How Quick Are You?

A lot can happen in just a few seconds

When we were kids there was the 5-second rule which states that if a piece of food falls on the floor and you pick it up in less than five seconds, it’s OK to eat it. We’ll be generous and say that the science behind that rule is probably more than a little shaky.

You’ll be on a lot firmer footing when you apply the 7-second rule to your job search. That rule states that a recruiter, hiring manager, et.al., can make a decision about you as a candidate after looking at your resume for only seven seconds. The same holds true for an Applicant Tracking System (ATS). Kinda creepy. But not as creepy as AI reviewers that can reject your resume in zero to five seconds.

Time flies

According to NBC News, a mugger can identify a potential crime victim in about the same amount of time – seven seconds. Law enforcement people say that walking fast and swinging your arms as you do can help discourage would-be criminals. Some also say that talking on the phone as you walk can be a deterrent.

As scary as that may seem, let’s get back to your job search. Equally as scary, however, is that an ATS scanner (Automated Tracking System) can reject your resume a lot faster than that seven seconds the resume reviewer or a lying-in-wait criminal spends. An AI resume reader or ATS can reject a resume in a fraction of a second — sometimes in under 30 to 60 seconds from the moment you hit "submit" if an automated "hard knockout" filter triggers an instant rejection email. Calls into question the efficacy of applying for jobs online, doesn’t it.

But it doesn’t stop there. If you’re fortunate enough to land an interview some experts claim that interviewers can make a decision on you in the first 90 seconds or less. Gives a lot of credence to the old adage of first impressions…

Time is of the essence in business in general and in a job search in particular. How quickly you respond to a job posting. How quickly you respond to phone calls and emails. Being on time when arriving for an interview. Sending thank you’s and acknowledgments following interviews in a timely fashion. It all adds up.

The wiser you are in how you use your time in your job search, usually means the less time you’ll spend looking for that next job.

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