Five things to prioritise when it comes to the application process

While there are multiple ways of applying for new positions and new jobs, the accessible and efficient ways can lead to job-search burnout.

This was the opinion of Donald Knight, Chief People Officer at Greenhouse, a hiring platform.

“In the past, where you might have had 40 steps to complete an application, today, most people can do that in less than seven steps,” which can take as little as 45 seconds total, Knight tells CNBC Make It.

Knight shares five steps to focus the job search and stand out from the competition: Leaning on referrals, finding ways to make a personal connection, being selective about the jobs applied to, tailoring the job experience to match your experience, and not relying on AI to try and game the application system. The five steps, when summarised, rely on making sure that aspiring applicants stand out from the others in the application process, including getting a referral from someone who has worked in the organisation, and sending a personal message to the recruiter and/or the hiring manager alongside the application.

The steps also advised applicants to make sure that they are not wasting time and effort on both their and the recruiters’ process by focusing on what they are looking for in a new job, and proofreading their resume to make sure that what they are applying for is relevant to their experiences.

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Lastly, Knight cautions against using AI to cheat the system by using methods such as white fonting, where applicants place keywords in white font on their resume to increase their chances of being seen by hiring tech. “Highlight the skills that you have under your belt and, importantly, use the same language as the job description,” he concluded.