Job seekers work on computers at a Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas employment center in Irving, Texas, Nov. 19, 2009.
The challenge of trying to stand out in a crowded field of applicants is a common one, notes Barankay, including in his own field of academia. “One solution that has been put forward for the academic market is to introduce a way for applicants to signal that they are particularly interested in one university versus another.” People applying to companies could take that same approach.
“Put yourself in the shoes of the employer,” says Barankay. The company is confronted not only with many qualified applicants, but also with applicants who look overqualified. Should employers take those applications seriously? Some recruiters probably wonder why such a candidate is applying to their company. “The problem arises when many companies feel that way, because then people may end up not getting any interviews at all. It’s called ‘unraveling.’ The whole market unravels; employers don’t get good people, and employees don’t get jobs because they failed to communicate properly.”
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The solution, Barankay suggests, is for the applicants to find a way to “credibly signal to each company that they are very interested in this position. They are not just another applicant.”
In the academic job market, prospective assistant professors can send signals through a centralized system indicating the four universities they are most interested in. “Your first intuition would be that an applicant would just pick the top four universities in his or her field,” says Barankay. “But that is not what actually happens. Instead, you send a signal to a university you think will not take it seriously.” In other words, if you are sure that a university will look at your application, you don’t need to put them on your list of top choices.
Similarly, in the corporate world, “you don’t have to work hard [to get noticed] in those companies you think will take you seriously,” says Barankay. “You want to focus instead on those companies you are not certain will look at your file.” You do this by personalizing each application. “Find out who works there, what kind of work they do, what kind of people the company is looking for. The task is not to massage the ego of the recruitment committee, but to show that you did your homework and thought about how your profile matches what the company does.”
Time to Adapt
As the latest employment figures indicate, the job market for both employees and employers remains unsettled. On the up side, unemployment has declined to 8.3%, the fifth consecutive monthly drop, and the number of people seeking unemployment benefits is at its lowest point since March 2008. Furthermore, the economy grew at a relatively healthy annual rate of 3% in the fourth quarter 2011 compared to 1.8% in the preceding quarter.
Yet economists suggest that the lower unemployment rate ignores several trends. Fewer applicants are applying for jobs — 118 per job opening in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to 187 per opening in fourth quarter of 2010 — but not necessarily because more people have found employment, says Ellehuus, citing CEB research. He points to two factors: More people have simply given up looking for a job, effectively taking themselves out of the active labor market; in addition, people have become “much more realistic over the last couple of years. The kind of ‘spray and pray’ approach we have seen during this recession, where people apply for jobs they are completely unqualified for,” occurs less frequently.
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So what can employers and employees expect in the near future? Crispin suggests that the labor market will continue to evolve in new, sometimes unpredictable, ways. “Our economy is creating more complex jobs and destroying the simpler ones,” he says. Years ago, he adds, it was easier for people to find employment in companies where one could develop skills, get on-the-job training and then move up. “Now there are fewer and fewer opportunities available to help you showcase your qualifications.”
It is especially difficult for young people trying to get traction in a sluggish job market. College graduates working for $12 an hour in retail are becoming frustrated, Crispin says. “But some of them are also learning to adapt. With technology, it’s easier these days to start a company. Also, young people are going back to school in areas where there actually are job opportunities, such as health care, engineering, accounting. Then beyond that, there is your passion. If it’s animals, you learn veterinary medicine or related technical knowledge. If it’s art, you might get a master’s degree in art therapy. You can start to build skills in these areas and turn your passion into something professional.”
Bersin puts it another way. “As painful as looking for a job is, you do learn a lot about yourself and what’s out there. The most valuable thing you have is self awareness, and I think when people look for jobs, they become more self aware. They might have to adjust [their expectations], but they get smarter at figuring out what can work.” One good thing about a resume, Bersin adds, “is there is no right or wrong way to write it. It’s an opportunity to present yourself the way you want to be seen.”
Republished with permission from Knowledge@Wharton, the online research and business analysis journal of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.