3 answers
Jeff’s Answer
The time it takes to "land a job" is wildly varied depending on the time you invest in it, the needs in the market, and the companies you are working with, however I spent a good deal of my career at CareerBuilder investigating job seeker patterns and helping organizations find the right talent as quickly as possible. Here are a few things I learned, and you can find a lot more at https://www.careerbuilder.com/advice :
- Most people will apply for 20-30 jobs and of all of the resumes entered into an organization's "Applicant Tracking System" it is very common that only 10-20% of those will ever get in front of an actual recruiter, so be persistent, connect with recruiters and hiring managers on LinkedIn, and make sure your public profile/resume is professional, cohesive, and well-written.
- Generally, a recruiting process will have a couple of phone calls or meetings with Recruiters before being passed onto a 'hiring manager' (the person you would directly report to). That person will likely have 2 or more managers they want you to meet, and there may be a panel of peers to talk with as well. You can expect to speak with 5-10 people before receiving a job offer in most organizations.
- There are MANY bottlenecks across an organization that can impact timing - Various higher priority positions, external factors (like leadership changes or market conditions), and even a busy summer vacation schedule that makes a 4 person conference call take 3 weeks is a common factor. Do not perceive a delay as a negative sign, rather keep up with persistent, professional (not annoying) follow-up.
- From "hello to hire", over 5 years, some of the fastest processes I saw were about 3 weeks, but especially with salaried or technical positions, 2 months was much more common. Hourly positions for industries like retail and hospitality can take as little as one week, however.
Overall, if you are planning for graduation, or starting to look for a new job before leaving your current position, I've always advised starting the search 90 days before you need to be in-position, and maybe longer depending on if the role requires proof of technical expertise, certifications, or other needs outside of interviews and applications.
Jeff recommends the following next steps:
Brooke’s Answer
Hi Jesse,
The length of time to get a job can really vary quite a bit depending on the type of career you are pursuing and when you are looking to secure a job.
What type of job were you looking to pursue? That will help me provide a more guided answer to the best of my ability.
Looking forward to hearing back from you!
George’s Answer
Build interview experience, learn from your 'failed' interviews, keep applying and networking.
George recommends the following next steps: