Typical number of job applications nowadays before being offered a job?

Pawnless Endgame

Pawnless Endgame

Pawnless Endgame

Soldato
Joined
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Sunny Stafford
First up, I did check the recent "The AI is taking our jerbs thread" to see if this is already discussed, but I think this thread is different enough. The only AI mention here is that AI now commonly being used by recruitment to filter out CVs because each job vacancy is receiving hundreds of applications.

There was this article from the Beeb this week, where a graduate made nearly 650 applications before she scored a job offer.

www.bbc.co.uk

Swansea University graduate applied for 646 roles before getting a job

Caitlin Morgan doubted if her degree was worth it as competition for graduate jobs hit record high.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk

650 might not be a typical example, but all the same, I'm thinking to myself - "what's the point?" That's 18 months of her life she won't get back, simply to come off jobseekers and earn her start. Yes this issue doesn't affect me as I am in work, but I remember how soul destroying is was constantly being told "You did so well in the interview, we would have taken you any day, but the other candidate was even more exceptional" etc etc. So I despair for today's jobless because of the sheer amount of admin needed for 650 job applications (if it is 650). That's admin work from both the candidate and recruitment, and I thought my 125 applications for 1 job offer was bad enough back in 2010. It was a life of misery over several months with no entertainment budget and having to freeze my mortgage to interest-only. I attended work trials to fill the gap on my CV.

So how many applications are you Overclockers making nowadays or in recent years? And where and why is it going so wrong that people are having to make hundreds of applications? Most jobhunters just want to do an honest day's work and earn their own way, but the system isn't allowing it for many due to the drawn out process which is not their own choice or fault.
 
The article is showing what most new graduates are going through now.

Spend a crap load of money to go to uni "because society told me to" End up leaving and cant land the most basic job, never mind a job related to their degree. They are in a pool of 10,000 other people who have just left uni combined with others who have been working for years and also seeking employment due to lay offs, etc.

Working in IT for the last 20 years, apply for jobs today compared to 10 years ago, not only is the application progress is soul destroying when applying for so many jobs. Completing the form, to get an generic "Thank for your application but we picked someone else", ghosted or if you get an interview its so many unnecessary stages. You make it through that to get an low ball offer.

I had an interview a few years back over 6 weeks for an Azure Cloud Engineer role. 5 stage interview, to be told "Sorry, we need someone with more experience." They could have figured that out from looking at my CV or from the first interview stage. But no, drag it out over 6 weeks, stupid aptitude tests and booking a day off work to attend the in person interview:mad:

Also you have my friend, going through an 8 stage Software Engineer role....yeah, he didn't get the job either.

15 to 20 years ago. Applying for jobs was simple. You know after 1st stage if you got the job or not. Maybe an 2nd stage for the finally decision within a week. Or you left uni straight into a decent job after applying for a few roles, not 650! Now its dragged out wasting peoples time.
 
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I'm a graduate too (B.Eng Electronic Engineering) but ended up in IT support (2003-2009) then as an NHS admin (2010-present). I think the problem is that successive governments opened degrees up to the entire nation. So when my dad graduated in the 70s, he was 1 in 20. When I graduated in 2002, I was 1 in 2, as common as muck.

On jobseekers leading up to my 2003 job, a 1-stage interview was the norm.
On jobseekers leading up to my 2010 job, 2-stage interviews were the norm.

In more recent years, I have heard of 3-stage interviews but I didn't realise that 5-stage and 8-stage now exists! Instead of dragging out for so long, what I think should happen are work trials. This is where an existing office is used or a separate room, then bring in a load of candidates to work together for a week with travel/food expenses paid for. Being together for a week means that the organisation gets to know the candidates a little and candidate dynamics can be observed. After a week, they are all interviewed separately and half of them (or whatever percentage) are taken on. Work trials was how I eventually ended up back in work in 2010. I wasn't lucky 1st time round but was 2nd time lucky.

I know the feedback "Sorry, we took someone with more experience than you" all too well. You have to start from somewhere so it's a catch-22.
 
An ex-colleague said it took him 450 applications before he got a job (Enterprise Architect). That seems to be quite common.
 
I'm lucky I have a niche, or a few niches I suppose. Applied for four jobs, offered 2, had one that rejected me call a friend asking me to reapply. Had already taken 1, so didn't but mightve been three offers.

