Jobs posted on corporate web sites
In your opinion, is there any use in responding to job postings posted exclusively on corporate web sites, or is it a waste of time? I've read over and over on these boards that these postings are often just a way for the company to comply with the legal requirements while in fact, they don't really plan to consider outside candidates, which is why they only post the jobs on their web sites hoping to maintain the appearance of proper procedure without being flooded with applications and without paying to advertise a position they have already filled. How many people here have found this to be true? It's just that I customize my cover letter and resume for each position to which I apply, and if I am wasting my time whenever I respond to an ad posted exclusively on a corporate web site, I would rather concentrate my energy on something else. Now, I've gotten interviews in the past from responding to such postings, but none of them resulted in an offer, and for all I know, they were just going through the motions with the interviews. Are these types of postings really not worth responding to?
I believe this to be absolutely true. Since most companies do have a policy of hiring internally they do still need to "go through the motions" and "give the appearance" of "fair-play". The chances of your actually getting an interview for a job that you applied for via a company web-site is between nil to none, but for appearances sake (on your part) it probably doesn' t hurt to apply. And, on a more personal note, I also by sending them my resume, I don' t get the junk bugged out of my by my family regarding "not following up on all opportunities." With what "legal requirement" are they complying? There are no laws that state that a job in a company has to be open to the public. If I have an opening in my company and someone internal can fill it, I don' t have to advertise it. And I highly doubt that if there were such a law, posting on a company website would be the lawmakers' preferred way of compliance. They still want legal notices posted in newspapers... you think a company website would be sufficient to them? It probably is that jobs are posted internally first since advancing employees is a bona fide means of employee retention. If no one steps to the plate from inside, maybe a company will advertise outside. Since it only costs a few minutes of your time to email a resume, why not take a shot? You never know when you may get lucky. I think what you are saying about companies "going through the motions" when it comes to posting jobs on their web sites exclusively. Often, this does mean that they are not actively looking for outside candidates. When you do get an interview as a result of responding to such a posting, you are often left with the realization that it was nothing more than a courtesy interview (I started a thread about one such instance just recently). Here's why it's still worth it to apply though: *Some large, well known companies, feel that they don't NEED to spend money on ads because they are such huge industry icons, hundreds of people check their web site for openings daily. Therefore, all they really need to do is advertise on their web site, seat back, and wait for the flood of resumes to begin. I do agree though that when a company noone has ever heard of advertises exclusively on their web site, they are probably not expecting anyone to actually see the posting. *Some companies briefly advertise exclusively on their web sites, targeting mostly internal candidates, before putting up ads on job boards. If you apply while before the job is widely advertised, you have the added edge of a) standing apart from the 100's of resumes that will immediately start streaming in once the posting hits the job boards; and b) showing that you are interested in a job with THEIR company as opposed to just a job. *Even if they already have an internal candidates they want to hire, this does not necessarily mean they will not reconsider if an applicant with far better qualifications turns up. There are many that won't because, well, why do the extra work to land a "10" when you already have a "7.5" able to do a fair job, but there are others that might. *The internal candidate may not work out, and that's when your resume may happen to be in the right hands at the right time. So, IMO, it's still worth it to apply. As for wasting time customizing the resume and cover letter, perhaps you can have a more general, easily customizeable letter to use for jobs you are not 100% sure are real, just so you don't spend too much time on them. You can still write masterpieces of cover letters for the positions you are confident exist. Even if 49 out of 50 positions advertised on company web sites are not real openings, you only need 1 "perfect" job to work out. Why take the chance of missing it? Depends on the company. At my company, we are required to advertise every single available position, even if only on the company web site, out of fairness to other internal candidates who might be interested, regardless of whether or not we have a candidate in mind. As far as my employer goes, I would say that if the job is advertised only on our web site, it' s safe to assume that we are only considering internal applicants. If a certain amount of time has passed and we were unable to find a fitting internal candidate, we then post on job boards. Up until that point, outside candidates are not being considered and yes, I am afraid that sending in your resume will not produce any results. However, that' s just my company. Other companies may have different policies, so it' s still worth it to apply. I agree that you should not spend hours putting together the perfect cover letter for these types of posting (i.e. advertised exclusively on the employer' s web site). I like the idea one of the posters had to have a general, simpler cover letter just for such instances. This way, it only takes a few minutes to apply and you lose nothing. The only other suggestion I have is that if you see one of these previously internal postings exclusive to the employer' s web site appear on a job board like Monster, or on an industry specific site, after you' ve applied, you should resend your resume. This time, use a specially composed cover letter (not the general one). Chances are, they overlooked your previous submission because they weren' t considering outside