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Any luck using the online job portals/openings?

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Edroche
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Any luck using the online job portals/openings?

Post by Edroche » Mon, 05 Aug 2013 1:25 pm

I have had zero traction when applying for jobs online using the popular sites here in Singapore. Has anyone had better luck or received interview / job offers? It seem that the only people that are getting new jobs are through existing business connections and networking. Thoughts?

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sundaymorningstaple
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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Mon, 05 Aug 2013 1:46 pm

If you are replying to direct from the employer adverts online you have a decent chance (on the job portals and well as the employers actual website as well). However, the bulk of the jobs normally found on those sites are placed by agencies on fishing expeditions to keep their databases replenished as the shelf life of a CV is only around 3 months. Most, not all, of their positions posted are for positions in the future or past but just designed to reap current CVs.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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nutnut
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Post by nutnut » Mon, 05 Aug 2013 5:17 pm

Always follow up, then you will get better chance of knowing.
nutnut

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Wd40
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Post by Wd40 » Mon, 05 Aug 2013 6:12 pm

Edroche, This is why:

http://www.ere.net/2013/05/20/why-you-c ... e-numbers/

If your skill is not niche, then expect atleast 100s if not 1000s of people like you who are also going to apply for the same job.

I read another excellent article on linked in which really tells the sorry state of recruitment industry. About how much overworked and stressed these recruiters are and how bad they are at reviewing resumes. I read that they get a heap of 700 odds resumes and they just randomly pick some 15 which they actually read and in that select 5 and send them to the hiring manager :o

The best chance is if recruiters find you in the job portals/linked in and call you. You stand a chance. If not, forget it.

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Post by brian_singapore » Tue, 06 Aug 2013 1:47 am

Re: Recruiters cv spamming -anecdote from Canada from the other side of the fence (hiring manager):

We have a managed service for recruitment. Its run and supported as a turnkey solution from a third party.

We wanted to recruit an IT Project Manager. So they posted the job for 30 minutes and then turned off submission. In this time they got 83 resumes submitted from a variety of sources, most recruitment agencies on the 'preferred vendor list'. Then they turned it off.

This means:
1) Agencies were just dumping any crap in their system - no time to actually vet or contact candidates.
2) No quality control, we have yet to find a candidate in this mess worth interviewing
3) Any serious job hunters probably completely missed the window - i.e. the ones we'd like to hear from.

Brian

Edroche
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Post by Edroche » Tue, 06 Aug 2013 8:43 am

Thanks for that folks, v helpful.

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Strong Eagle
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Post by Strong Eagle » Tue, 06 Aug 2013 9:00 am

Another from an employer perspective... I wanted a project manager with specific IT implementation skills... contacted two "primo" search firms... got so much crap it was unreal... apparently, if the CV contained "project" or "manager", I got the CV.

When I asked questions of the recruiter like, "I said I needed someone with cross border hardware logistics", I could see the blank stare over the phone.

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Post by AngMoG » Tue, 06 Aug 2013 10:10 am

Strong Eagle wrote:Another from an employer perspective... I wanted a project manager with specific IT implementation skills... contacted two "primo" search firms... got so much crap it was unreal... apparently, if the CV contained "project" or "manager", I got the CV.

When I asked questions of the recruiter like, "I said I needed someone with cross border hardware logistics", I could see the blank stare over the phone.
That explains why so many bigger companies are using that annoying taleo... and puts LinkedIn in a better light ;)

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Wd40
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Post by Wd40 » Tue, 06 Aug 2013 10:28 am

AngMoG wrote:
Strong Eagle wrote:Another from an employer perspective... I wanted a project manager with specific IT implementation skills... contacted two "primo" search firms... got so much crap it was unreal... apparently, if the CV contained "project" or "manager", I got the CV.

When I asked questions of the recruiter like, "I said I needed someone with cross border hardware logistics", I could see the blank stare over the phone.
That explains why so many bigger companies are using that annoying taleo... and puts LinkedIn in a better light ;)
Taleo doesnt help. The role now shifts from external recruiters to internal HR who are as incapable if not worse.

Taleo being open to everyone, every bloody Tom, Dick and Harry applies the job, even if they know they dont fit. They just add those job ads keywords to their resume before applying, making the incapable HRs job even worse.

Another thing about Taleo and internal job postings. More often than not the Hiring manager has already decided whom to recruit, mostly internal candidates looking for mobility and being a large company they have to go through the process of posting the job etc. I know this because this happens very extensively especially in Banking where there is very little hiring and more firing and often there are enough suitable people within the company(I call them refugees) or referrals. This is another reason why its hard to get called for an interview. Its not your fault. Its the big bad world. If you have links and connections you go places :(

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Post by livingontheedge » Thu, 29 Aug 2013 7:27 pm

Linkedin? Depending on your profile, you will have dozens contacting you for job offers. Personally, I get a number of inquiries but none as yet that has enticed me to take them up.

rogine14
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Post by rogine14 » Mon, 02 Sep 2013 12:44 am

What kind of job r u looking for?
Diff job may get you diff response.
I would say, definitely people with exisiting connections can land a job easier..
I had seen many friends whom had landed a job based on a connection. ;)

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