To be considered ...

[christiner81]

i work in higher ed administration. one of the jobs i did hear back from (they didn't interview me) said they received over 100 resumes for the job.

i actually did get two interviews before moving. i used my husband's portland address for one of them - i didn't get that job because they chose a local over me (funny story, i work near that hiring manager now and the person they hired has already left).

about the "no positions open" thing, they may be posted for legal reasons but the job is already marked for someone in particular.

I would agree with Steve, she's probably not meeting their needs on paper and there are plenty of other people to interview who look like they are a better match. When I hired the person to replace me at my old job (before moving here) I was very humbled...many experienced people are looking for work and willing to take jobs that are "beneath" their level of experience. I also downgraded a bit, both salary and jobwise, since moving to OR.

It sucks, but it is what it is.

[Caver Girl]

That makes sense- I've heard that's done a lot. A job is posted, but the company already knows who they are going to hire. She'll keep looking!

[jjpop]

Originally Posted by Caver Girl

That makes sense- I've heard that's done a lot. A job is posted, but the company already knows who they are going to hire. She'll keep looking!

I've seen that happen personally. I've both been burned by it and benefited from it. I think it happens in government a lot because they have to show that their hiring process is fair and that they are reaching out to a wide group of potential applicants.

Generally I think the smaller the outfit the less this happens.

[Deezus]

Originally Posted by Caver Girl

That makes sense- I've heard that's done a lot. A job is posted, but the company already knows who they are going to hire. She'll keep looking!

At my previous position I used to review resumes for potential candidates for open positions. HR would get well over a hundred in a few days--from that we'd get about 20-30 to sift through and pick maybe 3-5 people to interview. This was usually within a few days of posting the ad--after a week, we'd already have a huge pool of candidates--so if you sent an application in a week later, you could be perfect for the role--however odds are we had at least five other people who were also perfect for the role at that point.

The only advice to follow is to keep sending applications in--as soon as you see a job posting you have to be ready to send an application in. Unless it's a highly specialized position no one will be waiting around after a few weeks to find the right candidate, unless there's some other reason they can't fill it(like a remote location or small town). You have to try to make a personal connection with the hiring manager or HR recruiter as soon as possible--I got a position from an interview that they originally turned me away from, but they liked me so much that they called me later to mention that they might have another position open. But you have to be the perfect candidate for most competetive roles in Portland.

[christiner81]

Originally Posted by Deezus

At my previous position I used to review resumes for potential candidates for open positions. HR would get well over a hundred in a few days--from that we'd get about 20-30 to sift through and pick maybe 3-5 people to interview. This was usually within a few days of posting the ad--after a week, we'd already have a huge pool of candidates--so if you sent an application in a week later, you could be perfect for the role--however odds are we had at least five other people who were also perfect for the role at that point.

The only advice to follow is to keep sending applications in--as soon as you see a job posting you have to be ready to send an application in. Unless it's a highly specialized position no one will be waiting around after a few weeks to find the right candidate, unless there's some other reason they can't fill it(like a remote location or small town). You have to try to make a personal connection with the hiring manager or HR recruiter as soon as possible--I got a position from an interview that they originally turned me away from, but they liked me so much that they called me later to mention that they might have another position open. But you have to be the perfect candidate for most competetive roles in Portland.

true. sometimes you can tell by looking at the job description - it will be extremely detailed about the preferred/desired qualifications because they will basically write it FOR a the person the job is marked for. even if you have all those qualifications, if they are not noted in similar language on your resume the hiring managers will use that as a way to pare down the stack. you can't just use one resume to apply for all jobs, you have to really customize it. my husband is a manager in HR at a large company and they deal with this all the time. They don't have time to sift through the stack to read between the lines. if ANYTHING is lacking, any spelling/grammar/formatting issues whatsoever, it's in the trash.

[Minervah]

Several places where I have worked the person hiring would ask if anyone could recommend someone for the job but they would still go ahead and advertise the job. If the job is a more specialized one such as the one I used to do, it can be the supervisor who has the final say over HR. I have had them ask if anyone has ever worked with a potential here before. If so, what did they think of them. That can literally be the difference between someone getting a job or not.

So employees would bring in resumes from the candidates they were suggesting. Those would always get first priority. Networking is a very big plus. Those stood the best chance for getting interviews.

One thing I found while looking at resumes is that even when job requirements are stated very specifically, often people will send in resumes that describe vague abilities or those that don't meet those requirements at all. It is very frustrating for the people reading those resumes. So if personal recommendations can be made by present employees, those are worth their weight in gold.

[cocaseco]

I just completed a nationwide search and I think it does hurt, but it doesn't hurt in every case. The trick is too apply a lot, over and over. If she needs relocation assistance, that will narrow the pool too. But if she doesnt need relocation assistance, put that in the cover letter so they know. It is certainly better to be on the ground, but its not impossible.