According to some widely quoted recent research, one in three job seekers make over 100 applications. For 48% of those polled, 100 applications has resulted in less than three interviews, and for 31% none or one. Whilst these statistics could be indicative of the still struggling economy, it’s unlikely.

When anyone carries out an activity 100 times and has only a 3% success rate, one has to wonder whether they are hearing the feedback the system is giving them. For spam email, a 3% response rate might be really good. But when you’re looking for a new job, a 3% rate is a signal to change what you’re doing. Every system has built in feedback – whether it’s the reports which get rejected because they are in the wrong format, the look on your boss’s face when you present your idea, or the complaint calls from the customer.

The problem is that many of us don’t hear the feedback, and if we do, we pretend we didn’t, or we leave it for another day to do something about it. And soon, we’ve done something 100 times with only a 3% success rate. Far better to respond to the feedback and continually adjust.

http://www.recruiter.co.uk/one-in-three-jobseekers-make-over-100-applica…