Have you ever gotten every job you applied for?

[YourJollyGreenExpert]

The job application process can be so unpredictable. A friend told me recently that she’s gotten every single job she’s applied for, which honestly blew my mind. Then I think about others who face endless rejections, no matter how qualified or prepared they are.

Have you ever gotten every job you applied for? Or has rejection been a bigger part of your journey? Do you think success comes down to luck, timing, skill - or something else entirely? I’d love to hear about your experiences and what you think makes the difference!

Yes, every one, never do prep for them either, or think about it before hand, only had 4 jobs though in 28 years of working life.

Agreed, but I also suspect that the OP’s so called ‘friend’ might be lying

If I knew a friend was getting a lot of rejections this is certainly not something that I would say to her even if it was true, the ‘friend’ could be deliberately saying it to make her feel worse than she already does

Keep going OP, eventually something suitable will turn up, the worst thing you could do is loose momentum although a couple of days break from it might be good if it is really getting you down

Yes I have, nothing highly qualified by any means but I've got every single job I've ever applied for. Three times after moving to new towns, one of which had over 400 applications which really stunned me when they told me.
I told myself the job was mine and did my best to stay calm, confident and friendly. I always tried to find out as much as possible about my potential new employers and thought about questions to ask them so I appeared enthusiastic about the job & interested in them.

Same here and totally agree with you. I’ve never half assed an application. I’ve always put loads of effort into it and then interview prep. I have been at my current job for a long time now though and would probably fail miserably if I had to apply for jobs and interview again. I definitely don’t have the confidence I had when I was younger

Good advice there!

I've been successful in getting every job I've ever applied for.

With hindsight I've not applied for anywhere near enough jobs!

Some jobs are quite easy to get though, I think it depends on the profession and what level you are at, eg. Higher up positions are more difficult to secure that the ones at the lower end of the scale

I don't think I've ever applied for a job and not got it. Racking my brains trying to think of one. Certainly for the last 30+ years I've been offered every job I've applied for. Mind you for the last two jobs I was headhunted so I didn't even need to apply really. For the last one I filled in the online application after I'd already been offered it.

I have. But I’ve only had a handful of jobs. I dread to think what it would be like if I applied now!

True, I've only ever applied for the three teaching positions (including my current head of department job) and one student job in M&S, nothing high flying in big corporate!

Roll back 5-10 years then maybe but ATS solutions make that almost impossible now.

But if your friend has a winning formula then she shouldn't gatekeep.

Years ago I had a record of 28 interviews and 23 job offers.
More recently I've had 5 interviews and 4 job offers.
I'm a chef but being late 50 s probably goes against me as it physically demanding.
Got the qualifications and a good work ethic.

Agree do your research on the company.

No, I've applied for far more than I have got, even internally.

My DP has gotten every job he's ever gone for. It wouldn't surprise you if you met him. He's literally the most charismatic, likeable person you've ever met. Salt of the earth, would trust him with your life savings kinda bloke.

He just got a promotion at work, while on 3 month paternity leave, after 3 months sick leave. Having only been in the job 8 months. He's also brilliantly clever.

I’m the same, I always feel so nervous at interviews but somehow manage to impress.

over the last 5 years I’ve had 3 different jobs, all in the same line of work but for better pay each time.

I did that when I was younger, and the jobs I applied for were not as skilled or competitive. As I've gotten older and am pursuing career-based jobs, it's not always been as easy!

I think the likes of Indeed in this day and age have stopped anyone from being able to say that. It's a thankless process of applying and applying and the chance of your CV even making it to a decision maker are slim as can be.

No, but I've never failed at interview stage.

I've only had one interview where I didn't get the job, that was because I wanted part time hours in a full time role. The other 5 interviews, I got the job, the majority I received a job offer at the interview.

I've applied for plenty and not been shortlisted for interview.

I had a period earlier in the year when I was between 'levels' and kept getting turned down for the more junior roles yet not getting interviews for the more senior roles due to lack of experience. I was out of work so couldn't wait it out and was getting desperate.
Well after 4 months I eventually got a more senior role which I'm thriving in, so now I'm really glad I got turned down for the junior roles as I would have soon got bored. It didn't feel so at the time but looking back it was a good thing I didn't get those jobs.

She doesn't have a point. Plenty of us live in areas that have always used gotten. But seemingly only the Queen's English counts for some people....

I've gotten most of the jobs I have applied for, and a couple that I've been headhunted for. Not all though.

My sister has, but she went from a highly technical PhD to academia to a related civil service competency so says she has only done two interviews in her life. She has sworn both times she absolutely messed it up. Both times she was basically being confirmed in a post she already held 😆

I had a great record - until I was returning from an extended mat leave and so break of contract with twins. At that point I was weirdly unsuccessful at final interview several times, despite having been marked as only appointable candidate and being very obviously qualified 🙄

Such as where, out of curiosity?

Only haven’t got 2 jobs I applied for since I was 15, the rest I have. One was a specialist feed technician at the childrens hospital and I was taking a leap with that and I interviewed well for it they said I’d of been picked and trained up if it wasn’t for the one other candidate that was better suited. My current job which was a complete career change I asked for every year since 2015 and finally got in 2023 when I asked again and got an interview and got hired … apparently the fact I wouldn’t give up went in my favour.