When employed professionals are trying to find a new job, they typically work during the weekday and apply to jobs in the evening or on the weekend.
These might be the most convenient times for people with a job to find a new job, but they’re also the times when a submitted resume has the lowest odds of landing an interview. According to research by TalentWorks, the best time to submit a resume is Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday before noon.
Data also show that submitting a resume before 10 a.m. increases your chances of getting an interview by fivefold. On the other hand, the chances of an interview for the average applicant is less than 5 percent if they submit their resume in the evening.
It also helps to apply to a job right after it is posted. Data have shown applying within four days after a job is first posted increases the odds of an interview by nearly 65 percent, compared to applicants who apply after that window. With 60 percent of applicants applying to the typical job opening within a week after it posts, the longer you wait, the more your resume has to fight for the attention of a hiring manager.
Other resume insights
We like to tell ourselves there is no bias when it comes to hiring; unfortunately study after study keeps showing that isn’t true. Famously, the 2005 book Freakonomics revealed that resumes with distinctive African-American names at the top are less likely to trigger a response from a hiring manager than resumes with other types of names.
More recently, TalentWorks found that “age-ism” appears to be prevalent in the hiring practices of today’s tech industry. The study found that ‘hireability’ decreases by 8 percent for every year past 35 years old. This finding suggests that tech industry job seekers many want to omit any graduation dates from their resume.
Perhaps somewhat obviously, if you have three years’ experience on your résumé, you will qualify for 75 percent of entry-level positions, the study found. If you have five years, you will qualify for 77 percent of mid-level positions; and eight years translates to qualification for 72 percent of senior-level jobs. TalentWorks also found hiring personnel will often consider you “close enough” if you’re within two years of necessary experience listed in a posting. In fact, the company said you should feel comfortable applying to a position if you’re at least 60 percent qualified.
Applying to small businesses, with revenues between $5 million to $50 million, boosts your odds of landing an interview, according to another study from Jobvite. For tech professionals seeking work outside the tech industry, real estate rental, hospitality, finance and educational services are the industries with the best odds of getting an interview.
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At Software Specialists, we work with job seekers to connect them to best-fit opportunities, taking a lot of unknowns and guesswork out of the job search process. If you’re looking to take the next step on your career path, please contact us today.