Job applications

[Mummymn]

So I've been applying for a new job, slight career change and ideally remotely.
It's early days and I've applied for several but not an excessive amount yet..its been a long time since I've had to do this so everything has changed in terms of technology etc.

some jobs ive applied for directly on company websites and some through job websites. I've not heard a thing from anyone. not a sausage not even a no. Is this totally normal nowadays? In the past I seem to remember you got confirmation you'd applied for the job fairly quickly then I was invited for interview really quickly. Perhaps because it was a different time or because I'm now looking at remote jobs and the pool of applicants is much larger I don't know. Or of course I'm worried I'm rubbish and can't even get entry level jobs anymore.

I know I sound naive but it's denting my confidence already because I worry I'm doing something wrong.

yes, i'd say normal to hear nothing unless you get invited to interview. You need to get a thick skin when applying for jobs and not take it personally. It's a numbers game and mostly luck

Usually you get confirmation but then... Yeah, silence. Like they can't send an automated sorry but no🙄
If you are not getting confirmations are you sure you have no typo in email or maybe it goes into spam?

It's normal to hear nothing for a while even if they want to call you in for an interview. If they don't want to take your application it's unusual to receive any kind of reply or acknowledgement at all.

Double check your application to make sure your contact details are correct. If you're over about 40 it's a good idea to leave off your age and anything that could help them identify your age as employers are put off by older applicants, especially for entry level positions. (Not right but true.)

Whenever this subject comes up, some recruitment or HR wonk turns up to express outrage at the idea that people should expect a response and that they are buried under bazillions of applications for every job - however any decent outfit can (and would) send an automated “thanks but no thanks”. Unfortunately decent outfits are very much in the minority.

I would also warn against Easy Apply on Linkedin. Go on website of the company. Linkedin sends you email when your application is viewed and when I was last fancying a change 1 out of 50 opened my application! It's a PITA when it's via recruiter so you can't sed which company to apply to.

Anyone here recruiting and can tell me how does Easy apply show to you? Does it filter out automatically or do you just see names?

Just in case you haven't already OP, make sure you check your spam/junk folder regularly!

Field ... totally agree, just how hard is it to send a 'no thanks email'? I worked in HR (admittedly a long time ago) but it was just common courtesy to send (by post) a 'regret' letter.

My DS is applying for work and just hears nothing ... yet the same companies (NMW jobs) are still advertising and saying they can't find employees . He's been able to secure a much better job ... because he knows someone in the company, which rather defeats the object of 'unbiased and open recruitment'.

Sadly quite normal. Even worse when have an interview, seems to be the norm not to get in contact for weeks or even at all. As for feedback, rare to get these days. An automated email response or even a line on the ad to state that if don’t hear in x weeks then you’ve been unsuccessful and because of volumes of applicants we can’t offer feedback. Again, this can be done after an interview. Really isn’t that much effort.

You won't hear anything back off most of them.

And even if they do want an interview, you'll hear back 4 weeks later and not remember which job it was.

It sucks.

My sons experience is the same. Minus the securing a better job bit.

I don’t get this. So many employers are complaining that they can’t get staff, yet they also treat people like this. To not get a thanks but no thanks after an interview is shocking.

Yes I work in recruitment. I endeavour to send a bulk rejection email after interviews have been booked but I physically don't have the capacity to contact individuals with feedback. I get hundreds of apps per role and working on multiple roles at once.
Quite often there's no specific feedback, just that it wasn't a standout cv compared to the others

Oh but despite all this there are definitely many, many jobs out there and you're lazy if you don't get one 😒

OP, the jobs market sucks right now. Lack of feedback and response, huge delays between each stage, shit pay, no luck with a job but they still advertise as available, more people in search than there are jobs and better options from those who lost their jobs as places close...

Its hard not to let it get you down. But you'll get there eventually

I was looking for a new job over summer and it was a nightmare, I am well qualified and live in a major city, too. I think there's a bit of a scramble at the moment with people looking for better pay/taking on more than one job whereas at the same time employers are withdrawing posts to cut costs. So a lot of the ads you see aren't even definite jobs. I got there in the end but it was a bit last minute as my last fixed term contract was ending.

Thank you all for replying. Feels better to know I'm not alone although its shocking too. I think I'm just going to handle it like online dating (haven't done it either but guessing) and treat it as a numbers game and each application is more experience.

I have supported two teenage children applying for jobs recently and yes, it is very common not to hear anything. DS went for a couple of interviews with big, household name brands who couldn't even bother their backsides to send a quick "thanks but no thanks" email.

It's very shoddy and rude.

With applications it's very normal not to hear anything at all. Slightly different with interviews.

Going through a recruitment agency sometimes helps with getting feedback.

OLD is easier than job hunting, I'd say, having done both.

I generally go through recruitment agencies where I can, because typically you do get feedback that way.
Was furious the other week - direct application for a senior level role, two interviews plus a test - so by that stage they're likely to only have 3 or 4 people in the mix. I decided after the second interview that I wasn't interested in the role, but majorly pissed off that they didn't email back.

My next role is with a grant making trust, making grants in their area.
Looking forward to signing a rejection letter to them😀

What's infuriating is that everyone bleets "I am in recruitment, make sure you really put effort into your cover letter and cv for each company" and then they ghost you and imho don't even read 90% of all that🙄

Sadly it's very common to

• not hear a word from the recruiter / employer
• to be asked for a presentation, 11 page application form and ridiculous proposal for a NMW job
• our Local Authority ask for proof of being a parent and 5 solid years of references
• to be invited to 4 interviews and then be ghosted

It's also common for recruiters to lie and twist information so you'd accept a job.

I've recently got a new job and I've had about 4 instances where I've said "but the recruiter said......."

What's worse is that I wouldn't have accepted this role if she was honest. So she clearly knew what she was doing and the company said they've heard the same from other new starters.

If its in a particular field rather than entry level, I'd talk to a specialist recruiter, they will help you to identify jobs you are well suited to and hiring managers will trust the CVs they receive from their usual recruitment partners more than the direct applicants via linked etc, which often comprise deluded people with nowhere near the skills/experience required.

I hired last month. Of the 50 or so linkedin pile, my HR team filtered out 32, 18 i reviewed, i rejected all. I also got 6 carefully chosen CVs from a common industry recruiter, all were good, i invited 3 to interview initially and hired one of those 3.

Amazed by people saying the job markets shit.

Not everywhere its not. I'm in london and everyone's fighting over the good candidates! Pay is rising, its an employees market.

I would add however, we get loads of crap candidates. Applying for senior level roles paying 100k plus, with only 5 years experience. Crap CVs - 4 or even 5 pages long, not tailored at all for the role so loads of repetitive, irrelevant crap on there. Being 20 years into their career and listing a-level grades and the fact that they captained the football team at uni. Niche experience thats not related to the job.

@Gobbolinothekitchencat love your user name - was my favourite book growing up, we had a black guinea pig called Sootica.