Help! I’m addicted to LinkedIn
Well, kind of. I open it a lot at the moment - more than I would when I’m settled in a role. I don’t go in much for social media these days, but LinkedIn is a must when you’re jobhunting. At least twice a day, morning and evening, I open it up to check on job postings. As a special treat, I open it up on the computer rather than my phone - the bigger screen is better for job applications where I need to actually answer questions.
At current count, I’m up to about 200 jobs applied for, just on LinkedIn. I’ll be honest, a lot of the time applying on LinkedIn feels like screaming into a void. It’s rare you get an application acknowledgement via email when using Easy Apply, let alone any application updates or confirmation they’re no longer considering you for the role. I’d wager a guess it’s less than 10%. I do get rejection emails - probably from about 25% of the companies that I apply to. The other 75% never say anything. The rejection emails aren’t that useful, especially as so many say something like ‘We’ve been inundated with applications for this role, so we can’t provide individual feedback. Good luck finding something!’, but at least you now know that opportunity is closed to you.
I’ve spoken to and later been ghosted by two recruiters, which stings. I try not to think of it personally; I’m sure they’re very busy and simply don’t want to have to say ‘no thanks’. I’ve also got to the end stage of an application and been passed over, for a more qualified candidate. That took some getting over - I really liked the company, and the role sounded exciting.
Many of the roles I’ve applied for have had over 100 applicants according to LinkedIn - and as someone who has been on the hiring side, that fills me with dread. As an applicant, I find myself second guessing myself - if 100 people, or possibly a lot more, have applied for a role, even if it’s one I really like the sound of, what chance do I have? Is my CV good enough to compete? They might all have experience that is more relevant than mine. Am I wasting my time, and the hiring manager’s time?
I’ve had to make some adjustments. I only apply for roles that sound genuinely interesting, at companies whose values and mission align with my own. I’m applying for hybrid roles local to me, because the competition for fully remote roles is incredibly fierce. I’m being as flexible as I can be regarding my salary. But, I also try to remember that it’s unlikely anyone will perfectly meet the role requirements and ‘desired’ attributes for a role, so I’m taking a few chances here and there. This approach means I’m applying for fewer jobs, though, which is hard not to feel guilty about when you really need a job and have people to support. It also makes the wall of silence harder to ignore, and the rejections hit a little bit harder. I’ve been forced to give up LinkedIn as my only job application route, and look for jobs on other sites like Welcome to the Jungle (previously Otta) and Cord - I’d recommend both of those if you are looking for a new role.
One thing is for certain, though, I will definitely be adding ‘resilient’ as one of my attributes going forwards. I’ve actually surprised myself with how ‘okay’ I still feel - giving up hope wouldn’t help anything. I am hoping I’ll be able to kick my LinkedIn addiction soon (fingers crossed).
