Is there any point sending my resume to get on an org's radar for later?

November 10, 2020 7:32 PM

Basically what it says on the tin. it's a job that didn't exist at the particular organization it's at until now that is exactly what I did for ten years so I'd probably get an interview. A few complications/details:

It's in another town which is the big issue because

1) the idea of moving halfway across the country during a pandemic is extremely daunting. Bonus complications: I don't like flying and I have cats

but probably moreso

2) It will cause relationship upheaval if I get the job. This is not really where I want to go into the sub-details of that, but it will occasion some big conversations.

So it's a very uncommon kind of job and my current job is stultifying (ask history shows me flailing around a bit about stuff I could do on the side to stult less) and, well, I would far rather live there than here. But it's a very fraught time to move.

Is there any reason to apply if I'm this dubious? I applied to something sort of similar five years ago and we got to the part of the interview about "so when would you be able to be here if we offered this to you" and I sputtered and was not offered the job, maybe for that reason or maybe not.

I think I have the vague notion in the back of my head I could maybe apply just so in a year or sometimes when hopefully life has sorted itself some they'll know of my existence and general suitability if similar positions come up but is that even a thing?

It's weird asking people who don't know me about this but I'm spinning my wheels on it in a pretty big way and wouldn't mind more kinds of input. Meanwhile some of my friends are too close to it and others, who aren't, are probably sick of hearing about it. So...

posted by less of course to Work & Money (6 answers total)

no, hiring people have a strong preference for "fresh" candidates (may not admit it, but that is based on a decade+ in hiring.) Not only is there no point in applying if you're not interested in the job, you may be disadvantaging your eventual actual candidacy.
posted by fingersandtoes at 7:35 PM on November 10, 2020 [4 favorites]

If you feel this dubious on the job, don't apply. Especially if you are secretly hoping you don't get it so you don't have to move during a pandemic and it will cause relationship drama.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:04 PM on November 10, 2020 [2 favorites]

I think you should apply in a year when you're ready to make the leap, and hope that a similar position is available.

Companies don't want to spend a bunch of time going through old, obsolete resumes especially when it's very likely those "good" candidates already got positions somewhere else, and would be a waste of time for everyone involved to follow up.
posted by meowzilla at 8:45 PM on November 10, 2020 [6 favorites]

I think many organizations, if they're looking at out-of-town candidates right now, will be open to delaying relocation until the pandemic dies down - especially if it's work that can be done remotely. So, to the degree that is a primary concern, it may not actually be a problem.
posted by kickingtheground at 10:25 PM on November 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

Don't apply for a job you're not ready to accept if it's offered to you.

You won't "get on their radar" by doing so; at best you'll be forgotten by a year later, at worst you'll be remembered as that person who wasted the recruiter's time applying for a job they weren't ready to accept.
posted by ook at 4:27 PM on November 11, 2020

(That said, kickingtheground is right that many more companies are open to remote workers than they were, say, a year ago; if it's the move you're concerned about and the role is something that could conceivably be done remote, there's no harm in asking for that.)
posted by ook at 4:31 PM on November 11, 2020