applying for a job: are you sick of my resume yet?
March 5, 2011 10:32 PM Subscribe
How many times can I apply for a job at the same company without looking desperate? I've applied for the same job at the same organization three times in the past few years, and have not been hired. They are hiring someone for the same position again. Should I apply?
A little bit of background: immediately upon graduating with my bachelor's degree, I applied to my Dream Job. I was interviewed, asked back for a second interview where I interviewed with several of the VPs, discussed benefits, and believed I was a good candidate.
But they didn't call, and when I contacted them to follow up, was told that they went with a candidate with more experience. Part of the position required administrative work--which at the time I had no experience with.
Since I interviewed with them a few years ago, the position has opened up two more times, and I have applied each time. I haven't been called for an interview. I've been in an administrative position now for a few years so I have that experience. The position has been posted again and I want to apply, but am hesitant that it's starting to look desperate instead of driven, or that I am just really not going to be considered as a potential candidate.
On a side note--I am not too concerned that this position has been posted somewhat frequently. It's a junior position and they offer tuition assistance for graduate school.
A little bit of background: immediately upon graduating with my bachelor's degree, I applied to my Dream Job. I was interviewed, asked back for a second interview where I interviewed with several of the VPs, discussed benefits, and believed I was a good candidate.
But they didn't call, and when I contacted them to follow up, was told that they went with a candidate with more experience. Part of the position required administrative work--which at the time I had no experience with.
Since I interviewed with them a few years ago, the position has opened up two more times, and I have applied each time. I haven't been called for an interview. I've been in an administrative position now for a few years so I have that experience. The position has been posted again and I want to apply, but am hesitant that it's starting to look desperate instead of driven, or that I am just really not going to be considered as a potential candidate.
On a side note--I am not too concerned that this position has been posted somewhat frequently. It's a junior position and they offer tuition assistance for graduate school.
Apply again if you want to be considered. What's the worst that could happen if they do see you as desperate? You don't get the job? You won't get it if you don't apply either. Go for it!
posted by cecic at 10:54 PM on March 5, 2011 [10 favorites]
posted by cecic at 10:54 PM on March 5, 2011 [10 favorites]
The worst consequence of looking desperate is that you don't get the job again.
You're not doing anything offensive by applying for a job that they asked people to apply for, either. Unless they put "previous applicants need not apply" on the ad.
posted by tel3path at 10:55 PM on March 5, 2011 [2 favorites]
You're not doing anything offensive by applying for a job that they asked people to apply for, either. Unless they put "previous applicants need not apply" on the ad.
posted by tel3path at 10:55 PM on March 5, 2011 [2 favorites]
If your submission for the job demonstrates improvement in the things related to the job--that you're an even better fit than you might've been in the past--I don't see the problem with applying again. As others have said while I was typing this, the worst they can do is not look.
If you want it, keep trying until you get it. :)
posted by secret about box at 10:56 PM on March 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
If you want it, keep trying until you get it. :)
posted by secret about box at 10:56 PM on March 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
You definitely do not get 100% of the jobs you don't apply for.
posted by kindall at 11:09 PM on March 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by kindall at 11:09 PM on March 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Apply again--everyone else here is right--but consider revising your resume from the ground up. If it's actually the same people looking at it each time, you never know what they're seeing or remembering. I think you'd be surprised what my colleagues and I recall from year to year. If there's a typo, an unfortunate turn of phrase, or a particular way of framing your experience that irks someone, it can trigger a vague negative feeling that throws your application into the skip pile without a serious re-evaluation. I know the emotional stakes are relatively high for you, but on their end, it's likely they cruise past applications pretty quickly without a ton of thought until they get down to just a couple of applicants.
posted by Monsieur Caution at 11:11 PM on March 5, 2011 [14 favorites]
posted by Monsieur Caution at 11:11 PM on March 5, 2011 [14 favorites]
Follow Monsieur Caution's advice and also mention in your cover letter that you have applied before, but have more relevant experience now, etc.
posted by aniola at 11:14 PM on March 5, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by aniola at 11:14 PM on March 5, 2011 [3 favorites]
cecic: "Apply again if you want to be considered. What's the worst that could happen if they do see you as desperate? You don't get the job? You won't get it if you don't apply either. Go for it!"
Exactly! You can't get told yes unless you ask. What difference does it make if you seem desperate? As long as the job posting keeps showing up, keep applying.