I actually trained in IT and now glad I made a change all those years ago.

I would've lost a lot of motivation if I didn't get a job offer after 3-4.
 
Had success in a couple of few attempts before, but on the whole in the few jobs I've had, definitely hundreds of applications
 
I do think it's rough right now. A friend of mine is recruiting in an IT niche, and said he'd had over 50 CVs handed to him as prospective applicants - for a single role.

About 25% he could dismiss having skim-read the CVs, but that still left >30 people who were clearly well justified in applying for the role. Seems plausible then that of those people, some of them could easily end up applying for around 30 jobs before getting one, despite having a skill that's often touted as being "in demand".
 
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Pawnless Endgame said:
First up, I did check the recent "The AI is taking our jerbs thread" to see if this is already discussed, but I think this thread is different enough. The only AI mention here is that AI now commonly being used by recruitment to filter out CVs because each job vacancy is receiving hundreds of applications.

There was this article from the Beeb this week, where a graduate made nearly 650 applications before she scored a job offer.

www.bbc.co.uk

Swansea University graduate applied for 646 roles before getting a job

Caitlin Morgan doubted if her degree was worth it as competition for graduate jobs hit record high.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk

650 might not be a typical example, but all the same, I'm thinking to myself - "what's the point?" That's 18 months of her life she won't get back, simply to come off jobseekers and earn her start. Yes this issue doesn't affect me as I am in work, but I remember how soul destroying is was constantly being told "You did so well in the interview, we would have taken you any day, but the other candidate was even more exceptional" etc etc. So I despair for today's jobless because of the sheer amount of admin needed for 650 job applications (if it is 650). That's admin work from both the candidate and recruitment, and I thought my 125 applications for 1 job offer was bad enough back in 2010. It was a life of misery over several months with no entertainment budget and having to freeze my mortgage to interest-only. I attended work trials to fill the gap on my CV.

So how many applications are you Overclockers making nowadays or in recent years? And where and why is it going so wrong that people are having to make hundreds of applications? Most jobhunters just want to do an honest day's work and earn their own way, but the system isn't allowing it for many due to the drawn out process which is not their own choice or fault.
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After resigning back in November….I made two applications.

I ended up taking a third job that I was approached for, from someone I worked with in the past.

Things are going to be very different for people just starting out their careers though. Can’t rely on your network when you don’t have one yet.
 
The multi-stage interviews are the annoying part. Just not needed. When I'm doing other interviews with other employers, who also want to do stupid multi-stage interviews it's just a massive waste of time. I think if a company was wanting a 5+ stage interview I'd just move on. By the time you get through all that you'll probably have started somewhere else.

The one I'm about to start was one stage, one hour interview, no stupid questions and then got an offer a few days later.

As for degrees, a it's a waste of money in IT. Employers are just going to look at experience. All the best IT jobs are going to be sat on by 40+ years olds with 20 years on the job, so as a graduate you have no chance. You're going to have to start at the bottom with everyone else.
 
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Diddums x said:
Do yourself a favour and learn a trade. Electricians, plumbers and mechies are always, always in demand and will never be without work. Starting a career in IT now has to be one of the most fruitless endeavours you could possibly do.
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As I said in the other thread. Everyone's loves to default to this "learn a trade" when you don't think about it long term. When the market is tough and people are struggling to find jobs.

Nobody wants to be working on tools and heavy materials when they are 50+ because your body physical starts to breakdown. I see it now with my friends all have been working in a trade since we was in school. Now in our 40's, doctors and hospital costs are being considered when taking certain jobs. They didn't care 15, 20 years ago.

I hear nobody saying that from the "learn a trade" people. Yeah, learn a trade but be aware you cant be doing those physical jobs forever so you still need a plan B when you need to drop a few gears. And learning a trade in today's world isnt a path to early retirement.
 
malachi said:
As I said in the other thread. Everyone's loves to default to this "learn a trade" when you don't think about it long term. When the market is tough and people are struggling to find jobs.

Nobody wants to be working on tools and heavy materials when they are 50+ because your body physical starts to breakdown. I see it now with my friends all have been working in a trade since we was in school. Now in our 40's, doctors and hospital costs are being considered when taking certain jobs. They didn't care 15, 20 years ago.

