A Job Seeker is a Commodity - Positive Self Promotion

A pet hate for job seekers is eagerly submitting a high number of applications and 'I never hear back' and 'I never get any response'. If you are experiencing this problem then I can be sure you are trapped in the repetitive cycle of apply, apply, apply, apply, apply. You continue to apply for jobs, and more jobs, and more jobs, and your frustration with lack of response escalates. You KNOW something is not right, you are a good person, you work hard, you want to work, and you have great skills, experience and possibly great qualifications.

So what is going wrong?

In the job market, you are a commodity. Employers are profit driven enterprises, and an employer can only maintain profitability when they follow basic economic principal. The employer must engage the right person to perform the right role. When employers advertise, they are inundated with hundreds of job applications the employer therefore has the luxury of being able to pick and chose. And, for the employer, the recruitment equation applies: time is money. An employer is not going to take time screening applications and interviewing applicants when those applicants have not specifically identified that they have the skills, experience and qualifications needed for the role.

I would advertise a position, I would then receive at least 50 applications within the hour. Within the next day or two, I would have received up to 200 applications. I had the luxury of being able to sift through the resumes one by one to review the applicant's skills. If those skills did not meet the requirements specified in the job advertisement, I moved on. I would continue until I had five to ten favourites. I would then read their application letters to determine their level of comprehension, written grammar, attention to detail and ability to articulate. I would narrow my selection down, make initial phone calls and have a very brief discussion with each applicant. If I felt that an applicant possessed the requisite level of competency, I would book an interview.

I would not return to my list of unread job applications unless I had interviewed my applicants and found neither of them were suitable. As I am highly proficient in performing my initial assessment of job applications, this was rare.

On one such occasion, I had advertised a job for a junior accounts clerk. The role involved accounts receivable and accounts payable. I screened applications, we interviewed applicants, and we offered the role to the preferred candidate. One week later I received call from a very despondent applicant who had never been contacted. It turns out I received his application only twenty minutes after placing the job advertisement, and I actually recalled reading his application.

The application letter stated he had 'accounts experience'. The resume stated his accounts experience involved 'accounts receivable'. I had to explain to this applicant that we had clearly identified both accounts receivable and accounts payable were essential, and that the candidates we selected had identified they had experience in both. This despondent job seeker had then admitted to me he was submitting applications to so many job advertisements he did not have the time to change his resume and application letter to suit every single job he applied for. I informed the despondent applicant he would need to submit an application that addressed the essential requirements.

Within a few months, another role opened up and I contacted this applicant, and informed him he may apply by submitting a new job application. He was nominated for an interview and he was offered this role. I was delighted as he had taken the time to contact me and ask for feedback. This provided me the opportunity to engage with him, and when I did, I found him to be very professional, friendly, intelligent and motivated.

The catch 22 situation is that for the employer, they are required to source the most suitable candidate, and the most suitable candidate is a candidate that has all of the skills, experience and qualifications we require, with the least amount of training needed. This is particularly the case when a job being advertised requires qualifications. Investment in training is a cost-time ratio, and the more time spent training = less profitability for the employer. The bottom up approach applies here, hire within. Fill the qualified role with an in-house employee, and continue doing so. The employer will promote suitable employees until they reach the lowest possible level within the organisation. That position at the lowest level will be the position advertised. And, most times, that position will not require highly specific experience and qualifications, and the level of training required is minimal in comparison. Therefore, the cost-time ratio is minimal. The employer is paying a lower wage, investing in a lower level of training (such as professional reception techniques), and the employee is continuing to perform their role adequately by servicing profitability for the employer.

As a commodity, a job seeker needs to be astute. The job seeker needs to evaluate their status in the job market, and this must occur when applying for every single job. How do your skills, experience and qualifications align with other competitors? Are you below standard or are you above standard?

Many job seekers over sell themselves. This comes at a cost, because you are pricing yourself out of the market. The employer will think you are incredible, you possess all of the necessary requirements, and more. So how long will you stay in that job? Will you get bored? Will you leave when a more interesting job with a higher salary comes along? For the employer, this is the cost-benefit ratio. Employ the person that can demonstrate they are suited to the role, they have the requisite skills, and will remain in that job for at least two years. This requires the ability to demonstrate you possess the requisite skills, yet you also have room to learn and grow in the role.

A marketing plan is essential when job hunting. Marketing applies to any commodity that is trying to compete for a position in a commercial environment. It does not just apply to cars or boats, dresses or shoes. YOU, as a job seeker, are competing for employment. And, your job application is being reviewed against and compared to many others.

It is essential that you know how to promote yourself, and the way you promote yourself will differ from one job application to the another. When the skill set, job role and qualifications for a position that is advertised change, your promotional strategy must change. You may ask 'what is the point? I won't hear back anyway?'. You may not. But if you do not put the effort in, you certainly have less likelihood that you will hear back.

Promotional strategy involved positive reinforcement. Rejection, which includes not hearing back, is negative reinforcement. Do not allow the negative reinforcement to produce negative behaviours. 'I never hear back so there is no point in putting in more effort'. That is negative reinforcement. 'I may not hear back, however, I need to promote myself and to do this I need to spend more time individualising my job applications'. That is positive reinforcement. You may not hear back, however, your mental outlook remains positive and you are driving yourself to implement positive change, and you are keeping yourself motivated.