7 Job-Search Statistics You Should Know

How exciting is it to be a job seeker? This is even more exciting now, in the present, with technology, and available information online, accessible at any moment. Since the world nowadays is all about sharing knowledge, a vast number of people know equal things.

So, how to stand out in the market? As a job seeker, you know that it’s tough out there. How could it be otherwise? So many people switching careers, technology progressing overnight, local markets blending to global, everything is just one big race.

That being said, what I have to tell you next might surprise you. Ready? Are you aware that a considerable number of job openings are never listed online?

Or that even the perfect CV, for that ideal position, won’t come to the right hand? Probably not, because there are not the things that recruiters don’t often talk about, or ever.

They also don’t talk about how long interviewees really are, or how they prepare their questions. Or how big is the salary for the position that you have applied to?

Luckily, I have mastered everything job-related that happens behind the scenes, and I’m willing to pour that knowledge in front of you. Why? I have been where you are now. I can’t remember how much sleepless nights I have spent applying for a random job until I saw an ad for the perfect job.

I had it all figure it out. Ideal CV, every info about the company, perfectly designed resume, with all power words, right skills, the right experience, and… Nothing happened!

That one application pushed me to explore, to understand the hiring processes, and to see what’s there about job seeking that I am continually missing on.

It turns out that I wasn’t the only one.

So, here is what you should take into consideration when looking for a job, and what are the top seven statistics that matter, when it comes to job searching.

The job search process can be challenging, tricky, and trying, but there is a lot your probably never heard of, or you simply don’t know about. However, with the right information on your side, you can do wonders.

In no time, you can turn your job search into a fun and competitive race. Moreover, you can be the winner of that race and land the perfect job, with a nice check.

That being said, let’s see how you can arm yourself with the knowledge in these job search statistics and land that dream job.

