Job hunting in the tech fields is not for the meek.
You pore through the ads to find an opening that suits you. You write a succinct cover letter, prepare a carefully worded resume in the correct format, gather samples of your best work and put all your hopes into a package in the mail.
All this to be thrown into the pool with hundreds or even thousands of other applicants and never receive a reply.
Chasing advertised jobs at times seems futile–and at times it is. Not all advertised positions correspond to actual jobs. Each company that advertises has different reasons for placing those ads, and understanding the motivation can help job searchers better navigate the employment jungle, placement experts say.
So many ads look juicy and ripe with potential.
“Rapid-growth IT company seeking experienced software engineers,” read a recent classified ad from a technology consulting company. Unfortunately, the telephone listed was unanswered for four days.
Some companies place ads to recruit for highly specialized positions.
Human resources directors and recruiters say ads are commonly placed to boost company visibility, attract applicants for future positions or fulfill public reporting requirements.
Companies looking for specific skills are likely to list those. But even detailed ads, such as one placed by a technology consulting company for programmers conversant in EJB, HTML, JavaBeans and ASP, could be image-oriented, the experts say.
John Reed, manager of the consultant services division of RHI, a technology consulting firm (www.rhic.com), introduced the phrase “pipeline recruiting” to describe collecting resumes for other positions within a company or for jobs that may open in the future.
“My gut feeling is that some companies place ads to keep their name out there,” he said.