May 1st, 2021. I really wanted to write earlier, it has been a month since the last post. But full-time candidate life is very hectic if you fully commit to it (spend around 8h every day between reading job posts, applying, interviewing, doing code challenges, skills assessments, and whatever a company may ask you to do[1]).
I think that’s to be expected, since I’ve applied to more than 200 positions, and I’m not just making up this number, it’s all documented in my Application Sheet. Honestly, I didn’t have much hope of getting noticed at this point, especially because I was applying to roles in which I had no experience (plus most of them are international). Guess I was wrong. From 200+ applications I got 70 responses, which means more or less a 30% ratio. From those answers, 8 were positive, meaning that they want to proceed to the next step (about 4%). 70% of the companies didn’t give me any kind of feedback after 2-4 weeks.
Generally, the next step is a phone interview with the recruiter, but on three occasions I got some kind of online
assessment. Here is where I felt the need for creating yet another application sheet, but this time it’s called
Hiring Process sheet. This one is specifically for the applications that passed over the resume analysis wall. There I can keep track of all the different steps and deadlines for each position.
Now, this is way better than scrolling through 200+ rows or using ctrl + f to find a specific application. I can easily keep track of where I am at for each position. I’ve also made sure to use a very vibrant orange color for deadlines so I can prioritize and not miss any of them (I’ve almost forgotten Carta’s manager interview). I make sure to check it every day, adjust my plans accordingly, and keep every important date in my calendar.
Alright, I think these two documents together are a really good solution to help someone keep track of their entire application process, from submitting their CV to getting an offer. I mean, if this person is using the same strategy of handing out hundreds of CVs, i.e. they are playing the numbers game[2]. Please feel free to make a copy for yourself, I am happy to share.
Fun fact: Today is International Workers’ Day, this wasn’t intentional.
[1]: I think I will write a post on this. Some of the things you need to do are quite amusing.
[2]: This is also an interesting topic to explore.