There are a million different reasons why a posting will show up for external candidates yet you weren't contacted. The most common one? Some company rule--or a law or regulation--requires that a position be "made available to applicants outside of the company" before a specific person is interviewed. It's entirely possible that the posting was made in order to ensure compliance with a requirement before an existing contractor is interviewed and made full-time. Therefore, you might not have even been in the running those last two times, especially if you did well previously when you did have an interview.
Don't sweat it. Brush up your resume, press your interview clothes, and practice those "so, what is your greatest weakness?"-style questions.
Good luck!
posted by fireoyster at 11:15 PM on March 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
Exactly! You can't get told yes unless you ask. What difference does it make if you seem desperate? As long as the job posting keeps showing up, keep applying.
There are a million different reasons why a posting will show up for external candidates yet you weren't contacted. The most common one? Some company rule--or a law or regulation--requires that a position be "made available to applicants outside of the company" before a specific person is interviewed. It's entirely possible that the posting was made in order to ensure compliance with a requirement before an existing contractor is interviewed and made full-time. Therefore, you might not have even been in the running those last two times, especially if you did well previously when you did have an interview.
Don't sweat it. Brush up your resume, press your interview clothes, and practice those "so, what is your greatest weakness?"-style questions.
Good luck!
posted by fireoyster at 11:15 PM on March 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
Like above I say there's no harm in doing so. Not only that, it doesn't say anything definitive about you to be doing so; another interpretation they might have would be the correct one - you see this as something you really want, and are paying attention when it comes up. See if this sounds plausible in your mind, coming from the selection committee as they sift through the resumes: "Hey, I remember this person; she's applied a few times before. She must really be gunning for this job."
I'd also add that there's a good chance the people selecting didn't do the actual weeding out of most of the applicants; it was HR. And if they're like the HR where I work, the committee won't be told if selected applicants have applied before. As well, if it's any sort of decent-sized organization there are several people who get tasked on rotating bases to tackle different positions. So even the screeners may be different.
So, there are many reasons to put that concern out of mind and just do it.
posted by Hardcore Poser at 11:28 PM on March 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'd also add that there's a good chance the people selecting didn't do the actual weeding out of most of the applicants; it was HR. And if they're like the HR where I work, the committee won't be told if selected applicants have applied before. As well, if it's any sort of decent-sized organization there are several people who get tasked on rotating bases to tackle different positions. So even the screeners may be different.
So, there are many reasons to put that concern out of mind and just do it.
posted by Hardcore Poser at 11:28 PM on March 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
Find out who your boss would be, and contact them to request a 15-minute "informational interview". Be pleasant, professional, and ask smart questions about the company and industry. Don't explicitly ask for a job, and I wouldn't mention that you'd applied before unless they ask point-blank. Then send a thank you, and apply for the job. After a face-to-face, I find the odds of being hired tend to skyrocket.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 12:05 AM on March 6, 2011
posted by pseudostrabismus at 12:05 AM on March 6, 2011
Any chance you can directly contact someone who you've met, relate that you've gained the experience you lacked, had good interviews when you didn't have it?
posted by ambient2 at 12:08 AM on March 6, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by ambient2 at 12:08 AM on March 6, 2011 [2 favorites]
PS- I applied three times to my current job and never heard back. The fourth time, I leveraged a personal connection to get my application into a better pile. When I finally got an interview, the head of the company waved my resume at me, hollered YOU'RE PERFECT, WHY DIDN'T YOU APPLY HERE SOONER, and promptly gave me several plum assignments. Now I love my job.
Moral: Definitely apply again!
posted by pseudostrabismus at 12:08 AM on March 6, 2011 [5 favorites]
Moral: Definitely apply again!
posted by pseudostrabismus at 12:08 AM on March 6, 2011 [5 favorites]
Many times you don't have a "bad" application, but there is just someone who applies who's a bit better.
So definitely reapply. You will compete against a different pool of applicants this time and might get lucky. If not, no loss.
posted by dave99 at 12:21 AM on March 6, 2011
So definitely reapply. You will compete against a different pool of applicants this time and might get lucky. If not, no loss.
posted by dave99 at 12:21 AM on March 6, 2011
Turn it around, it absolutely works in your favor.
I was in a very similar situation once. The following is exactly what I did. I got a great job.
