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Marketing professor says there's one key secret to landing jobs you apply for

Scott Galloway says it's all about being social.

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The key to landing a job through networking, according to a marketing professor.

Finding a new job is a nightmare scenario these days. With most people blindly applying for jobs online and submitting them into the ether, there is no guarantee of hearing a "yes" or "no" answer—and even less probability of actually landing the ones applied for.

But according to Scott Galloway, a marketing professor at New York University's Stern School of Business, there is one key thing that has been proven to help people obtain employment.

"Google puts out a job opening, they get 200 CVs within like eight minutes," Galloway said during an interview on Shane Smith’s Vice News podcast. "They limit it down to the 20 most qualified. Seventy percent of the time, the person they pick is someone who has an internal advocate."

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Galloway explains that it comes down to networking and making connections with people (i.e. being social in and outside the workplace) that ultimately can help you land a job.

"The way you [achieve professional success] as a young person is you go out, you make friends, you drink, and at every possible opportunity, you help that person out," he said. "You want to be placed in rooms of opportunities when you’re not physically there."

Although it may not lead to instant payoff, maintaining strong social connections and continuing to foster relationships before, during, and after your job search can ultimately pay off. Galloway also explained why it works with an example from high school days.

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"The most successful people in high school aren’t the best looking [or] the best athletes, they’re the ones that like other people the most," he said. "The kid who says, 'Hey, you know, great game, Brett,' or 'Wow, way to go on the basketball team, Lisa.' The person who shows the most goodwill and like toward other people is the most popular, successful person in high school.”

Ultimately, being referred to a job by a current employee is a more successful strategy than applying to a role without any connection. Nearly 40 percent of hires actually come from employee referrals, despite only 7 percent of applicants coming from referrals, a study from Jobvite found.

And according to data from Pinpoint ATS (applicant tracking software), candidates that are referred are seven times more likely to be hired than ones applying via job boards.

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How to make connections while job hunting

Galloway has three tips to help you connect with people during your job search:

Tip #1: Be as social as possible

"When you're hunting for a job in general, is to be as social as possible," he said. "Go out. Meet as many people as possible. Have fun. Make as many contacts as possible and let people know that you're looking. Most hiring managers have figured out, interviews are f***ing useless. So it's about reference hiring. To a certain extent, networking and looking for a job is a popularity contest. And how do you become most popular and put yourself in a room of opportunities even when you're not physically in it? You like as many other people as possible, you're as social as possible."

Tip #2: Don't be afraid to ask for help

Galloway also adds that it's important to not let your ego get in the way of asking for help. Reaching out will only help you, and is not a sign of weakness.

Tip #3: Be proactive and disciplined

"Make a list of what you're going to do," he said. "Make a list of this many emails, go on LinkedIn, contact this many people. Success in anything is a small series of disciplined efforts everyday."

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Hiring manager fired for refusing to post 'ghost jobs' is now sharing how to recognize them

If you've been applying for a job but getting no call backs, this might be the reason.

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'Ghost jobs' may be ruining chances of finding employment

Looking for a new job can be discouraging. Especially when it feels like you're constantly applying for jobs that you're qualified for, and some cases in which you're overqualified and never hearing back beyond the "thank you for applying" email. There doesn't seem to be a shortage in job openings but there does seem to be an abundance of people looking for work for months without finding gainful employment.

According to Ceros Whaley, a former hiring manager at an unnamed company, the problem is that unsuspecting hopeful employees are unknowingly applying for "ghost jobs." Whaley shares that part of his job as a hiring manager was to create "ghost jobs," which are simply fake job listings. He explains that these job listings were not created to find more qualified people to fill positions but to "encourage" current employees to improve their performance.

The entire thing likely feels a bit shocking to the average job seeker, but this is common practice for businesses according to Whaley. But it was his discomfort in continuing this practice that ultimately resulted in his termination from the company he can't name due to the non-disclosure agreement that he signed.

Whaley says that he got into a little bit of a kerfuffle with his higher manager over the company continuing the ghost job ruse. By the time the man reached his tolerance level for posting fake jobs, he had already posted over 300 ghost jobs on sites like Indeed, Monster and other hiring sites. But Whaley shares that he found his morals and just couldn't continue the practice, though his manager told him that he was the best ghost job writer that the company had.

a now hiring sign in front of a building Photo by Ernie Journeys on Unsplash

"I'm not going to continue to post ghost job listings so our employees can act like they are scared to lose their jobs. That ruins their mental, it destroys their mental health deeply," Whaley recalls the conversation between he and his boss.

