The Scientific approach before applying for a new Job

I know this might sound like a wave shock with the title of this post ”The Scientific approach before applying for a new Job”. Well, as the title implies, it practically means that quite a lot is really expected of us to get that dream job we have been job hunting for.  To clear the little storm, let me just be realistic to you, not many persons have really sat down to set aside personal goals before applying to any new job opening. Please if you are among these categories of persons, just don’t do that anymore okay. 

Every company have one reason to another why they remove some persons off their duties. This is why it is very good that you don’t just get too excited about getting a job, but rather you should think about the fundamentals so many employee lack to their employer. These fundamentals are psychologically connected to man desires and rooted in-depth of his passion driven by natural emotion, and collisions to the social-physics of man and his sustainability within a particular financial sector. 

Quickly, let us slide into some of scientific approach you employ when applying for a new job. 

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the Scientific Method is described as "a method or procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses." Tangibly and more simply stated, science is the process of observing something, thinking about those observations and coming to a conclusion. Afterward, further research is conducted to confirm or modify that conclusion. 

Utilizing the Scientific Method

If you were a researcher, your process would be very detailed and sometimes repetitive. There would be certain regulations that define specific “observations” and what constitutes a “theory” (there are no laws in science anymore). But, throughout everyday life, regular people also utilize some form of the Scientific Method. For example, consider the following situation:

You, an ordinary person observing the world around you, take the role of a scientist. You hear someone speaking about a new job vacancy among the gathering of other employee.

 Observation: 

There is a new Job Vacancy.

Hypothesis: The former position was not meeting up the task of the company, the employee to that office position is no longer comfortable with the salary, the job responsibility was doubled and could not meet up the comfort of the employee, the employee violated the company mode of operation, the employee has served the contract agreement for his position with the company, the company is in search for professionals who can fit in the office position.

Conclusion:  The company will be recruiting employee with the right skills and potentials for the position of office now opened.

Further testing and verification: Get facts relating to the Job position, listen to conversation from others who are also testing the state of the company or go out and gather relevant information about the Job position and the company yourself. Please below recruiters as Scientist for further digestion.

Recruiters as Scientists

You, as a recruiter performing your job, take the role of a scientist. You post a job advertisement for a position in a city on a major job board.

Hypothesis (based on observations from previous postings): Posting my job on this major job board will get me qualified applicants, because this job board has drawn qualified candidates for other positions in other cities.

Observation: Not many qualified people are applying to my job.

Conclusion: The qualified people that I want do not visit this major job board.

Revised Hypothesis: Posting my job on a niche job board will be better for getting qualified applicants for this position in this city.

Observation: More qualified applicants are applying to my position.

Revised Conclusion: The Revised Hypothesis is confirmed – the niche job board is better for finding qualified applicants for this position in this city.

Again, recruiters use some form of this process while performing most of their job duties and to inform their talent strategy. We hypothesize about a candidate’s quality by looking at their resume. We search for ways to improve inefficient processes, and we adapt our knowledge of position requirements based on hiring manager feedback. All of these skills feed into our ability to find potential candidates who are a correct fit for the long term. 

Challenge

According to the Cielo Talent Activation Index, 72% of Leaders are “very effective” at using data and analytics to inform talent acquisition strategies. On the other hand, only 6% of Laggards are “very effective.” I challenge you to consciously inject more of the Scientific Method into your recruiting efforts.

By following a Hypothesize-Observe-Change process, you can better understand what works and what doesn’t, and then systematically optimize your procedures to maximize results. This is essentially how recruiting and talent acquisition models are created and validated.