Can you apply to work for a company several times?

[Psyberbaby]

I'm in the process of retraining and ideally would have liked to get about another 6 months to finish a course I'm doing and deepen my volunteering experience.
But I've just seen a really great job pop up for a company I'd love to work for!

I don't think I'm ready yet but I really want to apply. In the very high chance that I don't get it, can I reapply for a different job with them a few months down the lime or will I look like a stalker? I just don't know whether I should wait for a more appropriate and more junior job to come up or not...

I don't think there's anything wrong with it. It could be a good learning experience on both sides - you'll have an idea of what they are offering and the vibe of the place, assuming you get an interview, and they'll get to sound you out a bit and be a familiar face the next time you apply.

If you don't get the job you could get an idea of where you need to improve for next time, especially if you say you are still training, so they know you're not the finished prodect so to speak.
Could you get some volunteering experience with them?

I've applied to one company twice and got the job the second time.

edited to add: Be more masculine about it! (Assuming you are a woman) They say that men will apply for and get jobs even though they don't fulfil all the criteria, whereas women won't apply because they don't meet all the criteria.

Yes, but rephrase "not ready yet" to "am training towards this job and would expect to grow into the full role and am motivated to learn and committed to the experience". You don't know whether the hiring company are looking for someone fully there yet, often hiring a new employee at the bottom of the band can work well as the new person is motivated to grow and stay for a while whereas a fully experienced person may move on more quickly. You also don't know if the hiring company may be developing a team, often the big job person leaving may mean someone slightly lower in the team also leaves, and then they will have 2 roles to recruit for, but in a staggered way so the next job down might not yet be advertised. Job applications can't tell you everything about a role or team, no harm applying and explaining your thinking, and if you don't get it at first you could find yourself called back in a couple of months depending on the team and role(s) involved.

You can, but some HR systems would flag frequent fliers. I've seen this happen a few times.

I tried for various roles at one (large) company over a few months before getting the fourth one I went for. Stayed there for seven happy years so very pleased I put my reservations to one side.

Thank you for your replies guys, it's true that possibly a man wouldn't hold back from applying. I also have quite a few transferable skills from my past/current profession, it just depends on whether they will be able to see how transferable these are (obviously I'll do my best to convey it in a cover letter).

As part of one of my roles I log applications and we have many, many frequent fliers that literally apply for every job we advertise. We just log them and dont think anymore about it. You just get used to the same names coming up! Some will go on to get the role quickly others it has taken a lot longer but they still apply over and over again. Go for it! You don't have anything to lose at all.

@OhhhhhhhhBiscuits
What happens to those people, do you just delete their application?
I wasn't going to apply for every job that comes up, but if in 4 months a similar job comes up in the same department I would!

I think what you are suggesting is definitely ok! Good luck.

By several times I thought you meant applying for every job going. My sister used to process job applications and one person sent in an A1 collage with photos of themselves on it for several jobs. It wasn’t a job to do with collages or even a creative industry.

No its still logged and sent to the recruiting manager. We don't care how many times people apply. I only realise when it's an unusual name or something and over the months you click. We just centrally log them and then they are sent around the company to the recruiting manager for shortlisting. It can get frustrating when you know they are sending the same (usually poor) application in for every single vacancy without tailoring it to the role. Or fill in every section of the application form saying "see cv" as our recruitment is marked on the application form and then the scores added up so they could be an amazing person but won't score well as they haven't filled in the application!

My advice is fill in the application as per the JD and Person Spec and tailor it to every single position you apply for. Don't do a generic application. Don't worry about applying a few times at all.

What outdated advice you've been given here OP.

Many application processes now ask you if you have applied for a job with them in the past 12 months and if so your application won't even be seen by the HR or recruiter team.

Retraining is difficult. I've just completed it and also finally got a new job. It's more competitive than ever out there. Good luck

I will tell my current director of HR that we are totally outdated! Or is it that we judge each application individually for the vacancy they have applied for and what might not work for one manager would work for another manager etc.....

I would definitely make more than one application to an organisation, and have done, I didn’t even think about it being odd. I like to think it shows my determination. 😀

Congratulations on your new job and thank you for the words of encouragement!

Wow "in the past 12 months" seems so harsh... What if you were a great match but just missed out to a slightly better qualified candidate, you then have to wait an entire year!

It depends on the organisation, as others have said.

I applied for the same role in an organisation 3 times over a year before I was successful 🤣.

Good luck!

Yes. I applied for my last job but one twice (they changed the job spec in between) and got it second time.

If you just put in the same application every time, then probably not, but tailoring it to each position good. It might depend on the employer, but unless you know for sure they don't like people reapplying it's not really different from any other job you apply for and never hear from again.

Of course! DH currently works for a company which he had interviewed with a few years previously.

How utterly bizarre. I've just recruited for a role in my team and will have another coming up in the next couple of months, same team, same department but different role.

I'd be delighted to see some of the candidates I recently interviewed applying for it, as several were really good but sadly I could obviously only pick one for the available job!

I have literally never come across an employer thick enough to to ask that question or to care about the answer.

An employers only interest is to employ the best possible person for the job. If it is a very good company jobs will be hard to come by, but the brightest and best will not be put off applying simply because they didn't get selected last time they applied. If the employer simply disregards great candidates based on such flimsy reasoning, then I'd think twice about just how good that company is.

There is nothing "outdated" about being a competent recruiter of the best talent available. On the other hand, employers who don't have competent recruitment, fail to select based only on appropriate skills and competencies, or don't have a clue are ten a penny.

It would seem that if all of most of the employers you have based this evidence on are acting as you say, you are not selecting very good potential employers to work for.

This is definitely a lazy way of recruiting but I don't doubt that it happens in some organisations.