I don’t understand why people put all their eggs in one basket and stop their job search while they wait to hear back from an employer. Just because YOU think the interview went well does not mean that you’re guaranteed the job.

5 Things All Applicants Should Do

1. Apply to all the jobs that interest you and go to every interview that you’re invited to.
2. Don’t stop your job search while you wait to hear back from a company after your first or second interview. Just because you started the interview process with one company doesn’t mean you need to decline future interviews with other companies.
3. Remember to interview the company. You’re trying to figure out if that’s a place/team that you will enjoy working with. So come prepared to all your interviews with your own set of questions.
4. Have a Plan B. Make sure you that you always have 2-3 interviews on the go so you increase your odds of a job offer.
5. Do some research. Employers check your background and references and you should check theres. Research how well the company is doing and try to find a connection/colleague who can tell you what it’s like to work for them.

Think like an Employer

Employers don’t hire the first person they interview. They interview at least 5 people so they can be sure they hire the best. They even have a Plan B just incase their #1 applicant declines the offer. The recruitment process can take a long time and can be very expensive. This is why employers make sure they interview as many applicants as they can and check references or a do a background check.

When you’re thinking about your job search why not do something different this time. An average posting is open for two weeks and recruiters usually interview 5 candidates for each role. Why not give yourself two weeks to apply to all the jobs that you are interested in and try to get invited to at least 5 interviews.

This means creating different cover letter and resumes for each application. You don’t want to send a generic resume so do some research and really think of the reasons why you want to work for these companies or why they should hire you. Hopefully after a few weeks you would have completed a few phone screens and maybe even started some face-to-face interviews.

Worst Case Scenario

What happens when you put all your eggs in one basket and you find out that you didn’t get the job? You’re DEVASTATED!!! You’re shocked and you are not looking forward to starting the whole job search process again. The recruitment process is a very funny thing. For some roles you hear from the company right away and you’re off in the interview process. For other roles it can take months to hear from anyone let alone have a phone interview or schedule a face-to-face interview.

When you have a few interviews on the go rejection is actually an easier blow to take. This is because you have other interviews you need to focus on so you stay optimistic.

At the End of The Day

You have nothing to lose. People have said that when you’re looking for work it’s like a full time job. Applying to jobs and going to interviews is very time consuming. You need to be very organized and always prepared for an interview. So why not increase your odds and shorten the length of your job search by applying to and interviewing for more than one role.

Photo by Robert S. Donovan

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