When applying for jobs—just like with many things in life—it's wise to work effectively. Don’t fire all your arrows at once, but try to hit those truly promising targets right in the center. With a sharp arrow, a steady hand, and perfect timing. Have you heard of the 80–20 rule? Read on.
“Applying for jobs is just hard work,” some people say. And I certainly won’t argue with that. However, many people misinterpret ‘hard work’ as: finding lots of vacancies every day and applying as often as possible. To increase the chance of hitting a target. Which, by the way, I can understand—especially if you’ve been applying for a while without much success. But what if we shifted our focus from applying a lot to applying effectively? Just like with many things in life, it’s smart to approach job applications with efficiency. Simply put: don’t search for a ton of targets and shoot at them blindly. Instead, aim to hit those truly promising opportunities right in the center. With a sharp arrow, a steady hand, and perfect timing.
Applying Effectively: The 80–20 Rule
It might not be the first thing you’d expect, but when it comes to effectiveness, we can learn a lot from an Italian economist: Vilfredo Pareto (1848–1923), the man behind the ‘Pareto Principle.’ Or, as most people know it: the ‘80–20 rule.’ Pareto observed that 80% of wealth in Italy was owned by 20% of the population. This rule was later generalized when people noticed that the 80–20 ratio applies to many areas. The principle states that 80% of outcomes are driven by 20% of causes. For example: 80% of revenue comes from 20% of customers.
The 80–20 Rule in Job Applications
If we apply this to job hunting, you could say that 80% of your success comes from 20% of your application efforts. The message is clear: focus on being effective! Take time to analyze first. Identify which (20%) activities, contacts, job boards, companies, or roles yield the most (80%) success, and focus mainly on those. Let the rest go or spend very little time on them.
Putting the 80–20 Rule into Practice
Do you find yourself in contact with HR managers, recruiters, or agencies where all the effort has to come from your side, while it hardly brings any results? Or do you keep targeting certain roles or industries that never yield anything despite your best efforts? Stop wasting time there! Only pick it up again if it comes to you, but don’t invest your energy anymore. On the other hand, if you have contacts with people or companies where the energy is mutual—where things just flow, and they understand you instantly—then focus on those. And when you do apply, make sure your arrow is sharp and your timing perfect. Your arrow is sharp when your CV is spot-on and tailored to the specific job. So start applying effectively! Those old Italians weren’t so crazy after all. Raymond te Veldhuis CheckData and DataJobs.nl