Applying online won’t land you a dream job

Let’s start with “the past.” Something that holds a lot of people back. Not having a relevant college degree, not having good grades, making “mistakes” in college or university…

These are all mental blockers that people point fingers at when they begin to struggle with their careers.

One of the largest myths that exists in the professional world is the idea that experience can only be gained through traditional means. Many people suffer from the catch-22 of needing experience to be hired, but needing to be hired in order to gain experience.

Just to note – experience isn’t a formal entity that is earned inside the four walls of a corporate office (although that can be one form of it). It’s the result of taking on a challenge, seeing it through to the end, and learning along the way.

Historic Advice on How Does This Apply To Your Dream Job?

Let’s take a quick look at some advice that “they” recommend:

• “Apply for jobs online!”
• “Reach out and ask people to pass around your resume.”
• “Go to networking events and hand out lots of business cards.”

If you’re doing these things then you are doing exactly what 99% of everyone else is doing.

According to a recent survey conducted by Jobsite, 75% of people apply for jobs online.Around the same time, the Wall Street Journal released the results of another survey stating that only 20% of open jobs were advertised (online or anywhere else). The remaining 80% of roles were either filled by referral or word of mouth.

Think about it. If you’re applying online for a job, you are competing against 75% of the population for 20% of the available openings.

Here’s some ideas of what you can do to get yourself to the next level. Buts let’s starts with some hard facts:

• Only 2% of people are selected for interviews
• On average, an open role at a well known company gets 250-300 resumes. 75% of these resumes came from some sort of online portal (the company’s online application, a career aggregator site like Indeed.com, etc.).
• Once submitted, these applications are screened by Applicant Tracking Software that scans them for keywords. At the end of the process, 10 resumes (4%) make it into the hands of a recruiter. One person gets hired.
• When you apply online you have a 0.33% chance of getting hired. And that’s if you meet the on-paper qualifications.
• If you’re coming from a non-traditional background on top of all that – good luck. Applying online will NOT land you your dream job.
• If you want a job you love at a top company that pays you what you’re worth, you’re going to need to build relationships and prove out your value in a different way.

This does perhaps sound daunting but where there’s a will there’s a way