Recently I thought, my previous posts look like I am always finding some faults in companies that rejected me. It’s totally understandable! I might see myself as a whining job seeker blaming the companies all the time if I were in your shoes 🙂 And that’s why I decided to share my application statistics with you.
Get ready for more rejections…
Let’s see… First my spontaneous applications – which means contacting companies without a specific job ad.
When I started my job search in autumn, I’ve sent emails to 15 consultancy firms in my field and I got no positive response. 9 of them never replied my email. But 6 of them replied and most sent supporting and kind messages encouraging me keep going.
Recently, I’ve sent a spontaneous application to a start-up which leads me a brief phone talk with CEO. The attitude of CEO was nice, so this experience was a positive one independent from its final result.
Here comes the formal job applications…
Since September, I’ve applied 33 jobs. They all are somewhat related with my field but at least half of them were long shots. I got 20 rejection mails, almost all of them are automated emails. I had 1 Skype interview, which was a bad experience I’ve already written about. Here you can read.
Few months ago, I’ve started to apply a new strategy. While I’m applying for a job, I also found email address of the Hiring Manager and sent her a customized email. It just worked one time so I am not sure if it is a good thing to do in Sweden or not.
Among that 33 applications, one of the Hiring Managers said the position is on hold but my background seems good so she will get back in touch with me when the issues solved. It was a positive response for me because she spend her time to write back and explain the current situation. There are still people out there who knows the importance of communication in HR!
For 4 of the applications, I’ve also sent customized emails to Hiring Managers. 1 of them replied very kindly. 1 of them replied terribly, which you can read details here. 2 of them never replied, which is a little bit rude for me – not replying a mail that is directly written to you.
I suspect since Swedes don’t want to say “No” directly, they might prefer not answering at all but this seems worse to me 🙂 Still, there might be something I am not aware of about Swedish culture. For now, I am just keeping my mind open and trying to solve whether this strategy is a good one or not – or why it isn’t working.
Among the applications, 1 was positive which I’m currently working as an intern.
Lastly, one of my connections recommend me for a position. I had a phone interview. But I know from the beginning I’m not a good match for that position. Still it was good to meet new people, and it was a very nice phone interview.
Insights so far in my journey
Overall, you can see I am still trying to find the perfect formula to find a job. Spontaneous applications can work if you find companies who thinks about having a new employee but not decided yet. So you can be the first one and have an advantage. However, it’s hard to find those “unicorn” companies 🙂
For me, the most successful method should be the applications combined with emails to Hiring Manager. Because you know there is a need for someone like you and you can tell why you can be “the one” directly to your future manager. However, for some reason, in Sweden I’m not sure if it is working strategy. For now it’s a risk.
And the most traditional method of just applying to a job ad means gambling for me. Your chances are high getting a rejection as a newcomer who doesn’t know Swedish, however, still there’s always a chance to win 🙂 I call this method “don’t depend on it but there is no harm to spend few hours to apply if you see a good one”
Feel free to share your insights and questions!
Adventures of a Job Hunter 