The man shares that eventually his manager began yelling at him before telling him they would need to meet later and told him to clock out for the day.

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"It's disgusting. It's not just my company, it is every company I'm seeing doing this. It's Walmart doing this, it's Amazon doing this, I'm not going to disclose my company, but it's BestBuy doing this. But they're posting these fake job listings to trick you," Whaley exclaims, noting that the rates posted are often higher than current employees' salaries.

But the frustrated former employee didn't stop there, he did a follow up video sharing how to spot ghost jobs and how to avoid them while you're job hunting.

@ceroswhaley

#fyp #storytime #job #foryou #viral

Pay attention to the posting date

"If it was posted four days ago, five days ago, there's a high chance that you shouldn't click on that link," he says.

According to Whaley if a job is posted five days ago it comes off as a flashing sign showing that the company is "hiring right now," even though they likely aren't.

No time stamp

Another tricky tactic that might slip right by you is job listings that don't have a time stamp. The former hiring manager simply says just don't apply for any job that doesn't have a time stamp on the listing.

Please Help Sebastian Stan GIF by PBS SoCalGiphy

Job descriptions that feel off

Whaley explains, "job descriptions matter a lot when it comes to checking if it's a ghost job. If the job description is something insane, and I mean insane, when it doesn't really describe the job. That is also a way to tell when it is a ghost job. That is also a method to do that."

There's a way around it

Many people may not like his solutions, especially Millennials and Gen Z who are very phone averse. But Whaley says that the best way to get around ghost job listings is to call the potential job directly. It takes a little bit of work finding the correct number and probably a few breathing exercises to work up the nerve, but calling is an easy way to know if the job is real or not. He also says you can physically go to the place to speak with someone if you're feeling really bold. Whaley shares that potential employees tend to like the extra initiative that is shown by going a little old fashioned on the job hunt front.

@ceroswhaley

Replying to @Aυƚιʂƚιƈαʅʅყ.Dɾιʋҽɳ 🥀꧁༺༻꧂🖤 #fyp #jobs #manager #reply #replyingtocomments #viral

"The best way to get a job at the job that I had–you had to call me. My direct line. I had a direct line. That was the difficult aspect. I was in an office you had to call my direct line and ask for my extension," Whaley says matter of factly.

The last bit of advice he gives is to cross reference job postings you find on job listing boards with the company's actual website.

"They'll post a job listing on Indeed or some job searching website and they won't have it on the website," the former hiring manager explains while informing people they can check small businesses' social media accounts.

Job hunting can be soul sucking at times but using some of the tips Whaley shares, you just may be able to avoid wasting your time applying for jobs that don't exist.

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Woman makes an undeniable demand for employers to publicly list job salaries

You should know what kind of job you're applying for.

Photo credit: Canva/Jess Goodwin|Threads screenshot

Woman asks employers for transparent salary ranges

Job hunting isn't something that most people enjoy, especially if they're trying to get out of a toxic work environment. When people are trying to move up the ladder, or simply want to be paid what they're worth. They relay on the salary ranges provided by companies to gauge what salary to request.

Clear salary ranges also allow people to know if the job is worth applying and interviewing for. If the budgeted range is well below what the candidate's current salary, then transparency around the salary gives people a chance to make an informed decision. Jess Goodwin, who, according to her Threads bio is "perpetually looking for work," shared her frustration on the app about companies not including their salary ranges on job listings.

The job seeker explains that she applied for a job without a salary listed against her better judgement because it's a remote position and sounds like fun. Since the application was simple, she applied. The next day she was reminded why she typically skips postings like that.

Goodwin quickly receives the forms for the next step in the process the following day. While looking over the form she sees the expected salary which was a whole $30k less than what she listed as her expected salary for the position.

"I genuinely don't understand the thinking here. Why bother to ask for an applicant's desired salary if you're going to disregard it? Why not include the salary in the job description to begin with if you're going to mention it in the next step in the process? Do you really want to sift through more applications than you need to? Do you think someone's just going to be like 'actually $30K isn't that big of a deal,'" Goodwin writes.