SOME STATISTICS TO GIVE YOU A HEAD START

• Around 300 applications are filed each day for potential employments.
• The most competitive applicants file their resumes in 2 minutes since the job gets posted, but it doesn’t mean that they’ll get accepted just because of that.
• Popular job posting sites such as Linkedin have around 500.000 job applications weekly.
• Around one thousand applicants see each job posting out of which only 300 start applying and about 100 finish the application.
• Out of 100 applicants who successfully filed an application, one third will get rejected based on their CV right away.
• In the end, the elimination game narrows down to 5 or 6 resumes out of which 2 get selected for an interview and only 1 gets chosen for the vacancy.
• Hiring managers don’t need more than 7 seconds per resume to decide on whether to give it a chance or not. The first things they focus on are your job description, previous work experience, your education and the average span of your previous employments. Your additional or extracurricular activities can sometimes save you from the trash pile of resumes but in no more than 10% of cases.
• Typos or grammar mistakes in your resume increase the chance of it getting rejected by 60% so use Grammarly. Typos are a safe way of your job application instantly
• The same goes for your email format. The unprofessional address will get you disqualified in 80% of cases.
• As for the way you format your resumes, ATS programs do not work with PDF so, contrary to what you may have believed, PDF is one of the least preferred formats to file in your application. Unless specified differently, always go with .docx.
• At least 30% of the hiring manager’s time is spent cruising the social media so make yours professional and match the data in your CV and your Linkedin profile.
• An unprofessional photograph will disqualify you in 78% of cases so you might consider hiring a professional to take a good photo of you.
• A staggering 60% of job applicants do not fully read the job post requirements before they apply.
• ATS algorithms delete all applications that get sent after the job opening deadline so know that you won’t even get detected if you file in after the deadline’s passed.
• Only 3% of online applicants get hired at the end of each year.
• 40 million Americans’ jobs are at the risk of being replaced by algorithms.
• About 50% of American employees are constantly cruising for new job opportunities.
• 11% of applicants get invited to an interview and 30% o them get a job offer.
• 35% of recruiters are content with the skill and qualification of the overall applicants with whom they’ve corresponded.
• 75% recruiters have at least once have offered a different job opening to an initially rejected applicant.
• It takes about a month or two to fill in a new job position.
• In 2020 the number of remotely working employees will increase 2 times.
• 75% of Millenials are prone to working abroad.
• According to a survey done by Condeco Software in 2020, 41% of global businesses surveyed say they already offer some degree of remote jobs and plan to add more.
• More than 25% leaders say that mobility worldwide became the number 1 priority in getting talented applicants.
• Don’t worry if you have no work experience. A college degree should make you competitive the eyes of 86% hiring managers.
• However, 50% hiring professionals in tech and software domains regard courses as meaningful qualification as a BA is.
• More than 50% of corporations in US will offer bonuses to the applicants from business schools.
• Less than 25% entry-level openings state master’s degree as a requirement. However, 50% of surveyed corporations witnesses a 50% increase in the number of applicants with master’s degrees filing for the entry-level positions.
• Nearly 50% of jobs at tech corporations are reserved for non-tech roles.
• Recruiters asses the payment of entry-level applicants to jump from $5.000 to $10.000 in 2020.
• Around 69% of businesses have higher paying offers for candidates negotiating via external recruiters.
• 75% of recruiters noticed that candidates go for a higher initial salary in 2019. However, negotiating salary isn’t detrimental in terms of recruitment outcome in 60% of cases.
• The most detrimental factors in the careers of employees who are actively looking for new opportunities are outsourcing jobs to less developed countries (35% of cases) and the increasing numbers of immigrants (28%).
• The main beneficial factors for white males without college degrees is the growing optimism on diversity.
• Work experience matters more for female recruiters (60%) than for male recruiters (40%).
• Male recruiters value sense of humor and personal style more than female recruiters (62% vs 38%)
• If your social media profiles exhibit engagement in NGOs or samples of your work, you have better chances of soring with 50% of recruiters.
• Rude behavior is 25% less likely to have a negative impact on the recruitment process in 2020. Checking phones amid the interview somehow became acceptable.
• 70% of recruiters instantly disqualify all candidates that mention Marijuana.
• Facebook and Instagram threaten to overthrow Linkedin since many of the millennial recruiters (around 60%) started using these media to source applicants.
• April, May and June are the best months to apply for new jobs.
• Around 70% candidates feel worried about algorithms “taking over” the recruitment process.
• 30% of Americans claim they have no knowledge about algorithms usage in recruitment.
• 65% of talent specialists plan on investing in AI recruiting algorithms.
• The most popular ATS is Taleo so check it out if you wanna know how these things work.
• Quality of hire is 400% more important for recruiters than cost per hire.
• Over 50% of corporations use ATS and other algorithms.
• 60% of startup have faster recruitments and hire an applicant in less than 2 weeks from applying.
• Finding a job online is the first preferred way of it happening while getting referred by a friend is preferred in 45% of cases.
• The best way to apply is via direct contact with the hiring manager. 20% of applicant who do this get hired.
• 40% of healthcare applicants who get interviewed get hired as well.

BEST JOBS ARE NEVER POSTED ONLINE 

Did you know that serious job seekers are always networking, and not searching for jobs? Not only that the post job openings are not online, but it’s hard to hear about them offline, as well.

Yes, popular websites, such as Cleverism, ZipRecruiter or Glassdoor might help you see some opening. You need to understand that job opening is listed and set by people, not machines.

So, before the software gets a command to post a job, there is a human knowing about every, even potential, job opening within the company, and you need to find that person.

The truth is that almost 60% of jobs are found through people, through networking, and not online.

Although its important to be online and check job searching platforms, it’s more important to know the right people. This may sound stressful, especially if you are not a people person, but an event there and there can’t harm.

Try at least one of the following tips:

• Check the company’s site and see if hey organize any events in the near future
• Maybe the company will participate in a meet-up for a conference
• Find people from the company on LinkedIn and try to connect with them – don’t shoot for the top management

Also, search for any HR group, on any platform, nearby. They are lately often organized ‘coffee with HR,’ for any age group, so you could jump in and hear what they have to say, in a more casual environment.

Although it’s been said that the best jobs are never posted online there’s data that suggests that around 75% of jobs these days are found on Linkedin.

The only troublesome thing is that you can’t find them as a candidate. Outreach specialists and hiring managers will get in touch with you if your profile and resume match the job description.

RESUMES ARE USUALLY REJECTED

You may spend hours and hours of your time perfecting your resumes. It’s normal.

