Are You Being Busy or Productive in Your Job Search?

When you ask someone how they are, they’ll often reply that they’re “Busy, very busy!” We live in a culture where being busy is a point of pride, a badge of honor.

Being busy is not the goal. All it implies is that you’re occupied and running from one spinning plate to another. What many people fail to realize is that it’s far more essential to be productive than busy. This is definitely true in job search.

People looking for jobs often believe that scrolling through and applying for online postings is an excellent use of their time. It’s SO satisfying to press that “Submit” button! When you do this for a half-hour or an hour, you’re bound to feel some amount of fatigue, which you equate to a feeling of accomplishment, of a job well done. But you are kidding yourself.

Only 20% of jobs are filled through online applications. Many jobs are posted to satisfy an obligation to publicize a job when an internal candidate or someone known to the company is more likely to fill the position. Some “phantom” jobs are posted simply to fill the hopper with candidates should a need arise. And how deflating is it to see that 236 applicants submitted their backgrounds before you?

And then there’s the dreaded applicant tracking system (ATS). This software uses AI to narrow the applicant pool by comparing words on your resume with those in the job specification. This means that less than 30% of the resumes submitted will ever be seen by a person at the organization.

I’m not suggesting that job hunters completely ignore job postings. Postings are an excellent indicator to determine if a company is in hiring mode. If you see many postings for positions at a company in which you are interested, that should send up a signal flare that you should be looking to network into that company.

If you come across an interesting posted position, you may want to explore finding connections at the company to whom you can express your interest. A warm introduction carries a lot more weight than a cold submission.

To be truly productive in your job search, you need to have meaningful conversations with people in your ever-expanding network. This will ultimately lead to more meaningful talks, hopefully with hiring managers -- people who can hire you. That’s the real measure of progress and productivity in your search.

Consider logging the number of conversations you have that fall into the category of networking/informational/casual encounters and those with hiring managers or actual interviews. Focus on those stats, not the hours spent perusing LinkedIn, Indeed, or other job sites. I like to review these numbers with the job seekers I coach and advise. It provides a measure of accountability and motivation. When you transition from busyness to productivity, you’ll be pleased with the results!

I offer individualized career coaching and advising (remote and in-person) along with text, email, and phone support to help job seekers succeed. I've hired more than 100 people and interviewed over 500 candidates. I've worked at large global companies like Morgan Stanley and a company that is now part of Bank of America Private Bank and founded/worked at six startups. I welcome you to contact me and join my mailing list and receive my free guide, "Top 5 Young Adult Job Search Myths."