Write a short, excellent cover letter, in which you tell them that you have applied here before, at which time the interviews went very well and you were narrowed down to the final short-list of candidates, but you ultimately lost out to another due to your - at the time - lack of experience.
You have since gained that missing experience, and because [business] remains the company that you most want to work for, you are re-applying now that the position is open once more, and now that your earlier short-falling has been addressed. Etc etc.
Thus you tell them within 10 seconds:
1. They've already met you - and they loved you! You're pre-vetted by them personally!
2. You were fit for the job then, but another had a slight edge over you.
3. You have now gained that edge too, you are now a great candidate.
4. You're not just looking for a job, you actually want to work for them, specifically. You remember them, they matter to you. You are enthusiastic about their business.
posted by -harlequin- at 1:25 AM on March 6, 2011 [22 favorites]
I was in a very similar situation once. The following is exactly what I did. I got a great job.
Write a short, excellent cover letter, in which you tell them that you have applied here before, at which time the interviews went very well and you were narrowed down to the final short-list of candidates, but you ultimately lost out to another due to your - at the time - lack of experience.
You have since gained that missing experience, and because [business] remains the company that you most want to work for, you are re-applying now that the position is open once more, and now that your earlier short-falling has been addressed. Etc etc.
Thus you tell them within 10 seconds:
1. They've already met you - and they loved you! You're pre-vetted by them personally!
2. You were fit for the job then, but another had a slight edge over you.
3. You have now gained that edge too, you are now a great candidate.
4. You're not just looking for a job, you actually want to work for them, specifically. You remember them, they matter to you. You are enthusiastic about their business.
posted by -harlequin- at 1:25 AM on March 6, 2011 [22 favorites]
I can't see any downside.
posted by Jacqueline at 1:31 AM on March 6, 2011
posted by Jacqueline at 1:31 AM on March 6, 2011
There's nothing wrong with re-applying for a position at the same company. If there's still an opening, don't give up! As long as you're not a nag or anything like that, you're doing the right things. And re-applying can show the company that you want to work for them specifically.
posted by Anima Mundi at 7:17 AM on March 6, 2011
posted by Anima Mundi at 7:17 AM on March 6, 2011
I remember being in my 20s and a nurse was applying for a position at the company where I answered the phones. She sent in her resume and then called everyday, very patiently spelling her long confusing last name every time. The manager she was due to interview with was not trying to avoid her -- the office was new and the manager was just super busy. Neither I, nor the manager were offended by the calls, we found them amusing and dependable. The nurse was equally dependable as an employee, and just as persistent when she moved into sales years later.
posted by MeiraV at 8:42 AM on March 6, 2011
posted by MeiraV at 8:42 AM on March 6, 2011
Wow, I'm surprised by these "no harm, try again" comments.
It is very simple: the downside to applying over and over, at least in some industry contexts and academia, and it strongly depends on the nature of the business and specific company (of course), is that it's a small world and you encounter the same people over and over again.
You don't want to be the "oh, look, it's that guy again" guy, because people (again, depending on industry) move around, and what was once a "bad fit" at company X is now "this guy... has not managed to land the fish for years" kind of story. For larger companies, it is possible that your resume is being filtered out automatically.
There are a few resumes that I saw over and over again for five years or so, enough that when I ran into them I would remember them. I can tell you frankly that just the familiarity of the resume leaves a bad taste; it just looks like the person has some sort of weird fixation on either the specific company or job, or more likely is just repeatedly blasting the resume out, but more importantly, is demonstrating a complete inability to move on, score anywhere else, or successfully network.
By analogy, landing a job is a lot like dating. Once the girl says no, coming back to the well two or three more times, sans a *dramatic* change (and even then) makes it no more likely that you'll date her and progressively less likely that you'll date any of her friends. The way around this is to network, network, network and find your way in that way.
You've tried three times, it might be time to find a dream job somewhere else.
posted by rr at 9:34 AM on March 6, 2011
It is very simple: the downside to applying over and over, at least in some industry contexts and academia, and it strongly depends on the nature of the business and specific company (of course), is that it's a small world and you encounter the same people over and over again.
You don't want to be the "oh, look, it's that guy again" guy, because people (again, depending on industry) move around, and what was once a "bad fit" at company X is now "this guy... has not managed to land the fish for years" kind of story. For larger companies, it is possible that your resume is being filtered out automatically.
