Speculative job applications.

[[Philip]]

I got my current job through a speculative application, sent it through on a complete off chance and got a call saying they were about to advertise for a role they thought I would be good for. 3 years later I'm still there!

 

[gavintc]

I help our HR Department at trade recruiting fairs. It has been an excellent education and from my experience speculative applications are definitively worth it. Indeed, our recruitment team encourage them from people who have the skills our organisation is likely to need.

 

[Slim]

I was made redundant back in February. Since then I've probably made 120+ job applications. I'm just waiting for a date and time for my fourth interview. A fair chunk of the applications were for jobs that would have been a bit of a stretch but the vast majority were for jobs I could do in my sleep (IBM Mainframe operations analysis, CICS/Cobol development and a bunch of other stuff). There will always be companies that have a very rigid recruitment process (usually with a defined list of skills requirements) but there are also places around that can see beyond your basic skill set. One of the interviews was for a position that did not involve a single technical skill on my CV. They just liked the fact that I hadn't been changing jobs every couple of years but also had a wide variety of skills and experience.

The bottom line is that unless your time is very limited then it's worth applying. I know it's possible to register your details directly with companies, The last time I was made redundant (back in the eighties) I was contacted a couple of months after a "failed" interview for another position. The company had retained the CV I sent in for the first position along with notes made by the initial interview.

Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for me. I'll let you know what happens.

 

[Slim]

send about 30 out since i was made redundant in September... not heard a single thing back.

Unfortunately that's the usual practice these days. I know someone who works for a big agency that says that they are all under so much pressure that they cannot spend the time to send out rejection emails. The sheer number of applicants for each position just makes it impractical plus they have also been shedding staff themselves.

The only time I would expect a rejection mail is if the application was direct to a larger organisation but even this has it's exceptions: Directline usually don't bother but then their HR department has always been a bit of a joke.

 

[MontyVeda]

aye it is Slim... what used to be a common courtesy is now too much hassle. It's frustrating being left in the dark.