Application Timing?
Application Timing?
When you find a vacancy of interest early in the recruiting season, do you apply right away or do you wait for other positions with potential? I'm apparently suffering from fear of missing out at the moment, so I thought experienced perspectives migh help.
Response
When an IS publishes a vacancy it means they are accepting applications for the position. I dont see what the benefit would be to waiting for other vacancies with potential. You can certainly apply for the vacancy when its posted, and you probably should, since there is the potential of being an early hire.
There are some timing issues, but they depend on how the individual IS is doing screening and selection (screening is the process of building the candidate pool by sorting those who meet the minimum or other requirements and those who dont, selection is the process of reducing the candidate pool by removing less competitive candidates with lower utility), but your not likely to have access to this information. You essentially want your application packet to be seen as soon as possible by leadership/recruiter, for those ISs employing a screening procedure, this generally happens as recruiting gets closer to the peak recruiting times and the fairs. You want to be one of the earliest applications reviewed because of the anchoring effect and you want to benefit from the recency effect as much as possible. You dont know though when the recruiter/leadership is going to do that. If you apply right before that happens your application is likely to be seen very early in the selection process, but you miss out on any opportunity to be an early hire. If you apply very early and your application goes into the screening process its likely to be at the bottom of the pile with much less if any benefit from recency and anchoring, but the potential of an early hire (regardless of how small it may be). The unknown factors are just too significant.
The general strategy is to apply as soon as you have identified a vacancy to both indicate enthusiasm and benefit from a potential early hire and follow up with the IS before peak recruiting and fair attendance and at shifts in the recruiting cycle.
There are some timing issues, but they depend on how the individual IS is doing screening and selection (screening is the process of building the candidate pool by sorting those who meet the minimum or other requirements and those who dont, selection is the process of reducing the candidate pool by removing less competitive candidates with lower utility), but your not likely to have access to this information. You essentially want your application packet to be seen as soon as possible by leadership/recruiter, for those ISs employing a screening procedure, this generally happens as recruiting gets closer to the peak recruiting times and the fairs. You want to be one of the earliest applications reviewed because of the anchoring effect and you want to benefit from the recency effect as much as possible. You dont know though when the recruiter/leadership is going to do that. If you apply right before that happens your application is likely to be seen very early in the selection process, but you miss out on any opportunity to be an early hire. If you apply very early and your application goes into the screening process its likely to be at the bottom of the pile with much less if any benefit from recency and anchoring, but the potential of an early hire (regardless of how small it may be). The unknown factors are just too significant.
The general strategy is to apply as soon as you have identified a vacancy to both indicate enthusiasm and benefit from a potential early hire and follow up with the IS before peak recruiting and fair attendance and at shifts in the recruiting cycle.
Re: Application Timing?
Go for it, what's to lose? You could hold off waiting for a "better" one which might never come, and end up settling for something else. And, if you get the job, you'd also have the benefit of knowing what you're doing next and where you're going, and being able to make plans for it.
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shadowjack
- Posts: 2140
- Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:49 am
Re: Application Timing?
noncommun - it's like not taking what's behind door number one when it is offered and waiting for door number 2 or 3 - only to find that you liked door number 1 better. There is always greener grass. So if you are interested in a school or a job, go for it. Don't second-guess or look in the rear view mirror.
Re: Application Timing?
Thanks everyone. I went ahead and applied. I think I just needed to go ahead an take that first step.