Comparing job boards with actual people, the difference is huge

I spent 2 weeks applying through the big job sites, maybe 40 applications, and got one automated rejection. Then my buddy from my old gym in Denver told me to just message the hiring managers directly on LinkedIn, nothing fancy, just a short note about their open role. I did that for 5 places, got 3 replies, and one interview. The board felt like shouting into a void, but the direct message felt like a real conversation. Has anyone else switched from mass applying to targeted outreach and seen a better response rate?

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anna71719d ago

Shouting into a void" is exactly it. But here's something nobody's bringing up: job boards are built for the company's convenience, not yours. They filter you out before a human ever sees your name, and that's by design. Direct outreach skips that whole filtering mess. I tried a weird version of this last year, I found the email of the person who would've been my boss and sent a short note about a project they'd posted on their personal blog. Got a reply in two days. Never even touched their careers page. The board version of that application probably went straight to a trash folder from a bot that hates my resume format.