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In the end, the woman emails the company's HR department to decline moving forward in the process. A lot of other people agreed with Goodwin's frustration about the lack of transparency in job postings.

"That’s awful but typical corporate con artist behavior these days. They don’t even try to act with integrity. My favorite is when they post a salary range of $52,578 - $199,000," one person shares.

"If the pay isn’t listed in the job posting it’s because it’s so low no one would apply for the job if it was listed. I’ve got a great job that I love and pays me fairly now. But that’s the rule of thumb I’ve always used when looking for jobs. If the pay isn’t posted don’t waste your time," someone else contributes.

"I agree. Our HR dept never would provide the range on a posting. Some applicants stated their minimum (and yes often it was more that I made). When I narrowed applicants for interview, I would give them the salary range when setting up the interview. It doesn’t waste their or my time if their target salary isn’t in the range," a commenter writes.

The comments were overwhelmingly in favor of employers being more open about the salary range. Some people complained about not finding out the salary until the end of an interview which often ended with the presented salary being much lower than their current salary. Maybe employers will take note of Goodwin's request for transparency and update their policy to include salary transparency.

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After woman bombed her job interview the CEO called it a 'disaster' but hired her anyway

There's something to be said for gut instinct.

Photo by 89Stocker via Canva/Screenshot Brigette Hyacinth via LinkedIn

CEO felt the interview was a disaster but hired the person anyway

We've all been there. Got an interview you were pretty excited about but once sitting across from your new potential boss, you do one of three things. You blabber on incessantly due to nerves. You seem to have forgotten every single thing that would be pertinent to the job in which you're interviewing. Or, you feel as if you've somehow exited your body while you desperately attempt to appear normal but you know it's not working.

Some people are simply rockstars when it comes to interviews, while others consistently look like they're being interviewed against their will. It doesn't seem to matter how many interviews they have under their belt, they're just a nervous quiet mess trying not to sweat through their shirt.

One woman found herself in the latter category of interviewees, but instead of having to continue her search on the nearest job board, she got the job. The CEO took to LinkedIn to explain why.

"DISASTER! So, I interviewed a highly recommended candidate. The interview was a nightmare. She was so nervous she could barely communicate. A deer in the headlight. She BOMBED miserably. Still I couldn't get past my gut feeling she was the best candidate for the job," Brigette Hyacinth, Founder and CEO of Leadership HQ reveals.

Hyacinth posted the note to the professional social media platform in an effort to reach other people in the position to hire people. The CEO wanted to make sure people weren't overlooking potentially excellent candidates due to not performing well in the interview due to obvious nerves.

Depending on what's going on in people's lives, interviews can be high stakes. Someone could be a newly single parent interviewing for the first time in years. There could be a situation where someone may be on the brink of eviction or foreclosure and landing that job is a matter of keeping stable housing. Sometimes people are neurodivergent and may appear awkward or extremely nervous in the interview but be fantastic assets to the company.

interview disaster; CEO hires bad interview; interviewee bombs interview; bad interviews; job huntingthree women sitting at the tablePhoto by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

Let's not forget the subset of people that just interview poorly because of anxiety, sort of like people who test poorly due to test anxiety. There are a multitude of reasons that people could bomb an interview from excessive nerves. But not everybody gets past the interview to prove they are a good fit for the company.

Hyacinth writes, "I gambled and decided to give her a try and within 6 months, she was one of my top performers. Sometimes it’s hard to know a candidate's full capabilities in a job interview."

Other's agreed with her assessment, while some gave their thoughts on the whole interview process.

"The interview process is so dated. On another note companies go on about wanting to to employ more neurodiverse people, yet they put autistic people through several stage interview processes where they have to speak to people they don't know for a long length of time, that can be so draining for them. Wish this would change and go more off references, experience, and portfolio and not having a chat with the owner of the company that they will probably never speak to ever again," one commenter shares.

One person said in part, "Couldn't agree more! We need to adjust many of our outdated conventional ways and pay closer attention to attitude and engagement during the interview process. Just because someone could be crippled with anxiety during an interview doesn't mean they couldn't be an absolute rockstar if given an opportunity."

In Hyacinth's case, it turned out that she was right to give the nervous woman a try. Maybe in the future other hiring managers and CEOs will be willing to take a page out of her book to give the introverts a chance to shine in a position that may be perfect for them.

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