To expand on this: Asking about where you can go in 6 months, a year, 5 years, etc with the company (upward mobility) shows you are looking at the company as a long term employment. Having been on "that" side of the interview table, I can safely say that I have a 50/50 split of people who asked about what kind of mobility/retention we had with employees. This made me happy; Made me feel like they were interested in growing their career with me, instead of getting resume fodder they'd be tossing around in 6 months to a year.
tl;dr Employers like to feel like they wont be replacing you before your first anniversary.
This is definitely a thing. My current job is helping people find jobs.
Some general tips when applying.
Start from the top. By that I mean, go over the businesses that you actually want to work for, then apply to them first. And as Powah said above, make the company think you apply to "them". A lot of people, especially in "open" applications (meaning that you don't know that a company is hiring, but you give them a resume and application anyway) tend to have the same resume and application and hand that it everywhere. Unless you want an entry level job somewhere with fairly low to no education/certificate requirements, I wouldn't do that. It is more efficient, but I'd rather go to 4 different jobs handing in 4 different applications for 3 days than 12 in one. Quality over quantity also applies in job hunting. An application that the employer can see would fit anywhere does not make them think you want to work for them. Save quantity until every place you actually want to work for has turned you down.
I would
- Call ahead of the application, ask for the personnel / HR department. Ask if they are hiring, and if so, what positions. If not, tell them about your experience and if any specific department fits your skillset/education/experience better, and if you can send in a resume.
- Upon sending in the application, make a note of the call "Had a nice conversation with X and ..." (for larger companies, if you call HR first, your application might easily land on the desk of the one you called), and then write your application based on what you learned from HR. If you have a template you've used for previous applications, then maybe add/detract based on needs or wants you've learned about.
Point is to tailor applications, but same also goes for resumes. IE: If you have a college degree, you taken part in a lot of classes. Mainly in a resume, you might only list time spent in college + degree name. However, If you are applying for a job where you know that they want certain things more than others, and you've had classes, then you might add below your college info "relevant classes". Not every class is relevant, and different classes might be relevant for different jobs, so a resume, while more static than an application, can also have dynamic parts that you change based on the job you are applying for.
It is basically a sale. You want the employer to pay for your services which is the work you do. Like any sale, min/max applies. An employer want maximum value for the minimum they can pay you. If you do not single out yourself, and make your application/resume seem like you are applying everywhere, there is little chance the employer will single out our application. If the job requires education/experience, they will always single out a few that they
want to talk to, meaning no generic applications makes it past the screening process. If they don't care, it will basically be the luck of the draw that makes you get hired from the number of applications they have. This is rarely the case for a job above minimum wage paygrades. Taking the time to Google their website or mention an expansion or something directly related to that place of work will immediately make it so that application obviously couldn't have been sent elsewhere, so with a sentence you can set yourself a part from quite a lot of applications. Now combine that with the mention of calling and a resume tailored also to their needs, and you already set yourself a part.
Another tip would be to add, but don't repeat. By that I mean if you write something like "problem solver" on your resume/CV, do not write that word/sentence in your application. Rather tie in an example of you actually doing it.
Job listings usually have qualifications / requirements. Think of that list as an ingredient list printed on a food/drink of some sort. "Contains, water, sugar, food colouring" What it contains the most of is listed first. In the qualifications/requirements on a job listing, odds are the top ones are what they really want. Rarely do they ever get the perfect candidate that has all their wants, but maybe they have the first 3-4 as internal requirements, and if you don't have that, they discard your application. However, if you are missing 6-7, they can work with that. Which is also why you should never talk yourself out of applying based on a list, because that is the job of whoever does the selection. Important part is just to never lie and to actually apply, maybe you're the only one with 5 of their wants out of 8 that actually apply. Also remember to tailor your application / resume to highlight those qualifications / requirements.
Market yourself and allow yourself to be head hunted so to speak. If you are looking for work,
you are looking for work. It is all on you. You are the driving force. Like any sale, market yourself. In Norway (and fairly same it is similar more/less in most places) it is said around 40% of jobs are visible (listed) while 60% are in the hidden market. Those jobs include high tier jobs, but also jobs like storehouses where a manager can easily just walk in and say "We need another person, anyone know someone?"
It costs money to look for employees or have a job interview round, so if they can avoid it, employers will. One thing they often use then are external or internal databases where you can upload a resume/application. That way, before they list a job, they can do a search first to see if anyone fits their bill there. By adding yourself to any/all such platforms, you are constantly available to a much larger scale than if you only market yourself to the specific workplaces you yourself contact.
Also make sure your contact references are available and know they might be called and will speak well of you. "Who?" is not something you want your potential employer to hear when they call to hear what you are like. If you have multiple references, add the most relevant to the job you are applying for on top.
