Apply for every job opening you possibly can, is this good advice?

I used to just apply for the one that I wanted then wait anxiously only to get a “sorry, not this time” reply. It is better to apply to as many as possible then it is you who can choose which job to take and not the employer choosing which applicant to take.

Waste of time.

You can send them all out, but then they won’t be personalized and the employer won’t feel you really want to work for them.

Personalize things. Research the firm. Really want to work for them. If you do that, you can’t splatter apps all over the place, and you will be more successful. Some day, ask me about the story of two students of mine. One splattered and the other targeted. A year later the splatterer was on the phone telling me how miserable she was and how she never should have take this job. You do yourself no favors throwing stuff out there and seeing what sticks.

Waste of time. I tried it and got a lot of automated emails saying I didn’t meet the qualifications. Some of these applications took quite a bit of time to fill out.

Let me put it this way; I was unemployed for 13 months, and for 10 of those months I wasn’t very picky. I went for every job I felt qualified for (cleaning, lifting, what-have-you) and it still took me a long time to land a paycheck.

My current job is not the one I was hired for either. I was hired through a temp agency as a “schlub” for menial work at a steel foundry and happened to get lucky when, after a couple of months with that company, they needed a lackey for the machine shop and decided to transfer the guy with 5 years experience as a machinist and find another warm body for the unskilled vacancy left behind as opposed to go through the hassle and expense of advertising and hiring someone off the street. And they decided to break with normal practice and hired me on full-time shortly thereafter, as soon as the contract with the temp agency ran out. Many people there are temps after two years and I was hired on after four months.

But that was luck.

the competition is fierce. Dont put your eggs in one basket…...

Anything suitable.

Take it from a hiring manager who has also done his share of job-hunting—the more irons you get into the fire, the better. With as many people out there applying for so few jobs, apply for every job that looks interesting, customizing your letter and resume to each. Be prepared for lots of rejections, but also be confident you’ll have a better chance of landing a good job the more resumes you mail and email out.

There’s nothing wrong sending lots of applications, but carefully select the positions you apply for. Make sure that the responsibilities of the position match up with your capabilities, education, and experience. This will maximize your chances of getting a call back.

Waste of time and very frustrating for HR people. I’d say that 1 out of every 25 people that apply for any given position actually meet the requirements for my positions.

It’s NOT a waste of time however, if all those applications are for positions you are very qualified for. As it seems though, people just think that somehow, if they apply to anything and everything, something will stick. Not the case.

Just apply for what you are qualified for and can/want to do.

I would apply for everything I’m reasonably qualified for. Beggars can’t be choosers in this economy.

Don’t solely rely on applications in getting a job, any job, go out and ask employers for work. Sometimes they do hire “on the spot” if it is menial labour like picking-packing. It is “law” that employers must advertise for a vacant position but that doesn’t mean that they have to select from the resumes/CV’s received. Many businesses employ in-house, friends of employees. Perhaps you could go ask some of your friend who do work if there are any positions available?

Also, don’t try for those jobs that you do not have current qualifications even though you may have them but are more than 10 years old. Times have changed dramatically in the past ten years and unless you do some courses to update those skills, they are more of a hindrance than a help.

When I was working, I changed jobs from a Store Manager to a warehouse storeman. A big jump (downwards) in pay packet but because I did have a better “sense” about things, I managed to work my way up through the company over a 7 year period to a better position. Sometimes it is better to take the lesser position so that you can learn the ropes without the pressure of being expected to know what you are doing from the outset.

For the very desperate job seeker, I’d go with yes. For most people, I would say only apply to jobs that you actually want to do with companies you may actually want to work for.

Admittedly, I was a little confused upon reading the responses to this question. I think it is a good idea to hunt for every job opening you can but that means every job opening, not just the ones in your field or the ones that will make you a lot of money. If you need a job, working at the mall is better than, well, not working at all.

