How the heck do you get interviews when there are 100s of applicants for every job?

[ReallyBadEyeDeer]

That's not even an exaggeration. The roles I'm applying for have typically 100-700 applicants.

I've become much less picky over the 2 years I've been applying and am now going for anything that I have relevant skills for so not even super desirable roles. But still- insane competition.

A few recruiter friends of mine have said those 100s will typically be wittled down to just 10 to interview. Which isn't me - in 2 years, I've had 3 interviews. The rest I'm not even making it through the cv deluge, despite being very experienced and tailoring my cv to each application. I've also had my cv assessed and apparently the format etc is good.

So how the heck do you stand out? Does it basically come down to networking? The 3 interviews I have had, have all involved someone I knew in some way. I really struggle with the whole posting constantly on LinkedIn etc though.

I think networking helps. It's not 'what' you know, it's 'who'.

Linked in seems to be a dark art in itself. Certain 'rules' on face size in profile pic etc.

What do you want to do, if you can share?

Don't want to be too specific but it's within marketing and I just find all the endless self promotion and selling yourself on LinkedIn a bit false and nauseating. I know I'm good at what I do but seems it's not enough anymore.

Another thing I've noticed is that for more senior roles everywhere suddenly wants MBAs which wasn't the case a couple of years ago. I find it a bit discriminatory since getting a masters relies on being able to afford it - and fitting it around children!

Im not a linked in fan either and feel you on your thoughts about it.

Sounds like niche networking may be your thing? Sorry very little knowledge of marketing!

Marketing is so tough right now, are you focused on one sector specifically? And how many years experience.

You could follow the CIM training and get to a level 6 (you may already have that) or shift and specialise into ABM or content or product specific marketing.

I'm looking at undertaking an MBA over 4 years and self funding, so I can make my next move, I'll be in debt but figured my chances will be higher, and it will be a great networking advantage.

Even saying you have applied or are undertaking one really helps.

Good luck and LinkedIn is your friend!

Have you signed up for LinkedIn Premium? That gives some extra pointers on your profile and also shows you how you compare to other candidates and if you are a good fit (if it is too pricey, just sign up for a free trial to get the gist)

I'm not in the UK but in an English speaking country and recruiting for junior marketing roles. We get hundreds of applications. The vast majority don't have experience or qualifications that are directly relevant, so the people who have that are the people who stand out. Has the person who assessed your CV worked in the field you are interested in?

If someone I knew recommended a candidate to me they would definitely go to the top of the list to interview. In fact just this week a friend of mine at another company strongly recommended a candidate for an Assistant Brand Manager role in my team, and we are interviewing him before we even advertise the role externally.

My dd eventually got her job in marketing after a long time.. and now they're making her do an MBA. She was up against nearly 300 candidates. Can you possibly look into another line of work?

Have you tried contacting the recruiters to follow up? I know it's not easy, but if you can get hold of them it helps apparently. Be aware a huge % of applications these days are just irrelevant - because applying is so easy online, there are a lot of people who just fling their CV at everything, and I think with hybrid/remote working there seem to be some countries where there is a belief that it's worth chucking your CV at anything in the UK and maybe you'll be able to do the job remotely.

But my husband is having this problem with tech jobs - he's taken about two years self-funded timeto develop his own product but wants to get a contract to raise a bit more money, only the contract market is having the same issue.

Yes this is exactly the issue. I've been in my line of work over 10 years and am quite senior, just don't have an MBA but not sure if I'm getting auto discounted for that.

Not trying to be difficult but if you don't like networking or selling yourself then how can you sell a company?
Maybe marketing isn't suited to your personality.
Maybe supply chain or data analysis is more your remit.
You said yourself the three interviews you got had some connections. You have to market yourself!

You can't really say that you hate doing it and then expect to get taken on in a marketing role.

You could do a part time mba. And self fund it.

If you are quite senior then you should have lots of people recommeding you.

Are you contacting the recruiting manager for a chat before applying? That is key in my (totally unrelated to yours) field of work. If someone has met you, even virtually and they like you they will look for you in a pile of applications.

CV's are read by AI now. You need a specialist to help you rewrite it.

Follow them on linked in. Follow their posts. Comment on them. Contact them. Meet them at a conference.

If you fancy retraining to be a teacher, there's about 2 applicants per job here, sometimes it's just 1. And even if you're incredibly shite, and there's one of you, you get the job anyway...

Sorry, that doesn't help at all. But yes, it's who you know.

I recruit a lot, I can tell you now that whilst there are really high numbers of applicants usually half are absolute rubbish.

Most people fail first round because they do not match their application / cv to the role.

Example: advert asks for someone with experience in developing and growing a team.

Person applies and has “manager / team lead” title on their cv but does not mention anywhere in either the personal statement or the cv anything about developing a team. I suppose it’s meant to be inferred by the inclusion of a manager role, but being a manager doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve developed or grown a team.

I short list those who have made the effort to tailor their application to demonstrate what the advert has asked for.

Someone else on a different thread suggested using ChatGPT to analyse your CV against the job description you're applying for and give suggestions for any skills or experience you don't have listed. I think that's a great idea as so many recruiters use AI/software to scan CVs now and if they don't find the key words they're looking for, you don't get a sniff. Gone are the days when real people used to read through and use their judgement!

Thank you, I will try this. What do you tend to say?

Thanks - yes I do already use ChatGPT to identify gaps/ compare to JD and I tailor every cv for the specific role I'm applying to. I spend a good hour tweaking each application.

Even the part time ones I've looked into are around the 10k mark and seem to require weekends on campus which I can't really do when the kids need me. Apart from those "Mini MBA" 1 year things which I'm not convinced are worthwhile.

Ah ok, sorry for giving advice you already follow! Do you know any good agents/agencies that you could try to build regular contact with? Sometimes it really helps if you have an agent to promote you with a hiring manager.

The other thing I would say is that I've been applying for MONTHS and was barely getting anywhere, now I suddenly seem to be getting interest. I'm still nowhere near a job offer, but I've got nearly got as HR chats and interviews booked in this week as I've had the whole time I've been searching. For me, it may be that I've now ticked over the amount of years experience in the role that they're looking for, maybe it's the market in my field. But sometimes these things happen and you suddenly start making progress. I really hope that happens for you soon. Good luck!

That's interesting, I wonder what suddenly opened the floodgate for you. Fingers crossed you get something soon :)

Are you active in networking in your industry? I can recommend “ what color is your parachute” book to show you how to approach the unadvertised job market- by targeting companies you would like to work for.

are you CIM qualified?

I normally try to think of relevant questions like why is this team based in this directorate, or asking if the team is fully recruited? What big projects are they expecting /currently working on? That allows for me to say "oh yes, I'm my current role I have been able to....." and show off some of my skill set ahead of the interview.

It also gives you a chance to screen them in and out as somewhere you may or may not like to work.

Use all the buzzwords

Connect with the recruiter

Use your LinkedIn URL in applications

If you're in marketing, you need to demonstrate that you can market yourself