Applied and ignored

In the current Jamaican job market, one thing has become painfully clear to many job-seekers: applying for a job can feel like casting your hopes into a black hole.

Despite the effort that goes into perfecting a resume, tailoring a cover letter, and submitting an application, the most common outcome isn’t rejection. It’s the silence.

Social media platforms like X (formerly known as Twitter) and TikTok have become sounding boards for a growing number of frustrated young professionals and recent graduates who lament the uncertainty of the application process. Many say they would prefer a simple “no” over hearing nothing at all. Others are calling for feedback, anything to help them improve and move forward.

THE JOB SEARCH: HOPE, HUSTLE, AND HEARTBREAK

For Dane Egla, job hunting isn’t always an active pursuit.

“Usually job opportunities come when I’m not looking for them,” he explained to The Gleaner.

“Now I’m a student and I’m going through school, and certain opportunities will come up and I’ll take them. But usually, it’s not a case where I’m actively seeking a job.”

Egla relies heavily on staying prepared.

“I always have my resume ready,” he said. “I always have a cover sample letter ready that I’ve made from the first time I applied for a job. I just edit that over time to be more context-specific.”

He shared how his most recent job came about not through a formal application, but through networking.

“I knew someone in the organisation because we volunteered together. That’s another thing, too, volunteering is key,” he shared.

Egla admitted that a lot of his former jobs came through networking and showcasing his expertise.

But even with a strong network and careful preparation, not every application turns into an offer.

Egla, like many others, has faced the sting of silence after a job interview, but although in a different context. His most memorable experience with application rejections came when he was turned down for several scholarships that he had poured his heart into.

“I remember the first year I came to university, I applied for like 20 scholarships and I got zero,” he recalled.

“That kind of demotivated me. I wasn’t interested in going the other academic year to apply for anything. But I always say to people, the ‘D’ in Dane stands for determined. So a lot of times I’ll be disappointed, but I don’t really let that discourage me.”

ON THE OTHER SIDE

While job-seekers struggle with the uncertainty of the hiring process, human resources (HR) professionals like Abagale Fraser, who has seven years of experience in recruiting, are managing overwhelming volumes of applications.

“In recruiting, it’s for us to sift through all the applications,” she explained to The Gleaner. “We will have an idea of what we want, the experience, the qualification, and we’ll shortlist candidates based on the resume.”

Fraser noted that location of prospective employees is often an important factor, especially for jobs requiring early shifts or consistent physical presence such as call centres.

“If the business is in Montego Bay, you’re going to maybe choose somebody in Montego Bay or Westmoreland,” she said.

For high-volume roles, automated assessments are sometimes used to narrow the field before the resume is even read.

“We will send assessment for everyone, and then we’ll look at the person that scored the highest and download their resume,” she explained.

After this stage, HR contacts the top candidates for face-to-face interviews, usually no more than five or six, depending on the position.

Still, Fraser sympathised with those left in the dark.

“When we’re dealing with a lot of applicants, we’re not able to reach out to everybody. I hate that,” she expressed. “There are some companies that will send automated messages once someone is selected. Automatically, everybody that didn’t get selected would get an email. But some companies aren’t doing that.”

She recommends that job-seekers be proactive.

“If you haven’t gotten a call in a week or two, you probably didn’t get through. Call. Just give them a call … You can ask for feedback if you would like that,” the HR professional advised.

WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE?

Both Egla and Fraser agree that feedback could bridge the disconnect between job-seekers and recruiters. Egla suggested that recruiters seek input from applicants to improve the hiring process itself.

“A lot of times we plan things and we execute it, but we really don’t achieve the aims and objectives we want to achieve,” he said. “Maybe they can find some way of trying to gauge persons through different evaluation forms. That would be good.”

Meanwhile, Fraser encourages students fresh out of universities to be prepared for the reality of job-hunting.

“I’ve interviewed persons and I feel like they may be a little bit clueless,” she said. “Persons are not able to answer the questions adequately sometimes.”

She encourages students to seek out interview prep resources by attending mock interviews and career coaching that universities provide.

TRANSPARENCY IS KEY

While there’s no quick fix for the stress of job-hunting, one thing is clear, both job seekers and employers could benefit from more transparency. Egla’s experience reflects a broader truth felt by many young people across the island.

But he said that having your colleagues peer review your work is critical and suggests getting professional feedback on how your resume was crafted. “Sometimes we ourselves know why we didn’t get it. We know that we didn’t meet some requirement. But we were trying,” he said.

Whether it’s a one-line rejection email, a thoughtful piece of feedback, or a more human-centred approach to recruitment, small steps can go a long way in helping job-seekers feel seen, even if they don’t get the job.

And as Egla noted, every company would benefit from the feedback of a potential worker or someone who is already working at the company.

“The company can move forward. That’s critical in building a company’s overall capacity as a premier functioning entity,” he said.

mickalia.kington@gleanerjm.com