candidates then, and now that they are, this is your chance to shine. Good luck! PS It' s wonderful that you understand the importance of customizing your CL and resume for each position. Many applicants don' t and guess what, these form letters that people like to use, where each time you apply for a job you just change the company name and the title, are very easy to detect and they do not make a good impression. Quite frankly, many of them read like tired pickup lines. Your cover letter should reflect your personality and show that you really understand what the position is about, not just responding to every posting you see. It sounds like you are already doing that, so you are definitely on the right track. I totally disagree. It costs companies a lot of money to post a job on a place like Monster. In an large company with dozens of openings a month, that adds up. It costs them nothing to post on their own site. It is a great way to find jobs, especially entry-level and worker bee level ones. Companies rarely have a solid candidate in mind for an opening, and when they do, they will nearly always consider a great candidate no matter where they come from. Yep, I'm a big believer in tailoring my CL/resume to each position. I think the general-sounding cover letters and resumes that don't utilize the right keywords are the first ones discarded. Plus, I apply to pretty big companies that will often have 5-6 openings fitting my qualifications within a period of a couple of months. If they happen to still have my previous e-mails and realize that I've used the exact same cover letter in all of them, or if use a form letter that's nearly similar to those sent in by 200 other applicants who read the same resume book, I don't think this would reflect well on me and my commitment to working there. It does sometimes take me more than an hour to apply for a position because of this, but I've been having a pretty high rate of response with this approach, so I guess I'm doing something right. So, jobs posted exclusively on company web sites are generally for internal candidates? That's what I thought. I suppose it's still worth a try, but definitely not worth spending hours on writing the "perfect" cover letter and customizing my resume. I like the idea of having a general cover letter just for these instances. Another thing I've been doing, whenever I see one of these internal postings that fit my background, even when they say to contact HR, I try to find out the name of the hiring manager and send an e-mail to him/her directly in addition to applying through HR. If HR was told to ignore outside applicants, I figure I don't stand much chance. However, I'm hoping that if a hiring manager sees my resume and decides that it's a better fit than the person they originally had in mind, there is at least a small chance they may reconsider. Or not. But I'm figuring it can't hurt. I saw your post after I posted my response. Yes, I guess it all depends on the company. Would you still agree though that if it' s possible to find out the hiring manager' s name, it' s worth it to send an e-mail to him/her directly in addition to applying through HR, even if the ad does say to apply through HR? First of all, pretty much every large company that I know of (and probaby many medium sized ones as well) has an INTRAnet site that is accessible only to existing employees. If a job truly is only open to internal candidates, that' s where it gets posted (like the job I hired for a few months ago) so you won' t even see it. If your friend or spouse or someone works there and sees it and sends it to you, and you want to apply, go ahead and send something to the hiring manager. Chances are really low, but it could open that HM' s eyes to what he/she could get if they DID post it externally. Keep in mind though, that they would then most likely post externally so you could be in competition with a lot of folks at that point, but they' d all be being measured against you. If it is posted on their publically accessible website, it is probably best to follow the directions there and send the info through the HR system. Again, in every company I' ve worked for, although HR screens all applicants, the HM still has the ability to screen themselves if they choose to. I screened every resume for the last job I hired because I' m in a niche field that HR doesn' t really know much about or understand. I want to ensure that experiences and key words that interested ME were looked at. I then asked HR to follow up with a couple people and check a few things out. Whether a HM looks at every resume or not is totally a mixed bag. The more generic the job, the lower the level, the more applicants, the more likely it is that the HM isn' t going to read every resume. In those cases, HR DOES know what to look for and can screen the minimum requirements for Teller or CSR in their sleep. The HM doesn' t need to bother with that, therefore, you don' t gain anything by sending directly to the HM. If you' re in some sort of field however, where you have some reason to think the HR department for this company MIGHT not know what to look for in the resume AND you can find the HM' s info, you might be a leg up in that HR might have overlooked you. At worst, the HM will either send your resume to HR or delete it so you' re no worse off. You could also get the same result by going through HR but ensuring that you customize your resume for each job, use the same words and phrases that they used in the posting where ever you can and "connect the dots" in your cover letter for them. And of course, every company is different. But if you' re job hunting, what have you got to lose by applying to one of these postings? 10 minutes of your time? Big deal!
One comment. Even though I agree that it's often a good idea to try to find out the hiring manager's name and send a copy of your resume to them directly, I have to agree with Tess that doing so for basic entry-level jobs is not necessary and, if enough people do it, will only annoy the manager. There are certain fields where you should avoid HR at all costs, even for entry-level jobs, because HR recruiters simply aren't qualified to make a determination of someone's fit for this type of position. Many of the creative fields are like that. However, generally, when the ad says to contact HR, the best thing to do is to contact HR. | |
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