Kevin Wu is an American entrepreneur who has created and runs the Pathrise company, an accelerator that helps new graduates and tech professionals find jobs. And Kewin Wu has a number of tips for you to be successful in your job search.
In an article in Forbes magazine, Wu echoes a question he is continually asked: “Why is it so difficult to find a job?” Before her, he begins to eliminate possible flaws in the applicant himself: well-written resume, experience appropriate to the jobs that apply, preparation of interviews .
If everything is correct in these areas, your solution is clear: Are you signing up for enough job offers?
According to Wu’s theory, currently hundreds and even thousands of people are applying for the same job, so you have to do the same and sign up for a large number of jobs in order to obtain good results.
The key is in the number
A mathematical analysis carried out in his company, Pathrise, has determined that, following the actions of thousands of candidates, there are different percentages of success depending on the phase of the selection process in which you are.
Wu asks us not to rely too much on online job portals
Thus, in the curriculum submission phase, there is 10% of moving forward and 0.72% of achieving success, that is, of getting the job.
In the next phase, in which a Human Resources representative contacts you and asks you a series of questions about your profile and candidacy, your percentage of being able to advance to the next round is 60% and your chances of getting hold of employment rises to 7.2%.
Another phase, which is not so common in the Kenyan hiring culture, is that of the technical interview, also by phone or by e-mail, in which you are asked about whether you master certain technical aspects of the job. The progress rate in this stage is 30%, with a total success rate of 12%.
Face to Face Interview
Finally, the last round is the face-to-face job interview with possibly the next boss. If you have come this far, it is not that you have done it, but you have a 40 percent probability of advancing and, therefore, a 40% chance of getting the job.
And what do these percentages mean in terms of the number of jobs to which you must apply? The calculation for Wu and Pathrise is as follows: If you want to have five personal job interviews, which would give you a 90% chance of getting the job, you should apply for 319 jobs.
But do not get overwhelmed, Wu has a series of tips for you to achieve success … if you follow them, the North American entrepreneur predicts that you will not need to apply for more than 300 jobs, you will only need to apply to 80-100.
Summarize submission phase
Don’t trust conventional job portals. If you are going to send your application to company X, try to find the email of someone you know from that company and if there is not, look for the one of the head of recruiters of the same and send your CV to him trying to find some kind of connection with he: city, university, etc. With this tip, your progress rate rises to 15% and the success rate rises to 2.81%.
Human Resources Call
An email or thank you call expressing interest in the job offer can increase your success rate for this stage to 75% and your total success rate to 18.75%.
Technical round
Practicing is key in this phase. Search for possible questions on the Internet and practice the answers with a friend or family member. In this way, you will have the lesson learned and your nerves will not play tricks on you. This can increase your progress rate for this stage to 50% and your total success rate to 25%.
Personal interview
Here, as in the previous phase, it is very important to take things prepared. Study the company, find out everything you can about its mission and values and, at the same time, prepare very well what you want to show the company about yourself. With this, your success rate rises to 50%.
If you still don’t see results, Wu has the solution, too: It might be time to revisit your resume or the types of jobs you’re applying for.
