Apr 24, 2024

Question of the Day: What are your odds of getting at least one job interview if you submit 1-10 applications?

If at first you don't succeed...try, try again.

Answer: 61.7%

A pie chart showing you have a 61.7% chance of receiving a job interview when submitting 1-10 job applications.

Questions:

  1. Did you think the average number of interviews when submitting 1-10 applications would be lower? Higher? Explain why.
  2. The study claims the “sweet spot” is 21-80 applications. Would you agree with this? Why or why not?
  3. How do these numbers make you feel about the job search process? Should people let these kind of statistics affect their efforts?
  4. What are some tactics you can use to improve your chances of receiving a job offer, no matter how many applications you’ve submitted?

 

Here are the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

 

Behind the numbers (Zippia):

"It takes between 1-100 applications to get an interview. Job seekers who sent between 1-10 applications have a 61.7% of getting at least one interview, while those who sent 81 or more applications have an 85.2% chance.

The sweet spot, however, seems to be between 21-80 applications. This gives you an 81.8% chance of getting at least one interview, and the greatest odds of converting an interview into a job offer as well."

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For more resources related to career planning, check out NGPF's Career unit.

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About the Author

Ryan Wood

Ryan grew up with and maintains a love for learning. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay with a degree in Business Administration and worked in sports marketing for a number of years. After living in Texas, Colorado, Tennessee, and Minnesota, the call of education eventually brought Ryan back to his home state of Wisconsin where he was a Business and Marketing teacher for three years. In his free time he likes to spend time with his wife and daughter, play basketball, read, and go fishing. Now with NGPF, Ryan is excited to help teachers lead the most important course their students will ever take.

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