3 ms·

In the middle of fruitless multi-month job search, I manually view LinkedIn/indeed job sites daily and look for new positions, going through requirements, makin

In the middle of fruitless multi-month job search, I manually view LinkedIn/indeed job sites daily and look for new positions, going through requirements, making sure I have the skills and experience (also helps with understanding if I need to upskill in certain areas), then look up the company, the industry it's in, etc. By the time I'm ready to apply to the position I know I'm interested in and a good fit for, there's a few hundred applications already (LinkedIn shows the count to the applicants). I'm like, how is this possible, it's only been 3 days?.. Well, that's how.

casenmgreen 2y ago
I've been told the LinkedIn count is absolutely not what you think it is. I can't remember the details, but I stopped taking it seriously.
- formerlurker 2y ago
  Someone who works at LinkedIn told me that Linkedin measures success by how many times a user opens the app. It would not surprise me if the numbers are exaggerated to make someone look good for a promotion. My take is that it must drive engagement somehow. In a similar way, recruiters post ghost jobs to gather data and make companies look like they are growing.
devnullbrain 2y ago
>making sure I have the skills and experience A great way to test this is to wait for the email inviting you to an interview. The emotional rollercoaster of selling yourself on a company only for it not to work out hurts too much. It's also a cost borne only by the applicant. It's easy to want to kick that can down the road until you're sure that you have a shot where some part, at least, is within your own control. It will never be entirely down to your own performance and actions. Lots of job descriptions out there are for roles without a budget, or at companies with hiring moratoria, or where there's already a successful applicant waiting for a formal job offer. The effort you put into researching an application, IMO, should be a function of the effort required by the applicant to proceed and the respect given to applicants by employers. The effort for a phone interview is very low. The respect is near zero.
DavidDodda 2y ago
well, manual application is also a thing, there are people who literally make it their job to apply to job listings. you can find people offering their services on r/slavelabour. some times they take a flat rate/job application, sometimes they do percentage of your first paycheck on new job. https://www.reddit.com/r/slavelabour/search/?q=job+application&cId=635e237d-3f41-4734-9ceb-2be79e34ddd1&iId=ad8524ae-90a4-4f12-9fa8-b025a6922e70 https://www.reddit.com/r/slavelabour/search/?q=job+applicati...
sroussey 2y ago
Often it’s 100 applicants in the first hour. My advice for both sides: don’t use job boards. Use your own website.
- jeffrallen 2y ago
  Or hand out business cards at meetups.
Etheryte 2y ago
Just for your consideration, in my experience Linkedin is pretty much the worst place to look for a job right now if you're a real human that actually knows how to do their work. Everyone just clicks apply to everything just to see what sticks and the signal to noise ratio is absolute garbage. If a company has a jobs section on their homepage, that should always be preferred.
- casenmgreen 2y ago
  A bit like Amazon with vast numbers of oddly named Chinese resellers.

casenmgreen 2y ago

I've been told the LinkedIn count is absolutely not what you think it is. I can't remember the details, but I stopped taking it seriously.

formerlurker 2y ago
Someone who works at LinkedIn told me that Linkedin measures success by how many times a user opens the app. It would not surprise me if the numbers are exaggerated to make someone look good for a promotion. My take is that it must drive engagement somehow. In a similar way, recruiters post ghost jobs to gather data and make companies look like they are growing.

devnullbrain 2y ago

>making sure I have the skills and experience A great way to test this is to wait for the email inviting you to an interview. The emotional rollercoaster of selling yourself on a company only for it not to work out hurts too much. It's also a cost borne only by the applicant. It's easy to want to kick that can down the road until you're sure that you have a shot where some part, at least, is within your own control. It will never be entirely down to your own performance and actions. Lots of job descriptions out there are for roles without a budget, or at companies with hiring moratoria, or where there's already a successful applicant waiting for a formal job offer. The effort you put into researching an application, IMO, should be a function of the effort required by the applicant to proceed and the respect given to applicants by employers. The effort for a phone interview is very low. The respect is near zero.

DavidDodda 2y ago

well, manual application is also a thing, there are people who literally make it their job to apply to job listings. you can find people offering their services on r/slavelabour. some times they take a flat rate/job application, sometimes they do percentage of your first paycheck on new job. https://www.reddit.com/r/slavelabour/search/?q=job+application&cId=635e237d-3f41-4734-9ceb-2be79e34ddd1&iId=ad8524ae-90a4-4f12-9fa8-b025a6922e70 https://www.reddit.com/r/slavelabour/search/?q=job+applicati...

sroussey 2y ago

Often it’s 100 applicants in the first hour. My advice for both sides: don’t use job boards. Use your own website.

jeffrallen 2y ago
Or hand out business cards at meetups.

Etheryte 2y ago

Just for your consideration, in my experience Linkedin is pretty much the worst place to look for a job right now if you're a real human that actually knows how to do their work. Everyone just clicks apply to everything just to see what sticks and the signal to noise ratio is absolute garbage. If a company has a jobs section on their homepage, that should always be preferred.

casenmgreen 2y ago
A bit like Amazon with vast numbers of oddly named Chinese resellers.