After all, you want to present yourself as best as possible, especially if you are really passionate about the open position.

Sadly, the chances of someone seeing your resume are meager.

The truth is that only around 75% percent of resumes are rejected without any explanation before they reach the hiring manager.

No, the person responsible for analyzing resumes is not against you. No one hates you. The truth is that there is no person at all.

Unless you are applying for a really small or medium enterprise, your resume will be welcome by the software.

Large companies, especially those located worldwide, are using the notorious applicant tracking system (ATS) to screen resumes.

What does this mean?

Simply said, it means that your resume won’t be see-through human eyes.

To break it down:

If the position requires an MBA with at least two years of experience as a foreign language teaching in Asia for two years and C2 of the Arabic language, and you don’t list it, your resume will is automatically rejected.

Moreover, even if you list every feature, but you apply confusing and ‘artsy’ symbols in your resume, you will be rejected once again. Softwares do what humans tell them.

Therefore, keep your CV shaped toward the opening, keep in clean in terms of design, without any unusual, confusing, or ‘heavy’ symbols and signs.

Always use the right keywords. Go through a job posting, see what are the words that they used, and make sure that you place them in your bio.

If you find this overwhelming, you can always hire a professional resume writer. However, since you are searching for a job, it can’t harm to save every dollar.

Plus, there are a bunch of free online resume design services, such as Canva or Enhancv, where you can design your CV on your own. After all, it can’t harm to master one more online software and list it under your technical skills, right?

RECRUITERS WILL ALWAYS CHECK YOUR LINKEDIN

Recruiters are always online. They are searching, exploring, checking the possible talents. Moreover, they are promoting companies listing and following current trends.

So, if you think that they are no online, checking you here and then, don’t be fooled. They are always there – watching you.

Some companies will even scroll through your Facebook or Instagram. After all, they have access to the company’s social profiles.

It can be extremely easy for them to take one look at your profile and see if you are a match or not.

Still, companies who really want to keep it professional will look no further beyond your LinkedIn. That being said, treat your LinkedIn right. This means that you should have a relevant working and voluntary experiences listed. 

If you are just starting using LinkedIn, you should know that they some serious hacks on this platform that can make your professional journey easier.

For example, did you know that you can download your LinkedIn info and make is an instant resume? That’s why you must list your experience and keep your LinkedIn profile up to date.

This way you will always have clean, software-free resumes, that you can send to anyone. You can email it, or send it as PDF, and it’s all up to you.

Just like with your regular resume, make sure that you use relevant keywords. Also:

• Interact with others
• Comment on posts
• Follow the company of your interest

Share relevant studies, articles, and other knowledge-sources that could be handy for potential recruiters. Just like for your resume, you can hire a professional to help you optimize your LinkedIn profile.

Again, there are various sites with enough information on how to make your LinkedIn organized and up to date.

Data suggest that more than 70% of employees are looking for higher-paying jobs and Linkedin is where most of the cruising and arrangements happen these days since around 45% of the population in the USA e.g. works digitally, either from their homes or some sort of freelancing.

YOU MIGHT BE REJECTED BECAUSE OF YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA

Companies are prone to interweaving candidates that they can actually find online. In the digital world, everything is about time-saving. Therefore, if you can’t be found online, you don’t exist.

Since we are globally connected, not having an online identity can be alarming.

Of course, a lack of online profile doesn’t say that you are not fantastic with people or that you are dangerous to society, but people still want to see how you look, what are your interests in, and yes – what you post on your profiles.

If you are applying for a job position in a company whose mission is saving the trees and you post online that you can support the pollution, they just might not see the good right here, understand?

So, employers will use social media to screen candidates, and if they did like what they see, they have the right to reject you. Or never contact you again, which is the same.

So, if you are an online person, and you post curious things on your profile, make sure that your profile is set to private, and that you have only a specific circle of people in your list.

If your profile is open or you are using the entirely free platform, you can use this logic: you want to post something, but you are not sure if it’s offensive or not? Then it probably is offensive, and you should skip posting it.

People are most sensitive about religion and politics, so you should mind these two areas. Of course, if you are passionate about specific topics than you will anyhow apply to companies that will appreciate your spirit and skills.

