It’s not uncommon for people to apply for up to 50 jobs at a time. How do you manage all these applications?
Second question: Any one of these companies can call you at any moment for a phone interview so you need to be prepared to talk about the company. For example, I once applied for a graduate development programme and they called me out of the blue and asked me if I knew of the different locations of the company in Ireland and what each branch was responsible for. I had read all of this on their website but of course couldn’t remember it off the top of my head because I had also read up on a bazillion other companies. I obviously didn’t progress any further with that application. So how do you prepare yourself for something like this? Do you just learn each company’s details off by heart?
if someone asked out of the blue on a phone call about their company........they are probably dumbasses anyways........
Or perhaps they just want to know how serious you are about this job... Is it just like any of the other jobs you've applied for or have you actually put any effort into researching the company. This particular company has been voted the nation's best graduate employer for the last few years in a row... so I wouldn't call them dumbasses. I guess they receive so many applications that they use this tactic to skim through applicants.
I didn't know any better. I fully took the blame of not making it past the phone interview. Lesson learned. Hence this thread... any advice on how to be more organised? There must have been 10 other "big" companies I applied to... do I need to learn off by heart each company's history, structure, locations etc?
What about maintaining a spreadsheet of every job you apply to? Copy-paste the exact position name, company name, Req #, recruiter contact and any other info like location, requires travel etc.
You'll also find this helpful if you apply to several positions within the same company - will help you keep track of which is which.
I did keep a spreadsheet. I would put in the company name, position applied to, date applied on and a little bit of job description.
I also had to maintain a couple of resume versions actually as I would tweak the resume a little bit to emphasize the experience required for the position in my last position etc.
I also had a separate label in my email for the jobs and job related email. It is easier to just go into that label and see all the emails.
Even though I was never called and asked like that but calling person/party always asked me if it was a good time to talk and if I was not completely prepared to talk I would always say if they can call me back in 10 minutes, you can say you are outside and will get back home in 5 minutes and then compose yourself.
I usually had to put my son with some toys or busy him with something so he was not disturbing me while I was on phone so I genuinely needed those 5-10 minutes.
Every Job I apply to: I create a folder by the company name, Ctrl C + Ctrl V Job description in word, and save a copy of cover letter; all these three goes in the folder. (Generally, resume is same so never bother saving it).
All the folders are organized alphabetically. Whenever someone contacts, I have all the information that I need within seconds.
You can never go wrong, initially I just used to save links for job descriptions, but links get removed and you are in trouble.
Honestly speaking I maintain a diary .. i could very well do a spreadsheet but when you get a call out of the blue , you cant take a few moments to open the laptop and find the sheet ..
So I keep a diary with short notes on it , its easier to look in it .
for jobs that you have applied through online jobsites like Monster, and via agencies, they wont mind if you tell them that you have applied in a few places and need a couple of minutes to track back the application . Excuse from them and call them back in a few minutes .
For the times when a company directly calls you , just be honest with them, coz they arent judging you at that time, if they want you to answer questions about their company they should take time for a proper interview .. If that ever happens that an unprofessional someone calls you out of the blue and says you applied for so and so job and what you know about their company, nicely tell them that you are at your work place at the moment and cant talk openly and will be happy to catch up with them later in the day or the next day .. that will give you ample time to go through the details of the job and that company.
spreadsheet with links or even document names. i customize resumes for roles and dont want to be in a situation where I can't give them the resume later that I had initially shared. and since I dont like putting company name in the resume I have to put them in folders etc so I know which was sent to whom. folders also have any research on the company etc