I had over 12 years as an Employee Relations professional, first for General Electric, then for Exxon. This book has the very best advice for serious job hunters I have ever read. If you follow this book’s advice, you WILL find a job: http://www.google.com/products/catalog?rlz=1T4ADBR_enUS319US329&q=what+color+is+your+parachute%3F&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=14302580838241926356&ei=j2t8TP7HFsOAlAf6kIzrCw&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CC0Q8wIwAg#

Apply for positions you would be qualified for, but also for ones you would like. Entry levels aren’t to be frowned upon. They get your foot in the door. If it’s desperate timeso, you may need to lower your preferences and apply for jobs that anyone can do, until you hear from a job you really would like to do. But stick to your qualifications. :) Good Luck!

@CaptainHarley I have this book, and have read it. The book is good for unfocused, first time job seekers, not professional people trying to support a family. This review, taken from a list of 450 reviews that are mostly favorable describes my feelings about it:

1) Awkward, and at times incomprehensible, sentence syntax. Dick Bolles comes across as a doofus with too much time on his hands who just decided to sit down and write a book, and not as a job-market-savvy consultant.

2) Seriously stupid advice. “Try a search engine, like Google, or Yahoo, or your favorite one if you have one.” Yeah, thanks for the advice, Dick. I never thought to Google jobs in my field. It gets worse; he has you draw pictures of flowers and fill in all sorts of diagrams and tables to help you find the job that’s right for you. What do you do if you already know where you want to work and are having a hard time getting into those jobs? This book does not say.

@YARNLADY

Sorry. Obviously a “one size fits all” approach to something like job seeking isn’t going to always work. It’s still the best job-seeker’s manual I have ever found.

I don’t know about those exercises and his slowness with respect to the Internet, but his original advice about networking is still the best job search advice I have ever heard. It’s how I got just about every job I ever had. I have never—not even once—gotten a bite from a resume sent out to a company where no one knew me, and I only sent out resumes to those I felt I was qualified for.

Now I’m a bit weird compared to the average job seeker, since I speak my mind. Most employers can’t handle that. But a few want that. I tend to get work with people who appreciate trouble-making…. smart trouble-making. I’m sure that anyone who knows me here probably has a pretty good idea of what I am talking about.

So for me—splattering resumes all over the place is a waste of time. I also think it’s a waste of time for others—even in this economy. Yes, you need a job and you need it now, and maybe you should do anything that brings in a paycheck. But if you take one of those jobs, you ought to be looking for another from day one, because what you want is a job where you will be happy. You are doing no one any favors—not your boss nor yourself—if you try to sand off your corners so you can fit in a round hole.

Of course this is a good idea. You have more chance of landing a job with more job apps in.

@wundayatta

Great answer. Obviously, something was lacking in my own answers saying essentially the same thing. I often find myself wondering if many on here don’t discount some of my answers on the basis that someone as old as me and retired couldn’t POSSIBLY understand things which concern those still having to work for a living. : )

I’ll make it simple. NO it is not. You should apply for something that you know you will succeed in. The more jobs you apply to, the more confusing it gets. Because more than 1 might accept you, and then you’re forced to choose which one to go to, and that sucks, trust me. They’ll think you’re fooling around with them.

@CaptainHarley LOL…Seems your extreme experience would make you highly qualified to understand these things and eminently suitable to counsel us younger neophytes.
Too bad that you can’t trust anyone over 30 mentality is so prevalent with these so-called intelligent youts!

@Ben_Dover

SIGH!

@CaptainHarley Personally, I grew up listening to the What Color… book being nitpicked and occasionally outright heckled by someone who was an Employer Relations Specialist for the state, so I take that book with a grain of salt.
You are correct that there is no “one size fits all” solution though, and it is a good guide, just not a panacea.

Just as there is no free lunch, there is no panacea! : D

@CaptainHarley What! No pancake! Oh, wait mumble, mumble…..

@YARNLADY

And no pancake for you either! : D

@CaptainHarley You ain’t got no pancake mix!

With job-seekers outnumbering openings by about five-to-one, I almost have to wonder if this whole shitstorm isn’t a great opportunity to restructure our economy. After reading Makers by Cory Doctorow, I have a better idea of what sort of alternatives we have.

@Jerv

Yes I do! Plenty pancake mix for everyone! Free pancake mix! Free PANCAKES!!!

Do not apply for all the jobs which ever you find.Check your skills and the job profile if you find any match you can apply for that job if not it waste i guess.