In this 90-minute webinar, you'll discover how to get more interviews from the jobs you apply for — especially the ones on our job board.
Hello and welcome to today's session. I'm glad you could all make it here today. I'm DJ, your host for today and the founder of We Are Distributed. As you already know, we are here to discuss how to help you get more interviews from your applications, specifically how to try and triple your application to interview rate.
Before we get started, I'd also like to just share a little bit about me and why I'm teaching this session today in particular. I've been working in go-to-market and marketing for roughly just under 15 years right now.
Over that time I've hired just over 50 full-time employees and contractors, interviewed hundreds of candidates, and reviewed about a thousand applications as both an in-house marketing exec and now as a founder and CEO myself.
Even some of the companies that are listed on the We Are Distributed job board, I've personally worked at and I've partnered with on their own hiring plans or interviewed there myself.
So yes, Oyster, Float, Chili Piper, Sked Social, Ghost, Buffer, Hotjar x2, Superside, Whereby, etcetera - I've interviewed there. I've either had a job in these places and I have contacts there too.
So if you are applying for a role in one of these organizations, feel free to reach out to me in the #wearedistributed community.
Now to start off with, I'd like us to just cover exactly what makes up an application.
From what I have seen of all the applications I've reviewed, and from speaking to recruiters and hiring managers over the years, I can tell you that there are two core components that make up an application.
It's both what you present and also what the employer can find.
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But your candidacy is made up of four additional components:
And a bonus: Who you know.
For example, there's a reason why some companies mention things like, "Do you know anyone who works here?" on the job forms that they may have.
You need to have congruence across all areas to increase your chances of success — getting an interview.
Does your resume/CV need a revamp? Get it rewritten & formatted here.
You may be wondering, well, what does success look like?
Success is essentially you getting interviews, right? It's being shortlisted for interviews or what we track internally at We Are Distributed as your application to interview rate.
That is the percentage of applications that you send which convert to interviews.
In general, for every 100 applications, you should really be trying to get a 7% application to interview rate. Or putting it a little bit more simply, for every 14 applications you send, you should be getting one interview.
If the numbers that you're getting don't quite reach that 7% mark or are significantly below that 7% mark, or even fewer than 2%, judging by the market we're in today, then you should review one of these five areas as that would be a big reason as to why there will be some concern there, as to why your applications are not resulting in interviews.
But hopefully with this session, we will help you uncover that a little bit more.
Being shortlisted for an interview indicates that the resume and the cover letter that you have produced is effective in getting the attention of employers.
And having a high application to interview rate also shows that the number of job applications that you're sending are leading to interviews. That means that you are really qualified and a good fit for the roles.
Typically what I find is people who apply for fewer positions that they are actually a good fit for tend to get more applications compared to doing the "spray and pray" approach or the scattergun approach to your job search.
As for your candidacy overall, you must also be able to convey a coherent story to the decision maker that you are indeed the right person for the role.
From what I've seen, folk who receive constant rejection have at least one of those components in disarray. And that kind of makes it easy for the employer not to choose you, not to move you forward.
In today's session, we're going to semi-exclusively focus on just the application itself. You know, that's mainly where the core work is going to take place today.
But the other four areas are still key.
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For those other areas, having an end-to-end job search strategy and a peer group who can help vouch for you is one of the fastest ways to get through the pack. And that's something that we do deliver in our job search accelerator, which you can learn about here.
Let's go over some of the biggest mistakes that I see job seekers making all the time throughout the application process.
If you were just to avoid some of these mistakes, I think that would put you in the top 20% of applications.
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One of the biggest things I've seen is where people don't answer the pre-qualifying questions at all.
Sometimes you might be applying for a job and you can clearly see that there isn't a required field in that application per se, and therefore, as a candidate, as you're applying, you might think...
"Oh well, there's no required field for me to answer this question, so therefore I should just not answer it."
Many candidates do leave these questions blank, which makes it very, very easy for recruiters and hiring managers to just instantly reject you, because ATS systems can be set up to reject candidates who fail to meet the basic requirements for a role. We call these "knockout questions."
For example, if a question says, "Do you have five plus years experience in product marketing?" And you either don't answer it or you answer "no", for example, then you'll most likely be auto-rejected, even if you are a good fit for the position.
So it's really important to make sure that you answer every question, even if the field is not a required field.
I've seen some applicants deferring to just answering like "yes" to a question.
For example, to a question like "How do you go about running a competitive intelligence campaign for a new product?", they'll just put "yes" or say something to that effect.
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This is why this graphic kind of perfectly illustrates the issue behind that and the concern around that as well.
As you can see, it's like you're digging yourself in a hole, really, by not answering the pre-qualifying questions properly.
The next thing that I typically see is those who state that they can do everything without showing any evidence or proof of their claims.
Here's a real question we asked candidates who applied for a full stack engineer role here at We Are Distributed:
Question: How familiar are you with APIs and their role in data integration? Can you provide an example of a situation where you've worked with APIs to integrate data?
