If you are like the majority of Job Seekers, once your resume is finished, you want to immediately submit your resume to as many jobs as possible in the shortest amount of time.
We all tend to believe ‘faster is better’, quantity is as important as quality, that percentages work in our favor the greater the speed and number of jobs to which we apply in the shortest amount of time.
The reverse is actually true. If there is one process in life that guarantees a higher rate of success the slower and more thought-provoking the process, it is to job applications.
NEVER ON FRIDAY
Contrary to job seeker opinion, Recruiters, Hiring Managers and Human Resource professionals are human. ‘Fried Friday’ holds as true for those making hiring decisions as anyone else in the work environment. Never, never, ever submit your resume via electronic messaging or online on a Friday, particularly a Friday afternoon. No one is going to see it. The weekend is paramount in the worker’s minds on Friday afternoons.
And your resume will be at the bottom of the e-mail queue under all the competition’s resumes submitted over a weekend. Submit your resume on a Friday only if requested to do so.
MONDAY’S CHILD
The best day of the week to submit your resume is Monday, early Monday morning before regular business hours. Doing so makes it more likely your resume will be at the top of the resume pile from the weekend. And increases the chances your resume will be noticed.
For the middle weekdays-Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday,-a good practice is to submit your resume midday between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. This time frame is after the morning rush to get organized and before the afternoon sugar drop at 4:00 when attention spans tend to falter.
HOLI-DAYS
The holidays are one of the best times of the year to be engaged in a job search. Competition is less as many job seekers will postpone job applications until after January 1st. Companies gear-up for hiring during the holidays to fill headcount for the coming first quarter of the New Year a win-win for job seekers. Many companies will hold posting open positions until Thanksgiving thru December 31st as the usual glut of resumes lessens and job seekers who apply during this time are perceived as ‘prime’, dedicated, hard workers. And hiring falls off during the first fiscal quarter as headcount is filled and companies hold further hiring into the Spring.
Thanksgiving is a long holiday as most companies are closed for the four day weekend. Early the Monday and Tuesday preceding Thanksgiving are the best days to submit a resume.
Christmas and New Year’s Day fall midweek on a Wednesday this year. If those involved in the hiring process are working, most likely it will be the Fridays and the Thursdays in this two week holiday span. The ideal day to submit your resume will be early Thursday morning.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Recruitment and Staffing professionals are a dedicated group of hiring professionals. Many work long hours and weekends to fill positions quickly to meet business needs and to maintain lines of open communication with job applicants. Job seekers most often do not know the work habits of the person reviewing resumes and job applications. It is good practice to keep in mind general guidelines for submitting a resume.
When do you apply for your jobs? All comments are welcome.