There are a few resumes that I saw over and over again for five years or so, enough that when I ran into them I would remember them. I can tell you frankly that just the familiarity of the resume leaves a bad taste; it just looks like the person has some sort of weird fixation on either the specific company or job, or more likely is just repeatedly blasting the resume out, but more importantly, is demonstrating a complete inability to move on, score anywhere else, or successfully network.
By analogy, landing a job is a lot like dating. Once the girl says no, coming back to the well two or three more times, sans a *dramatic* change (and even then) makes it no more likely that you'll date her and progressively less likely that you'll date any of her friends. The way around this is to network, network, network and find your way in that way.
You've tried three times, it might be time to find a dream job somewhere else.
posted by rr at 9:34 AM on March 6, 2011
As for not getting called back the second and third times, if they're an org that gets lots of applications, they may not even have got to really looking at yours those times. A first pass through the pile of applications is not necessarily done by someone who is very clued up, and the filtering criteria can be very crude and quick, like skimming for buzzwords.
posted by philipy at 10:54 AM on March 6, 2011
posted by philipy at 10:54 AM on March 6, 2011
Do you still have the contact info for the people you interviewed with last time? You sent them thank you notes, right? If it were me I would apply through the expected usual channel, but also send a note to the previous interviewer(s). Tell them basically the same things that -harlequin- mentioned above for your application cover letter: you liked me before, I've fixed what you didn't like, I'm enthusiastic about your company and this position. If it were me I'd say something like:
posted by vytae at 10:55 AM on March 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
I am writing to call your attention to my application for the XYZ position. I went through 2 rounds of interviews for this position in 200x, and while we both seemed to think I would be a good fit for the company, you were looking for a candidate with more ABC experience. Since that time I have acquired ABC experience by [whatever you've been doing]. I am sure you are receiving many applications. With my previous history as a strong candidate for this position, I was hoping you could keep an eye out for my application.Include a copy of your updated resume. Having someone who's involved in hiring actually looking for YOUR resume in the pile makes a huge difference.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
posted by vytae at 10:55 AM on March 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
Well, we don't know. It could be what rr said, it could just be that you missed out. If it was a question of you missing out by lack of experience, then it might be worth taking a shot. On the other hand, yeah, they could know who you are and have decided that they just don't like you. Unfortunately, there's no way for you to know which it is. I will say that if you made it to round 2 the first time and no other rounds since, it's more likely that they just don't like you. But... you'll never know either way unless you have secret sources willing to tell you within the company.
At any rate, if they hate you, they can't hate you any more than they already do if you apply for a fourth time, right? And if you have the right experience this time and you still don't get an interview.... then you know not to bother with them any more.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:59 AM on March 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
At any rate, if they hate you, they can't hate you any more than they already do if you apply for a fourth time, right? And if you have the right experience this time and you still don't get an interview.... then you know not to bother with them any more.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:59 AM on March 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
If you apply and don't get the job, its time to meet with someone with either insight into the hiring process or specifically the people doing the hiring (ask for an infomational interview?) And ask how you can best position yourself for the job.
Also---its okay to reference your earlier applications in your cover letter and highlight the applicable experience you've gained in the meantime.
posted by vitabellosi at 11:19 AM on March 6, 2011
Also---its okay to reference your earlier applications in your cover letter and highlight the applicable experience you've gained in the meantime.
posted by vitabellosi at 11:19 AM on March 6, 2011
You don't want to be the "oh, look, it's that guy again" guy, because people (again, depending on industry) move around, and what was once a "bad fit" at company X is now "this guy... has not managed to land the fish for years" kind of story. For larger companies, it is possible that your resume is being filtered out automatically.
I used to be a recruiter, and this fits with my experience.
If you weren't interviewed either of the last two times you posted, I'm sorry, but they probably are filtering out your resume.
posted by winna at 7:02 PM on March 6, 2011
I used to be a recruiter, and this fits with my experience.
If you weren't interviewed either of the last two times you posted, I'm sorry, but they probably are filtering out your resume.
posted by winna at 7:02 PM on March 6, 2011
the worst I've thought when reviewing resumes I'd seen before is "damn, sorry dude"
posted by yeahyeahyeahwhoo at 1:23 PM on March 10, 2011
posted by yeahyeahyeahwhoo at 1:23 PM on March 10, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by cnanderson at 10:46 PM on March 5, 2011 [2 favorites]