Answer: I am very familiar with working with APIs and data integration. I do this almost daily. I can interact with third-party APIs and also the APIs that I built. I also know about OpenAPI specification, API security, etc.
Now, why do you think this candidate was rejected?
The main issue here is that unfortunately, their answer doesn't really tell me anything.
There is no evidence or proof that this person can actually work with APIs. They just told me that they could.
How am I meant to believe you without any kind of concrete example or demonstration of your skills?
As someone who has reviewed countless job applications, I've noticed several common mistakes that can significantly hinder an applicant's chances of success.
Let's dive into these issues and discuss how to avoid them.
When applying for jobs, it's crucial to provide detailed explanations of your experience and skills.
Many applicants fall short in this area, failing to offer concrete evidence of their abilities.
I'm expecting to see data and metrics that can show your thought process.
Even though I'm not an engineer by trade, I've hired for various technical positions, including a full-stack engineer for my own company.
Reviewing hundreds of engineering applications, I've noticed a large majority just talk about how amazing they are without actually showing any evidence of their competence or linking to evidence that can demonstrate their skills.
This makes it much more difficult to believe their claims.
Another common mistake is providing generic answers that don't highlight the impact of what you've done or translate into business results.
For example, when asked to describe a scenario where you developed custom code or scripts to automate a data-related task, a poor answer might look like this:
"While working with tons of old data, I developed a custom script and changed the data structure to be better used in the client's new system."
This answer is too generic and doesn't showcase impact or results.
How much old data? From when? What was the data structure before, and what is it now?
Without these details, there's nothing that can really be gleaned from this particular response.
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Poor grammar, sentence structure, and prose errors in written communication can significantly hinder your application, especially for remote jobs that require extensive writing.
As companies are beginning to adopt more asynchronous communication styles, answering questions with very poor grammar will nullify the effectiveness of your application.
I implore you all to pay special care and attention using tools like Grammarly, which for the most part, the basic version is incredible.
You can use it for free, alongside a number of other tools to, at the very least, double-check your work before you send over the application.
This applies to all roles, even those you might think doesn't require as much writing, such as design roles.
Remember, even in design roles, you still have to explain your decisions for why you went in a particular direction.
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Using AI to answer application questions can be a significant risk.
While I don't consider using AI as the worst thing you can do with your job application, it does present some serious issues.
The biggest problem is that it doesn't differentiate you from the other 100 or 200 other people that are applying. It's really easy to tell whether an application is AI-based.
At best, you seem just like everybody else, and at worst, you could get blacklisted from applying to jobs from that company ever again.
I've seen this with some of the clients we work with.
In one case, an applicant used AI to talk about a tool and feign experience with that tool when they had never used it before.
They claimed to use Zenrows for project management, but Zenrows is actually a web scraper, not a project management tool.
This kind of mistake leads to an instant rejection.
It's crucial to tailor your application to the specific job and company you're applying to.
(But it doesn't have to be specific to every job, but specific to the 2 or 3 types of roles you're applying for).
Avoid generic responses that could apply to any company.
Also, when an employer asks a series of questions on the application form, it's important to provide thoughtful, detailed answers.
Avoid responses like "Please see my resume" or "To be discussed at interview..."
These kinds of dismissive answers can quickly lead to rejection.
Remember, a recruiter or hiring manager has limited time to review each application. By providing incomplete or dismissive answers, you're making it easy for them to reject your application.
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If you're unable to share previous work samples due to confidentiality agreements, it's important to handle this situation professionally.
Simply stating "No, I can't show examples" is not a good look.
It puts the burden on the hiring manager to do extra work, which they're unlikely to do.
Instead, be upfront about the confidentiality issue, but offer alternatives:
By avoiding these common mistakes, you can significantly improve your chances of success in job applications.
Remember to provide detailed, tailored responses, use good grammar, avoid over-reliance on AI, and handle confidentiality issues professionally. By doing so, you make it much harder for hiring managers to say no to your application.
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One of the most common reasons for application rejections is failing to follow simple instructions. By paying attention to this aspect, you can save yourself a lot of headache. It's crucial to understand that your application has one primary job: to get you to a screening or hiring manager interview.
When applying for jobs, it's essential to consider the recruiter's perspective:
Therefore, focus on meeting the criteria as closely as possible, especially if they explicitly state what they're looking for.
If a job posting asks you to email your resume and cover letter to a specific address with a particular subject line, do it. These are simple two-minute hoops you need to jump through to get ahead. By following these instructions, you'll already be in the top 10% of applicants because most people don't even do that.
Many applicants make the mistake of providing more information than requested. For example:
Another common error is ignoring or misinterpreting specific instructions:
Some applicants overemphasize their personal achievements without meeting the specific criteria the company is looking for. This lack of focus on job specifications often leads to rejections.
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Using mass apply functions or AI auto-appliers can be problematic.
Many applicants don't end up in the company's Applicant Tracking System (ATS) because they didn't read the job description carefully. Always read the full job description and follow the specified application method.
