How much work will it take to land your dream job?
The first time I migrated, I set up the 100:10:1 ratio. 100 applications: 10 interviews : 1 job.
I set the ratio for psychological reasons. I was being practical. My goals and plans include the endurance I need to succeed the race.
Do you go green at the sight of these figures? Want to puke?
Truthfully, most people don’t have the stomach for these figures. They go green, and then grey. They aren’t motivated by these figures. They are depressed.
Now I tell you, that the position is far worse than this
If you are a migrant, which you may be for many reasons, or if you are changing career track, the figures will be a lot worse. Think of 200 applications. Think of 300 applications. Think of 1000!
And think of the worst possible behavior on the part of people who process them. They ignore you. They patronize you. They stand you up (even when they’ve paid for your air ticket). They lie.
Oh those 999 who don’t hire you are seriously depressing!
This cannot be true you say
“I know someone who got a job first time”, you say. “This cannot be true! I have never had this trouble!” “This country needs skilled migrants.” “They advertised and asked us to apply!” “You are being cynical. You are jaded. This is just sour grapes.”
Indeed.
Let me tell you how it works
Today I found this mantra for advertising.
“The first time a man looks at an advertisement, he does not see it.
The second time, he does not notice it.
The third time, he is conscious of its existence.
The fourth time, he faintly remembers having seen it before.
The fifth time, he reads it.
The sixth time, he turns up his nose at it.
The seventh time, he reads it through and says, “Oh brother!”
The eighth time, he says, “Here’s that confounded thing again!”
The ninth time, he wonders if it amounts to anything.
The tenth time, he asks his neighbor if he has tried it.
The eleventh time, he wonders how the advertiser makes it pay.
The twelfth time, he thinks it must be a good thing.
The thirteenth time, he thinks perhaps it might be worth something.
The fourteenth time, he remembers wanting such a thing a long time.
The fifteenth time, he is tantalized because he cannot afford to buy it.
The sixteenth time, he thinks he will buy it some day.
The seventeenth time, he makes a memorandum to buy it.
The eighteenth time, he swears at his poverty.
The nineteenth time, he counts his money carefully.
The twentieth time he sees the ad, he buys what it is offering. “
This was apparently written by Thomas Smith of London in 1885 and was reproduced to “advertise advertising” and to make the point that we need, what may feel like, excessive redundancy in advertising.
You need 20 contacts to make a sale!
I said 100:10:1. Yes, that 1 sale will come from 20 contacts.
So if we contact 100 people, and we instinctively home in on that one employer who will eventually employ us, we need to make 100 (inital contacts)+10 (interviews) +20 contacts with the luck employer of me!
And as we are not likely to be so lucky, we need to make initial contact with 100 people and expect to contact each of those 20 times, with the one we stay in contact with employing us! 100 people x 20 contacts = 2000 meetings.
OK so lets get real. Are you starting cold?
How do some people get jobs more quickly! Well they are already in a sales funnel. They are using their Dad’s contacts. Their university does part of the work for them. They belong to a network without understanding that they do.
If for some reason you are starting cold, or you get part way down your career and you realize you want to make a big change, you need to take charge and weave your own network.
You cannot afford to act randomly. You have to be prepared to find out
- Who you want to work with
- And assiduously build up contact with them.
If you are at school or university, begin early.
Compare with these figures
In a social network, 1% of people generate content, 9% critique content and 90% consume content (1:9:90). We see the same “J curve” on student chatter lines and in professional associations.
Ken Thompson of SwarmTeams talks of the 2% economy. Only 2% of messages to people are opened when they are from someone we don’t know or remember. We open all the messages from our friends. And we respond to about 10% of them.
Yup, we ignore 90% of what our friends tell us!
Get cracking!
I strongly recommend listing 10 firms who interest you on 10 old envelopes and look for ways to meet people who work in the department you want to join.
Keep notes. Add envelopes. Prioritize them.
Budget your time.
If you are starting a 3 year degree, you need to meet 2 people a day, every day, including Saturdays, Sundays and Christmas, to make 2000 contacts before you graduate.
And think career from the outset. Don’t think job. Think career.
Start now
Start exploring now and start collecting information, contacts and know-how.
It all adds up and takes you closer to that team who is doing exactly the sort of work that you want to do and that they need you so badly to do!
(And if you haven’t started and need a job now? Then divide your time. Put time aside for this project daily and do whatever you have to do to survive as a separate project. Just don’t let go of this one. That you will regret. The lost time will irk you more than flipping burgers. Begin!)
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