@RogerBW @futurebird All places where I have worked in the last 20 years have had somebody I knew beforehand, but I'm old enough and know enough people that it's hard to find a local company in my field in which I wouldn't know anybody.

@futurebird

I might “appropriate” a version of this poll for LinkedIn…

@futurebird My current job (which is one of the best jobs I've had in a long time), I got through a recruiter that I had worked with before. My current boss knew of my previous boss (who I was working for at the time), and so was aware of my work indirectly, even if he didn't personally know who I was yet.

@futurebird I'm 55 and only applied 'cold' once, which was a job I left within 3 years. Been at my current one almost 16 years.

@futurebird I was vocal on LinkedIn about adjacent stuff and got lucky

@futurebird

I always feel like a bit of a fraud giving CV help to students. I've reviewed a lot of CVs in my professional life, but I've never once applied for a job where the CV was a major factor. Even when I was doing freelance work, all of my clients were people who knew my work before I worked for them.

@futurebird I got my best most-recent job because a recruiter contacted me.

I’m so old, I got my first job by answering a want ad in a newspaper.

@futurebird Which category is self-employed?

@futurebird A hiring manager reached out to me on LinkedIn.

@futurebird

I was recruited at a portfolio review/interview session the corporation held at my art school.

@futurebird @catmisgivings The best job I’ve had in the past ten years is the one I have now. 6 years ago, I was a candidate offered by a temp company. Last year, they were going to shed many of the temps, but I was one who converted to regular employee.

But, to the point, I didn’t know anyone.

Now, during my 50 year so-called career, interviewing as a mutual stranger, it wasn’t until I temped in 2016 that I got hired cold and even then, my percentage as a temp for being placed was low.

@david_chisnall @futurebird

I know the feeling of CV help feeling pointless.

But I've also had a glimpse from the other side. Almost all hires at my company are strangers applying through the process. How much CVs matter varies wildly.

@david_chisnall @futurebird

Recently, my girlfriend applied for another job at the org she's been working for as a freelancer for years. She got not chosen for the first round of interviews because she wrote her department head recommended her to apply for the position. (My idea, to show she has the backing of higher-ups inside the orgs.) This was read as lack of initiative on her part.

@billiglarper @futurebird

Yup, a lot of people I've hired have gone through a process, submitted a CV, been interviewed, and so on. It's just that I've never done that from a cold start. I've applied for two jobs like that, I was rejected for one and declined the other (both with the same employer).

@futurebird 13 years ago I was working at a specific sub-organization (org1) within a larger employer (main). Main handles common benefits, but employment is with a sub-organization.

I took a temporary developmental position at a different sub-organization (org2) within main for a few years. As part of my job at org2, I had a working lunch with someone from a third sub-organization (org3) and mentioned that I was rotating back to my original position with org1 and looking for projects to work on when I got back.

They mentioned me to someone who reached out asking whether I wanted to extend my temporary rotation and work at org3's site for a couple of years. I said yes, and my permanent boss at org1 said yes, but my permanent boss's boss said no. Org3 offered me a permanent position and I took it.

Very much the result of serendipity, since I didn't know the people offering me the job at all, and my acquaintance with the person who connected me to them was just meeting that one day.

@futurebird my option is more : I applied cold but both companies didn’t (at the time) have those stupid recruiting platforms that look for keywords and throw out candidates randomly, so I got the job on experience

@david_chisnall

Thanks for the clarification. I slightly misread your post.

@futurebird I already worked for the company when I got my best job. The QA manager, who needed someone reasonably fluent with a computer, headed up a continuing improvement team. I built an interactive website that accepted, parsed and monitored "suggestion tickets" on line. He liked my work and brought me off the production floor to QA. That's the job I retired from last year.

@futurebird I got recruited.

@futurebird My last job (17 years) was due to a recruiter cold calling me. I've worked with recruiters for most of my career and often have been contacted with opportunities being presented to me.