Buffer, a social media management platform, provides an excellent example of what companies look for in applications. They received over 1,500 applicants for a content writer role within one week. Here's what they focused on:
Buffer asked specific questions to gauge applicants' experience:
They also assessed candidates' familiarity with Buffer and the social media space through targeted questions.
Buffer included questions to understand applicants' approach to remote work, inclusivity, and handling mistakes.
Buffer shared themes they observed in applications that didn't move forward:
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Remember, in today's competitive job market, it's beneficial to have someone review your application before submission. This can help catch errors and ensure you're putting your best foot forward.
One of the most common mistakes I see job seekers making is giving up after receiving a rejection. It's crucial to understand that a rejection doesn't mean you can never apply to that company again. Let me share a couple of examples to illustrate this point.
The first rejection you receive from a company does not mean you're permanently barred from applying there again. It's a common misconception that needs to be dispelled.
"When you receive a rejection from a company, it means you are not the right fit for this position right now. It's not to say you are not good enough for this company ever. There's a big difference between the two."
If you get rejected for a job at a company you really want to work for:
It's worth noting that even experienced professionals face rejections. The author of the Buffer article applied to the company three times before being successful. Don't be discouraged by rejections – use them as learning experiences to improve your future applications.
By following these guidelines and learning from real-world examples like Buffer's, you can significantly increase your chances of moving forward in the application process and landing your desired role.
Now, let's dive into some examples of what good job applications look like. I'll share insights from applications we received for the senior full-stack engineering role, as well as some of my own successful applications.
This applicant provided good answers, though they didn't link to their resources. Their responses were concise but informative:
This application stood out due to its level of detail and use of metrics:
When applying for a role at Float, a resource management platform, I tailored my responses to showcase my expertise and unique perspective:
For a Director/VP of Marketing role at Ghost, my application led to an interview and progressed to the final stage. Here's how I approached it:
Get access to every job application I've ever sent which led to an interview or job offer -> coming soon.
When applying for coveted positions, especially at startups, it’s critical to bypass recruiters and connect directly with hiring managers.
Why?
Recruiters are often juggling multiple roles and may not give your application the focused attention it needs.
By reaching out to the hiring manager, you create a more personal connection and increase your chances of standing out.
But how do you find hiring managers when they’re not listed in job postings? There are a few effective methods:
Apollo.io is particularly helpful for finding business professionals. Start by searching for the company you want to target, then filter the results by job title or department. You’ll quickly get a list of contacts, including their details, allowing you to make direct outreach efforts.
LinkedIn is another great resource for identifying the right people to contact.
First, search for the company on LinkedIn, then find individuals working there with relevant job titles. You can filter by department or position to locate potential decision-makers.
For C-level or higher roles, look for titles like Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Growth Officer, or Chief Revenue Officer.
When reaching out to hiring managers, it’s essential to personalize your message. Reference your application and keep your communication concise and respectful of their time.
Highlight key points that align your skills with the role you’re applying for.
The goal is to make a strong, positive impression without overwhelming them.
By sending a well-crafted, personalized message, you can increase the likelihood of getting your application noticed and making a significant impact.
The timing of your application and outreach can significantly influence your chances of success.
It’s often best to apply early, ideally within 72 hours of the job being posted.
An early application shows enthusiasm and increases your chances of getting noticed. Make sure to put your best foot forward in this initial application to stand out.
On the other hand, applying late can also present an opportunity.
If a job has been listed for two or three months, it may indicate that the company is struggling to find the right candidate.
In such cases, they might be willing to reconsider or adjust their criteria, which can open doors for candidates who may not have been the strongest fit originally.
After submitting your application, it’s a good idea to reach out to the hiring manager. The best time to do this is right after applying, as it demonstrates initiative and interest.
To optimize your job search, using automation tools like n8n can be a game-changer.
With n8n, you can automate the process of finding the latest job postings, extracting company details from job listings, and compiling that information into a Google sheet.
This simple automation (coming soon) can expand your awareness of job opportunities by a significant margin, potentially increasing the number of jobs you come across by tenfold.
We offer a range of resources and services designed to support your job search.
By subscribing to Plus (coming soon), you'll gain access to the job search automation mentioned earlier, along with a collection of successful job applications that have led to interviews or job offers.
You’ll also receive comprehensive application packs, including resumes, cover letters, and optimized LinkedIn profiles I used personally, which resulted in interviews and offers..
Our Resume Writing Service is available to help you craft an ATS-friendly resume. With a 20% discount for webinar attendees using the code "WADResume20"
This includes two revisions based on your target roles, with a first draft delivered within seven days.
Additionally, the Job Search Accelerator Program offers weekly group sessions to review job applications, collaborative work on application packs, and feedback from peers and mentors.
Participants have reported an application-to-interview rate increase of up to 15% after completing this program.
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Tailoring your application and telling a compelling story to the employer and hiring manager significantly increases your chances of landing the position. Remember, I'm always here to support you in your job search journey.
By implementing these strategies and utilizing the tools and resources available, you can maximize your success in the job application process.
Need any extra help? Reach out to us in our community.
