In my first few months in Canada, I applied to just four or five jobs. Perhaps it was the relatively easy job market or my strategy of aiming for positions below my skill level to increase my chances, but surprisingly, I landed interviews for three of them.
These interviews were for mid-level manager roles at grassroots non-profit organizations, each with less than eight staff members and no dedicated HR unit. What stood out was that one of these recruitment processes, the one I eventually turned down, involved three rounds of interviews with the same Executive Director, each lasting one to one and a half hours. Talk about thorough!
Now, as I re-enter the job market, I'm facing another beast. The competition is fierce; a single mid-level position attracts an average of 500 applications. I am trying to leverage my network, but as a newcomer, my network is very tight. So, I am applying. I am resilient in pushing my boundaries and applying continuously; therefore, I keep applying.
As I continue to apply, I receive feedback from the hiring managers for the roles that I did not qualify for, from my friends and career coaches, and I leverage my social media skills to gather as much information as I can on tips to get your resume noticed or how to ace an interview.
I came across suggestions on the spacing of a resume (you have to keep it to a maximum of two pages, but include all relevant information; in the meantime, make it seem spacious so that the employer does not get overwhelmed), not to use AI for the cover letter (yes because I have genuine enthusiasm in working for all two hundred jobs that I have applied so far, other than I need work) and dozens of different advice on interview attitude, the questions I MUST ask or follow-up emails.
It's overwhelming to think about these ever-changing rules.
It is a learning process. I can visibly see how I improve myself with each application or interview.
But here’s the real question:
Do we ever consider that these rules are all for the applicants, whereas the recruiters just go by the flow?
How could a hiring manager have the audacity to make an applicant sit through three interviews with herself only to answer an unending set of questions?
How could recruiters use an automated system for resume scans yet are bummed out when they have to read a cover letter drafted by AI?
How could employers keep a job posting open for weeks, although they are already in the reference check process or employed for another candidate?
How could employers afford to open the same posting once every two months and not think about screening the previously qualified candidates or the resumes that they allegedly “keep”?
In a market where around 70% of the jobs are hidden, why are job seekers held accountable for minor slip-ups, like not asking three questions at the end of an interview?
As a newcomer, this mindset gets me to dark places. With only a handful of connections in the country, mostly fellow newcomers, I compete against thousands of highly qualified applicants for that elusive 30% of visible jobs.
The ones who are currently in the market will understand. Networking is also changing. In 2022, I would get a reply for every message I sent on LinkedIn to the hiring managers. Now, they are fed up with that because they get dozens of messages or emails daily. They are also simply “not interested”. When the market was tight for employers, they were willing to meet new candidates and learn more about them. Now, the tables have turned, and employers, drowning in messages, don't even shortlist candidates they would have considered before because there are so many of us. And we are all top candidates.
In a recent debrief for a role I was not qualified for, the hiring manager told me that I did 98%, but they moved forward with someone who did %100.
I don’t know about you, but I cannot simply perform 100% in every interview.
The funny thing is, I did recruitment in the past. I recruited junior and mid-level staff. Back then, we could not care less about how the applicant “performed” at the interview. Most people I recruited did not fulfil all the job requirements, but I believed they would handle the job and we could work together.
Now, my philosophy is to find “the unicorn”. Although the market quickly changes the mindset of employers and leads them to seek that 100% applicant, I know there are employers that value your quality above everything else. There must be employers that are respectful toward the applicants and see this as a two-way process. After eight and a half years in employment, I also know that these are people I would gladly work with.
Job seeking is a mentally challenging journey, demanding resilience. Hold your head high, and don't dwell on missed opportunities. When you find an employer that aligns with you both mentally and technically, it'll be the right job for you.
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