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I appreciate this guy taking the time to test this stuff out, but... 2.5 minutes per application seems really reasonable and short? Even the Post Office applica

I appreciate this guy taking the time to test this stuff out, but... 2.5 minutes per application seems really reasonable and short? Even the Post Office application that took 10 minutes seems fine. I get that you might have to apply to a lot of different jobs, but at that rate in 2-3 hours of focused work, you could apply to nearly a hundred different jobs. The fact that it's that easy to apply belies the tone the article takes, which generally bemoans how hard job applications are. But they didn't demonstrate that it's hard at all! Moreover, the author even says in the beginning that they didn't use any of the products that help you, like LinkedIn Easy Apply. Anyway seems interesting but this mostly just confirmed my perception that applying to jobs is pretty easy. Interviews, on the other hand...

hollander 3y ago
When I apply for a job it takes me at least an hour if not more. I adopt my resumé, write the motivation letter. If I spend less then 15 minutes it means I'm doing it as a requirement from the social benefits agency, for a job that I don't want.
- BeetleB 3y ago
  > I adopt my resumé, write the motivation letter. Only to find out that the other side didn't read that letter, and most didn't read the resume. I know, because I asked.
  - Mystrl 3y ago
    Funny story. When I was going the coop workshops in uni they invited in some people from microsoft to talk about what they look for in a cover letter and they straight up said they don't read them.
    - lewdev 3y ago
      That's good to hear because I stopped writing them because I started to feel like it discouraged companies from looking further. I believe people in the hiring process are looking to work efficiently and a cover letter is just more stuff to read. They want to just read your resume because that's what will get passed around and what matters. Anything in your cover letter is mostly things they want to know in the interview.
      - Nannooskeeska 3y ago
        This thread is interesting to me because I was told by my manager that my cover letter was a big reason they decided to interview me for my current job. Granted this was nearly 5 years ago, so things may have (read: have definitely) changed on the hiring front since then.
whatamidoingyo 3y ago
> 2.5 minutes per application seems really reasonable and short? That's what I thought as well. I suppose 2.5 minutes feels incredibly long if you're spending your day watching 10 second reels on TikTok and Instagram.
- arccy 3y ago
  it's long if you don't have the connections to get a job through your network and need to sort of spray and pray to even get to a recruiter screen
  - 1323portloo 3y ago
    Something you don't want to learn post-graduation: if you don't have the connections to get a job, you simply don't have a prayer.
    - red-iron-pine 3y ago
      i've been hired through online applications. current gig, actually. but of all of my jobs, to include bartending and FedGov, that's the only one. the rest came through personal contacts. i guess the military applies, but that's not really the same thing.
xboxnolifes 3y ago
2.5 is fine, but 10 feels incredibly long when half the time companies don't even both emailing back a rejection. Gives the thought "since they probably won't even see it, why don't I skip the 10 and apply to 4 2.5s?".
1270018080 3y ago
2.5 is extremely long if you just filled out the exact same information 2.5 minutes ago and 2.5 minutes before that and…
chambored 3y ago
This doesn’t seem to account for finding meaningful opportunities, and in my experience, that has been the more time consuming aspect of the process.
xormapmap 3y ago
The actual application step might take that long, assuming you have all your supporting documents ready. The trouble is you often need to adapt your CV to the job & write a cover letter at a minimum. Depending how much you care about the job, this might include studying the job description carefully, reading the company website, and maybe even contacting the company to request more information. Then proof-reading and editing everything. It probably takes me at least an hour for most jobs, even if the actual submission of files only took 1 minute in the end.
cluoma 3y ago
I also don't think 2.5 minutes is unreasonably long or much of a barrier. After spending an hour looking for relevant postings at companies I'm interested in, another few minutes to actually apply is not a big deal. What is truly annoying though is creating new accounts for each company's application portal.

hollander 3y ago

When I apply for a job it takes me at least an hour if not more. I adopt my resumé, write the motivation letter. If I spend less then 15 minutes it means I'm doing it as a requirement from the social benefits agency, for a job that I don't want.

BeetleB 3y ago
> I adopt my resumé, write the motivation letter. Only to find out that the other side didn't read that letter, and most didn't read the resume. I know, because I asked.
- Mystrl 3y ago
  Funny story. When I was going the coop workshops in uni they invited in some people from microsoft to talk about what they look for in a cover letter and they straight up said they don't read them.
  - lewdev 3y ago
    That's good to hear because I stopped writing them because I started to feel like it discouraged companies from looking further. I believe people in the hiring process are looking to work efficiently and a cover letter is just more stuff to read. They want to just read your resume because that's what will get passed around and what matters. Anything in your cover letter is mostly things they want to know in the interview.
    - Nannooskeeska 3y ago
      This thread is interesting to me because I was told by my manager that my cover letter was a big reason they decided to interview me for my current job. Granted this was nearly 5 years ago, so things may have (read: have definitely) changed on the hiring front since then.

whatamidoingyo 3y ago

> 2.5 minutes per application seems really reasonable and short? That's what I thought as well. I suppose 2.5 minutes feels incredibly long if you're spending your day watching 10 second reels on TikTok and Instagram.

arccy 3y ago
it's long if you don't have the connections to get a job through your network and need to sort of spray and pray to even get to a recruiter screen
- 1323portloo 3y ago
  Something you don't want to learn post-graduation: if you don't have the connections to get a job, you simply don't have a prayer.
  - red-iron-pine 3y ago
    i've been hired through online applications. current gig, actually. but of all of my jobs, to include bartending and FedGov, that's the only one. the rest came through personal contacts. i guess the military applies, but that's not really the same thing.

xboxnolifes 3y ago

2.5 is fine, but 10 feels incredibly long when half the time companies don't even both emailing back a rejection. Gives the thought "since they probably won't even see it, why don't I skip the 10 and apply to 4 2.5s?".

1270018080 3y ago

2.5 is extremely long if you just filled out the exact same information 2.5 minutes ago and 2.5 minutes before that and…

chambored 3y ago

This doesn’t seem to account for finding meaningful opportunities, and in my experience, that has been the more time consuming aspect of the process.

xormapmap 3y ago

The actual application step might take that long, assuming you have all your supporting documents ready. The trouble is you often need to adapt your CV to the job & write a cover letter at a minimum. Depending how much you care about the job, this might include studying the job description carefully, reading the company website, and maybe even contacting the company to request more information. Then proof-reading and editing everything. It probably takes me at least an hour for most jobs, even if the actual submission of files only took 1 minute in the end.

cluoma 3y ago

I also don't think 2.5 minutes is unreasonably long or much of a barrier. After spending an hour looking for relevant postings at companies I'm interested in, another few minutes to actually apply is not a big deal. What is truly annoying though is creating new accounts for each company's application portal.