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I applied to 250 jobs and timed how long each one took

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Re: I applied to 250 jobs and timed how long each one took

#101

Post by sokoloff »

rgblambda wrote: post #49
transcriptase wrote: post #20

Apply to Procter & Gamble, and as part of the application itself enjoy being put through 1-2 hours of ambiguous personality/morality testing and Mensa-style math, memorization, and logic puzzles! With adaptive difficulty! It's the most surreal and absurd experience. There are actually prep courses you can pay for just to improve your odds on the P&G testing process just to get someone to actually see your resume. Be…

Is P&G a particularly great employer that justifies such a bizarre job application?

It’s pretty regionally highly regarded, to the point that my brother-in-law voluntarily resigned to form his own business and people would disbelieve him that he wasn’t fired from P&G (even after knowing that his business is successful). They just assume “no one around here quits P&G so he must have been fired.”

Re: I applied to 250 jobs and timed how long each one took

#103

Post by obmelvin »

notsurenymore wrote: post #98
0xffff2 wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you describe in more detail what this actually means? I can't imagine what I would spend an hour doing to my resume that would somehow make it more attractive to a specific employer without outright lying.

I’m not sure how accurate it is, but I started to play with jobscan to test my resume against ATS scanning. It was getting knocked for not having uselessly vague keywords like “business solutions” in the resume when they were in the job app, or not listing every single data format I’ve worked with. So now, I’ve just started keyword dumping my resume with everything in a job listing even though it feels stupid. I doub…

Hey, I've actually been wondering about this the last few days given linkedin shows high numbers of applicants for recently posted jobs. I have one main question - are you submitting multi-page resumes? I've been wondering if I should basically be submitting a CV for cold applications with a focus on resume scanning, and have a 1 page resume that I can send when communicating with real people

Re: I applied to 250 jobs and timed how long each one took

#104

Post by sokoloff »

roamerz wrote: post #67
kiltedpanda wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We hire on Freelancer sites quite a bit and have noticed that about 50%-80% of applicants now very obviously use ChatGPT or equivalent to apply. Now suddenly every person magically has 8 years experience in a weird esoteric requirement that we're looking for. They are currently very easy to spot and the applications go directly into the trash, so the freelancers aren't doing themselves any favors using them. It is in…

> Now suddenly every person magically has 8 years experience in a weird esoteric requirement that we're looking for. That's crazy to me. Why would someone put ANYTHING on their resume that is not factually correct? That in the end is a disservice to yourself and to your potential employer, not to mention the pressure it puts on job seekers to push the envelope on embellishment. What I am on the fence about in my own…

> Why would someone put ANYTHING on their resume that is not factually correct?

If their current income is $0 and the income from a successful ruse is minimum several weeks of several thousands of dollars, and the cost per throw is around a dime…

It’s not hard to see how the algebra works out.

Re: I applied to 250 jobs and timed how long each one took

#105

Post by notsurenymore »

obmelvin wrote: post #103
notsurenymore wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not sure how accurate it is, but I started to play with jobscan to test my resume against ATS scanning. It was getting knocked for not having uselessly vague keywords like “business solutions” in the resume when they were in the job app, or not listing every single data format I’ve worked with. So now, I’ve just started keyword dumping my resume with everything in a job listing even though it feels stupid. I doub…

Hey, I've actually been wondering about this the last few days given linkedin shows high numbers of applicants for recently posted jobs. I have one main question - are you submitting multi-page resumes? I've been wondering if I should basically be submitting a CV for cold applications with a focus on resume scanning, and have a 1 page resume that I can send when communicating with real people

I try to keep my resume to one page, it’s just old advice I love heard since I was a kid. I’m not sure if it’s still good advice though, I’ve seen suggestions that it’s a hold over from before online ATS systems were common.

I also try to keep the formatting simple in hopes that the parser has an easier time. I had a previous resume that had a slightly more complex layout that I thing compiled down to tables, but recently I’ve been using one with a simpler linear/hierarchical format.

I’ve also removed some stuff I used to have on there, such as contributions to open source projects. No one I’ve ever talked to has cared about that stuff, even when the market was easier, but I suspect that’s partly because the OSS stuff I’ve done is in a different domain from my professional career.

Right now, most rejections I get at the ATS stage don’t come till 2-3 weeks after the application.

Re: I applied to 250 jobs and timed how long each one took

#106

Post by ar_lan »

timmaxw wrote: post #33
jddj wrote: post #17

I overheard a guy at the gym a couple of weeks back saying that he's automated (gpt4) the keyword-optimised CV/cover letter process to the point where he was able to apply to - I'm a bit suspect on this bit, but the generation at least is believable - 75 jobs in an hour and a half. We've raised the noise floor significantly. Ps. If you're here mate I hope it worked out for you.

I think there's a dynamic where: - Desirable job applicants get hired quickly, but people who can't get hired stay on the market - People who can't get hired will keep applying to more and more jobs - So every new job opening gets flooded with applications from people who couldn't get hired elsewhere - Employers don't have time to read the flood of applications in detail, so they rely on cheap filters (keywords on re…

> What if there was some way to limit job seekers to e.g. 10 job applications per month, industrywide? Feels like that could cut down the noise and allow employers to consider each individual applicant more carefully.

Beyond the actual difficulty in doing this without a completely centralized hiring process, this feels incredibly immoral. People have families to feed.

Re: I applied to 250 jobs and timed how long each one took

#107

Post by sokoloff »

timmaxw wrote: post #33
jddj wrote: post #17

I overheard a guy at the gym a couple of weeks back saying that he's automated (gpt4) the keyword-optimised CV/cover letter process to the point where he was able to apply to - I'm a bit suspect on this bit, but the generation at least is believable - 75 jobs in an hour and a half. We've raised the noise floor significantly. Ps. If you're here mate I hope it worked out for you.

I think there's a dynamic where: - Desirable job applicants get hired quickly, but people who can't get hired stay on the market - People who can't get hired will keep applying to more and more jobs - So every new job opening gets flooded with applications from people who couldn't get hired elsewhere - Employers don't have time to read the flood of applications in detail, so they rely on cheap filters (keywords on re…

This is also how 80% of companies can believe they’re hiring mostly top-1% programmers.

No, you’re hiring top-1% of applicants, not top-1% of employees!

Re: I applied to 250 jobs and timed how long each one took

#108

Post by bythreads »

HWR_14 wrote: post #92
rgblambda wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is P&G a particularly great employer that justifies such a bizarre job application?

If you want to work in advertising and marketing, yes. If I recall correctly it's reputation in those circles is equivalent to FAANG in tech.

What?, no - not really. Perhaps in fmcg specialty shops you'd get some creds - but as in tech you're primariæy judged on past projects not past x

Re: I applied to 250 jobs and timed how long each one took

#109

Post by ipaddr »

mr_o47 wrote: post #45

I remember applying to RenTech and getting a rejection email in 3 hours and let me tell you it was quick. Most companies I have applied to would probably take a week or more than a week

They are quick. From applying to getting an offer to getting laid off 1.5 seconds. The lawsuit is taking years
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