manager, flexible work, better benefits, and so on, and prioritize your applications accordingly.
4. Tailor Your Resume
Knight says the tried-and-true advice of tailoring your resume to each application is worthwhile.
AI tools like ChatGPT can help by matching and prioritizing job opening details that align with your experience.
Ensure you proofread and make your materials genuine. “recruiters notice when a candidate has put thought into their application and resume and prioritize those that look most relevant,” Knight says.
5. Don’t Game the System
Lastly, Knight advises against using AI to “ame” the application system. For example, a % of job seekers, 57%, say they would use keywords in white font on their resume to increase their chances of being seen by hiring technology.
Including parts of the job description on your resume will flag it as a good match and move you through the hiring process. However, Knight warns, “Don’t waste your time doing this.”This hack, known as “hite fronting,” is ” ad advice,” according to Farah Sharghi, a tech recruiter.
She says applicant tracking systems don’t filter resumes based on keywords, and once a human reads the text, they’ll quickly see that the job description has been lifted to pad your resume.
Instead, highlight your skills and use the same language as the job description.
By focusing on these strategies, you can stand out in the competitive job market and increase your chances of landing your dream job.