I hear nobody saying that from the "learn a trade" people. Yeah, learn a trade but be aware you cant be doing those physical jobs forever so you still need a plan B when you need to drop a few gears. And learning a trade in today's world isnt a path to early retirement.
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If you don't suck at life you work your way up the ladder, I am 41 and I manage 17 people. I only go on the tools when I want to, and will never be without an income as I can always pick up some tools if I need to.
 
Diddums x said:
If you don't suck at life you work your way up the ladder, I am 41 and I manage 17 people. I only go on the tools when I want to, and will never be without an income as I can always pick up some tools if I need to.
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Yes but not everyone wants to me a manager. You can work in any job and move the ladder. That's not exclusive to working in a trade.

Most people want to do their job, collect their pay check and go home. Not worry about health, lay offs or managing other people.

Its good that you only go on the tools when I want to. Not the same when you are running your own business and you HAVE to go on the tools. Due to lack of or no staff. This is the same issue my friend is facing with this plumping business. If this continues then he be shutting shop in 8 years as he physically cant do it anymore.
 
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Pawnless Endgame said:
So how many applications are you Overclockers making nowadays or in recent years? And where and why is it going so wrong that people are having to make hundreds of applications?
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People who typically need to make job applications - new graduates, people changing careers, people who've been sacked/made redundant.

Generally, if you're already employed, then applications shouldn't be necessary (some fields vary - civil servants need to proactively apply for jobs/promotions) - typically, you should have recruiters contacting you on linkedin, people in your industry at other places who know you (ex colleagues, clients etc..) etc. if you build a network, there should be offers semi-regularly that you turn down - if that's not happening then work on fixing that before you actually need it. You should be able to move on at your leisure and feel comfortable turning down jobs as you're already employed - you should also feel comfortable occasionally accepting invitations to interview somewhere even if you're not actually considering moving - just to keep an eye on your worth, keep your interview skills sharp and also you maight end up with a surprising offer.

Why should applications be avoided - well, applications are inherently flawed, these days it's so easy to apply that they can attract literally hundreds if not thousands of applicants for any given job, many are hopelessly mismatched etc.. but with that volume of applicants many companies will use AI to filter people, it's a long shot for most. It's not completely hopeless, but it's not efficient, ergo, someone having to make hundreds of applications is believable.

It's much better to get an employee referral or to have a conversation with a recruiter who is actually contracted to fill a given role, as they can simply get you an initial interview and bypass having your CV stuck in a pile of other open applicants.
 
malachi said:
Yes but not everyone wants to me a manager. You can work in any job and move the ladder. That's not exclusive to working in a trade.

Most people want to do their job, collect their pay check and go home. Not worry about health, lay offs or managing other people.

Its good that you only go on the tools when I want to. Not the same when you are running your own business and you HAVE to go on the tools. Due to lack of or no staff. This is the same issue my friend is facing with this plumping business. If this continues then he be shutting shop in 8 years as he physically cant do it anymore.
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The point I was making is that you don't have to stay on the tools forever, there are a million other career paths. Being on the tools isn't a life sentence, it's a beginning, and once you start getting on a bit you can do a million other things with that experience.
 
Diddums x said:
The point I was making is that you don't have to stay on the tools forever, there are a million other career paths. Being on the tools isn't a life sentence, it's a beginning, and once you start getting on a bit you can do a million other things with that experience.
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I get that but again, you can apply that to any job.

Just like you said, IT now has to be one of the most fruitless endeavours you could possibly do. Yeah, if you let it be like with anything else. Like with teaching and nursing, those "thankless jobs" as the call it.
 
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malachi said:
Just like you said, IT now has to be one of the most fruitless endeavours you could possibly do.
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That's crazy talk tbh... IT/tech is huge and within it AI is pretty much the highest impact area to work in at the moment - your individual impact as a tradesperson is pretty limited in comparison to many tech careers - there's only so much you can fix or so much stuff you can physically install as an individual and it scales pretty linearly with hours put in and individual skill etc.. whereas someone's work in tech can have an outsided impact, someone finds some way of optimising some existing process and process and the company saves millions etc.. AI, at the moment and in the near future, is basically just further enhancing the impact someone can have.

But also just re: being on the tools at 40 or 50 - there's also specialist roles, speak to say an electrician at a data centre or similar - they're not exactly on their hands and knees all day as someone doing domestic work or new construction might be - they'll often be specialist high voltage guys with additional qualifications etc..
 
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