Around 55% of recruiters have accepted or rejected applicants based on their social media and that doesn’t only go for Linkedin. Your Facebook, Instagram and Twitter profiles are something you should also be wary of and it’s not always smart to connect those to your Linkedin or vice versa.

The average job search lasts anywhere from 3 to 8 months in most of the cases so have your resume prepared. The next chapter will show you how.

A PROFESSIONALLY WRITTEN RESUME CAN BOOST YOUR CHANCES

You may be surprised just how much a well-designed resume could help you. Not only that it will be eye-appealing, but it will be on point, as well.

Candidates with professionally written resume have 7% higher chances of landing an interview.

Anyone can write a good resume, but it takes a professional (someone who had corporate experience and is good with words and details) to create that wow effect.

Moreover, a professional resume writer will be detail-oriented and will discuss possible places for improvement, that you won’t. It just goes like that.

Furthermore, a professional always follow trends and knows what is popular within the HR circles, what are the recent technology updates, and if there are any new possible hacks and tricks.

All in, a good resume can do wonders for your careers. Since you are searching for a job, doublethink if you can afford a professional resume writer. If not, see if you can cut on some expenses so you can afford it.

Hiring someone to do a job for you saves you the time, and it has no price. While someone is writing your resume, you can work on your presentation, one-on-one conversation, research more about the specific company, network with the right people, and so on.

All in, it may be better on a cut on eating out and invest in a good resume because it can boost your chances in 43% of cases.

APPLY EVEN IF THERE ARE NO OPENINGS

Ok, this may shock you, but even people who are working in the top companies are always searching for better jobs! Mind-blowing, right? The truth is that people always thrive to do more, reach more, and achieve more.

So, spending five years in one company, for some it is a clear sign that something has to be changed so that they will change the company. Therefore, people are always searching for or talking about changing jobs.

If you really want to work in a specific company, but you don’t see any job opening, you should still go for it.

You can email the HR department and send them your resume, asking if there is maybe some job opening. The worst-case scenario is that they don’t respond or respond by saying that they don’t have any job openings at the moment.

Moreover, maybe they will inform you that they do have a possible job opening and invite you in to meet you.

One more reasonable scenario: they call you, congrats you for having enough courage to contact them, and they inform you that they will put your data in their database and call you when needed.

Either way, this bold move can be a win-win situation.

ALWAYS NEGOTIATE

How good are you when it comes to negotiation? This is something that you should ask yourself, especially before the most crucial job step – an interview.

It is s always a good idea to go through possible questions and answer them on loud. If you can do it in front of to mirror, it’s even better.

On the other hand, if you are a year-long professional, you should know that screening the company and thinking about potential questions can’t harm you. So, back to negotiation… You need to be well-aware of your won strength, skills, and weakness.

This is important because, during the job interview, you will have an opportunity to negotiate salary, terms, and benefits. Did you know that the HR department plans a salary as well? Yes, they plan. However, they always put some extra money for above-average candidates.

Typically, they won’t tell you about this. Who would pay you more if they could pay you less, for identical work? That being said, you need to understand that you must fight for yourself and negotiate your own terms.

If you are good, and you know it, and moreover, you can support it with numerous achievements, fight for reasonable terms, and for a fantastic salary.

Never be rude and ask for unrealistic terms. Just be realistic, and keep in mind that communication is the key in any process.

THE BOTTOM LINE

So, why did the company never invite me for that job interview? Well, truth be told, I entirely designed my resume wrong.

Since the company is international, my application went directly to software that rejected me. Of course, I used special symbols and colors, and artistic design, because I was aiming to impress the human, not to pass the machine.

Luckily, that was a positive experience because afterward, I had to learn how to apply correctly. So, following the guidelines listed above, I did get the next job.

Make sure that you are open to new knowledge, to learn more, to evolve, but to stand for yourself during that job interview.

Balance the online and offline world. Use online space to see where the company’s representatives will be next. Meet them in person, talk with them, share your expertise, and, most importantly – talk about them and their role within the company.

People will always listen to you, but everyone prefers one thing – to talk about them.

Use that to your advantage, do your research, create a fantastic resume, keep your LinkedIn up to date and apply, apply, apply.

You will see how different it is to search for a job when you use an excellent strategic approach. Happy job hunting!