I Have Applied To So Many Roles And Haven't Heard Back. I Am Exhausted.

With the current job market dynamics applying "cold" (without a connection) has an incredibly low ROI, but it is not entirely useless - provided you analyse and make any relevant changes to your job search strategy.

The AI-powered applications flooded recruitment teams with thousands of resumes per role. A very high % of applications (in some cases over 50%) were either fake or irrelevant.

Not to say that there has been a few months now that we see less overload that a year ago, with tools enabling features to improve filtering. But with that comes the targeting challenge. 

You may be very relevant for a role, but you are not being "seen". And if you continue going without reviewing your process, you will continue seeing the same performance: zero to very little response to your efforts. Time wasted. Months. Some over a year now.

Here are some ways you can tweak it based on the current market trends.

The Advocates That Have Seen Your Work

I am seeing this often: application to recruiter screen conversion typically sits at 1-2%. Below 1% you probably have a targeting problem and you need to go back to understanding your Unique Selling Points and what is needed in the market. 

If less than 1%, and can't figure out how to increase it via better targeting, get in touch with someone who has gone through your experience before. Ask for help. If that fails, get a Coach. Doesn't have to be me, but you will save yourself months of frustration by working with someone who has helped many in your position.

• The Reality: Applying to 10 jobs without a referral in this job market is statistically unlikely to yield a result. You would need to apply to 100+ to see traction purely through cold portals.

  
  

• The Fix: If you rely on cold applications, you must increase volume significantly OR (better strategy) stop relying on the "Submit" button as your primary action. Don't apply if you are not planning to reach out to a 1st, 2nd or 3d degree connection, knowing them or not, to make someone aware you are relevant for the support they are looking for.

Keyword: Relevant. 

What do you offer than the rest of the candidate pool don't have and they business values. Sometimes it will be on the JD, sometimes it won't. Do your research and if you are missing anything on your Marketing materials, add it. It will be useful for this application and all others in the future.

Keyword: Advocate.

I see it day in and day out, the fastest way to secure a new role is through ex-colleagues who have seen your work, worked with you in the same team or adjacent, business partners, managers, reports... even project partners in your Masters, College Degree, volunteering... 

If that is not your priority 1 list to reach out systematically to asap, consider it. 

I delivered 110% increase in EQLs for a B2B startup. But if no one knows me, if no one talks about me or shares "I know the perfect person for your problem", not even 65+ reviews on LinkedIn will get your through the door.

"What if I can't find the right person to reach out to?"

Find a potential contact.

If you are relevant (see point above), they will forward on your details and Marketing materials to the relevant person. 

And yes, even if they don't know you, if they feel you are a close match to what the business needs support on, they will forward you on. But whether your candidacy weighs more than someone who comes highly recommended by someone closer to the hiring manager or with multiple referrals... remains to be seen.

But don't assume. Go back to the data. To your application and interview trackers. Find the ones who "won" the role. Were they better connected? Or were they a better industry match? What do you need to refine for in your job search strategy?

"I am adapting my resume to the JD, but I am still not getting through to recruiter screening"

I have a controversial approach. 

Go back to your targeting. If you are going for 5 different types of roles/titles, you may want to narrow it significantly. Adapting your resume for 100 applications and 5 different types or roles and 5 different types of resumes... for a <1% conversion to recruiter screening... can be a waste of time. 

Have 1 target role (very specific, define company size, industry, etc.), 1 ATS resume, find 10 companies that are looking for that role and refine with a keyword tool. 

If you find yourself doing this exercise more than 10 times, your targeting is too broad and you might be dedicating too much time to will go to the void. In this job market, you need to be a 95% match to the role. Be as targeted as possible.

And if your Marketing materials are a list of what you have done with no numbers, shift to data-driven achievements. Most don't do this and it should significantly boost your conversion to recruiter screening IF you are relevant for the role.

If you are struggling to define your targeting and you know (not assume), based on your data (on your trackers), that you are struggling to get recruiter screens after a month of applying (when you should have enough data to make a judgement) - get feedback. If you still struggle, get a Coach that can unblock you in 30 min or 1 hour.

Understand Your Audience To Avoid Having To Apply To So Many Roles

Like in Marketing, if you fail to understand your audience deeply, you will not solve for the barriers that are blocking you from your Goal - for a Business could be the purchase of a product, a subscription, registering to an event or a marketplace. For you, an offer.

Please, put yourself in their shoes. If you were a CEO that received a 5 paragraph message, would you read it? Or a message that doesn't immediately explain why you are relevant? Would you open an email with a vague subject line (this applies to Business Development as well)? 

If your target audience (yes, like in Marketing!) is the C-Suite, be concise, to the point, your connection to them in the first line, direct subject line. Draft, review, cut. Review again, cut. Reduce to 1 or 2 lines. And above all, address why are you relevant for the role.

Ok, let's do the same exercise with a different target audience. What if it's Senior Manager level? Or Director? Would you address them the same way as a CEO? Longer message? Shorter message? Focus on the details or TLDR? 

Have a think. If you can't answer this question because you haven't narrowed down your target audience, go back to the drawing board and define it. And then build your messaging.

"I haven't applied in 10 years, today's process has changed so much, I don't know how to get seen in this new landscape"

Controversial again... but if you want to avoid being exhausted because you have applied to so many roles, you should not stop networking (depending on the country, but in the US is is absolutely essential). But you should also not stop applying - for those roles that are 100% match to ensure a higher likelihood to get to offer stage. 

And for my fellow marketers - you should never stop learning, to be completely hands-off your specialty. The world moves, and if you don't move with it, if you lose touch with your expertise, you are at risk of becoming redundant or irrelevant in the mid to long term. And today, with AI, in the short term as well.

"Wait, so what you are saying is that I should apply actively all the time?"

No, I am saying you should apply minimum once a month. To one company, to one role that would be your next "adventure", if you want to call it that way. Like any other skill, knowing how to interview is essential (right?). If you stop, if you lose touch with the job market, it will be harder to learn it when you need it. Practice, and if that opportunity leads to you achieving your next Career Goal (effectively your next Life Goal), then even better. You practice your skill proactively and if you need it in the future, you won't start from scratch.