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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

#21

Post by goodcanadian »

newfonewhodis wrote: post #8

> - The longest application time went to the United States Postal Service (10 minutes and 12 seconds). My spouse is not in tech but in comms. The quickest I know she's done an application has been O(hours) primarily due to writing cover letters, personalizing resume and often sending in clips. Having seen that, I find it amusing that we techies (yes me too) get annoyed when we have to provide our Linkedin AND all the…

Yes . . . I don't think I have spent less than 1 hour on any serious job application I have done. It usually takes multiple hours. My spouse is in Academia, and her job applications take days!

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

#23

Post by kiltedpanda »

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.

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 increasing the noise floor a lot though.

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

#25

Post by timmaxw »

miscaccount wrote: post #15
ambicapter wrote: post #5

Two and a half minutes to apply to a job doesn't seem like a lot of time at all. Do people really think that's too much time?

you generally apply to several jobs across several companies even with referral. based on my experience its > 5 mins most of the time.

That still doesn't seem like very much time to me. Job hunting involves hours and hours of interviews; five minutes of paperwork is negligible by comparison, right? Are people mass-spamming applications or something?

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

#26

Post by super256 »

I only apply to companies I really, really want to work for. Might sound a bit kitsch, but I work a lot on my cover letter to show how eager I am to work with them.

Of course it could be luck, but so far I wrote only two applications in my life and got both got accepted + for job offer from both (after interviewing).

When I tell people about my cover letters some say that HR don’t even read cover letters, but I want to believe otherwise :D

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

#27

Post by kevmarsden »

Most job application flows are suboptimal, but job seekers need to stop maximizing the number of applications they submit and instead create a few really great applications.

I typically spend two or three hours writing a cover letter and customizing my resume for each job application.

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

#28

Post by pizzaknife »

timmaxw wrote: post #25
miscaccount wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you generally apply to several jobs across several companies even with referral. based on my experience its > 5 mins most of the time.

That still doesn't seem like very much time to me. Job hunting involves hours and hours of interviews; five minutes of paperwork is negligible by comparison, right? Are people mass-spamming applications or something?

"Are people mass-spamming applications or something?"

since the dawn of time (1970, jan1)

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

#29

Post by [deleted] »

kiltedpanda wrote: post #23
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.

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…

[deleted]

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

#30

Post by joe5150 »

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…

Many years ago, I had to complete a long personality inventory AND about 45 minutes of "what would you do"-type scenario simulations to apply for a job at...Kmart!

Then the manager no-showed when I came in for the interview.

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